April 16, 2019
How I became an Oxfordian has everything to do with the perceived credibility of a source of information. I’d heard of the authorship question, but only couched as a “crackpot” type of idea. Then in the early 2000s someone whose opinion I respected mentioned briefly that there appeared to be something to the authorship question. Surprised and intrigued, I began looking into the subject with a newly open-minded perspective. I soon saw the obvious: the author’s clear erudition and the vastly contrasting educational attainments of the contenders; the myriad correlations between Oxford’s life and Shakespeare’s writings, including the Italian connection; the numerous respectable doubters over the years, etc. I’ve been an Oxfordian ever since.
I read whatever I could find on the authorship question and in 2010 I joined the SOF and the ShakesVere Facebook group. I’ve continued reading, and I appreciate the work of the many contributors to the study.
I’ve enjoyed discussing the authorship question with friends and relatives. As a member of Toastmasters when I first discovered Oxford, I gave a couple of talks on the subject and was pleased with the positive audience response.
I appreciate the connection provided by the SOF and the ShakesVere group and enjoy the online discussions. I’m particularly pleased to be able to watch conference presentations on the SOF website. One of these years I may even make it to the conference!
— Deirdre Alexander
“How I Became an Oxfordian” is edited by Bob Meyers. You may submit your essay on this topic (500 words or less in an editable format such as MS Word), along with a digital photo of yourself, to: communications@shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org. Also include a sentence about yourself (e.g., “John J. Smith is a businessman in San Francisco.”)
SOF memberships are now available on our membership page.
