Dutch Conference On Authorship Question Scheduled for July 2004
Two Dutch Psychologists have organized the first ever Dutch conference on the authorship question, scheduled for July 8-10 to occur in Utrecht Holland: “WHO WAS ‘SHAKESPEARE’ ?- The Man Behind the Mask -”
The Conference Call for Papers reads as: ‘Shakespeare’, voted Man of the Millennium, was the greatest literary genius known to the world; yet what is known of the life of William is strangely divorced from the poems and plays. William was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 and died there in 1616. He was involved in many business transactions, but these offer no insight into the plays.
This yawning gulf between the person and the works has led many to question whether William of Stratford was in fact the real author. Robert McCrum, literary editor of The Observer, cites six questions about the authorship that have perplexed scholars for years:
� How could a provincial actor from Stratford gain such an
intimate knowledge of court life (and medicine, botany, the law, the sea and aristocratic pursuits such as hunting and falconry)?
� How could he know so much of classical authors?
� How could he write compromising love sonnets to his social
superior, the powerful Earl of Southampton?
� How could he know so much of Italy and Italian literature?
� How could he leave not a single book or manuscript in his will?
� Why was there no notice of such a writer’s death in 1616?
Many, including Bismarck, Disraeli, Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and John Gielgud, have doubted the traditional biography of the Bard. After noting his genius, his learning and his outlook, they have decided that the Bard cannot have been William of Stratford.
Shakespeare’ was almost certainly a pseudonym for the real writer of genius. We should look for the author elsewhere in the Elizabethan world.
The First Dutch Conference on the Authorship Question aims to bring together historians, social scientists, literary and theatre people, actors, students in these fields, Shakespeare admirers in general, and all others interested to discuss the authorship question. The conference program consists of lectures by invited speakers, parallel sessions for participants to present their papers, an (optional) excursion and a social program.
Conference participants are requested to submit an abstract of 250-450 words before March 1st to conference organizers Jan Scheffer or Sandra Schruijer. After reviewing and editing conference papers will be published.
The conference will be held in the city of Utrecht, The Netherlands, which is 40 km away from Schiphol airport. There are various nice, centrally located hotels in Utrecht, varying in price.
For further information on the conference please contact:
Jan Scheffer, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst at the Pieter Baan Centre, Utrecht (jhs@worldonline.nl) or
Sandra Schruijer, professor of organizational psychology at Tilburg University (schruijer@yahoo.com)
Congratulations to Dr. Scheffer and Dr. Schruijer for organizing what we are sure will be a historic event!