by Bryan H. Wildenthal
The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship (SOF) has launched a newly revamped page on its website dedicated to the centennial of the revolutionary book by J. Thomas Looney (JTL), “Shakespeare” Identified in Edward de Vere the Seventeenth Earl of Oxford. The new webpage is at the same link where information about the centennial (“SI-100”) planning committee was previously posted.
The keynote celebration in the United States will be the SOF symposium at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2020, exactly 100 years to the day after JTL’s book was first published. All are invited to this free and open event. Click here for the latest updated information about it. (Update: Read here about this event as it took place.)
The new centennial webpage highlights the importance of John Thomas Looney (1870–1944), the scholarly detective and brilliantly original thinker whose gracefully written book showed that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was very likely the true author behind the pseudonym “William Shakespeare.”
Looney’s critics, unable to make much headway contesting his powerful evidence-based arguments, have mostly resorted to false ad hominem smears and silly attacks, like mocking his surname (a traditional family name from the Isle of Man). JTL’s book has become widely influential over the past century and deserves much more recognition as a landmark in literary history.
The new webpage will be updated periodically with new information about Looney’s life and book, and the regional, national, and international events planned during 2020 to celebrate the centennial. Even beyond 2020, it will be maintained as a permanent memorial to JTL and his book.
The centennial is an international phenomenon. The United Kingdom’s De Vere Society will hold a celebration on July 4–5, 2020, at the Literary and Philosophical Society (Lit & Phil) Library in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, where JTL did most of his research. The centennial will be a major focus of the SOF Annual Conference in Ashland, Oregon, on October 1-4, 2020. (Update: The DVS and SOF events in July 2020 and October 2020 have been postponed to 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The SOF plans to hold an online annual meeting this fall, hopefully with some online presentations and related programming as well. Please check back periodically at the DVS and SOF websites for updated information.)
The SOF is also promoting a grassroots campaign of celebratory centennial actions. These can be any number of simple personal actions, like wearing a t-shirt or giving a copy of Looney’s book to someone you know with a note about why you find it so important and fascinating. Click on this link for more ideas and join the fun! We hope to reach 100 pledges by March 4, 2020.
To RSVP for the free NPC event on March 4, 2020, and for general questions about the centennial, please contact SOF centennial committee chair Bryan H. Wildenthal (bryanw@gmail.com). If you are interested in helping with a local event or wish to register your pledge to carry out a celebratory centennial action, please send a note to Linda Bullard (lindafern@gmail.com), with your name, location, type of action or event, and planned date. Please also consider making a financial donation to support our centennial celebration efforts.
Join us in celebrating 100 years of the Oxfordian revolution!
[published Jan. 22, 2020, updated June 2020]
