Meet James Shapiro @ Newberry Library

By Amy Ganser

Author and Columbia University professor James Shapiro speaks at the Newberry Library this Wednesday, May 5, at 6pm. Shapiro's latest book Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare examines the centuries-old hypothesis of some historians and critics (including Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud) who argued multiple writers or more affluent, well-educated authors penned the Bard's works. After all, William Shakespeare, the son of a glove maker, could not have experienced personally the regal storylines of many of his most famous plays. Shapiro reveals not only his own perspective on the literary controversy, but why the skeptics' persistent significance continues to shape our notions of art-making, creativity, and life. Free and Open to the public. The Newberry Library is at 60 West Walton Street.

Authorship Skeptic / May 4, 2010 12:22 PM

If you would like to know why so many eminent people, including at least five U.S. Supreme Court Justices, and many of our greatest writers, thinkers and Shakespearean actors, have expressed doubt that William Shakespeare of Stratford wrote the works attributed to him, read the “Declaration of Reasonable Doubt About the Identity of William Shakespeare." The Declaration has been signed by over 1,700 people, including more than 300 academics. It can be read, and signed, at the website of the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition at: http://doubtaboutwill.org/declaration

Here's what James Shapiro says about the Declaration: “It is a skillfully drafted document, the collaborative effort of some of the best minds committed to (raising doubts about) Shakespeare's authorship.”