For more than 150 years, academics have questioned how William Shakespeare of Stratford, a man who left school at age thirteen and apparently never traveled abroad, could have written such a broad and deep body of work, one that is said to draw on the largest vocabulary of any writer in the English language.
Our speaker on Saturday, September 17 will be Mark McPherson, who was a featured MENSA guest a few years back. In his address, he will discuss the matter of the oft-debated Shakespearean Authorship Question. In the course of his presentation Mark will cover: Who was “Shakespeare?” And what evidence does or does not exist to affirm him as the author of the plays and poems which have born his name for the last six centuries? These are the burning questions which have intrigued the likes of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud and many others. Along just such an inquisitorial line, Mark McPherson has continued his scrutiny of the Bard of Avon. Over the course of years Mr. McPherson has actually “tried” William Shakespeare in absentia in a number of discourses, debates, and in 1984, the production of “The Great Shakespeare Duel,” which aired on PBS. On the heels of convincing a general audience jury of his prosecutorial case, Mr. McPherson was invited to London’s Middle Temple Hall, where a British debate involved him as a member of the Oxfordian Prosecutorial team.
Himself a lover of historical research and mystery, our speaker is also the founder of DAEDALOS, an agency for “consultancy and field investigation,” which over the decades has examined such enigmas as parapsychology, the Loch Ness Monster, the quests for Atlantis and Camelot, the Shroud of Turin, as well as the enduring matter of Shakespeare’s identity and authorial claim upon a host of immortal works.
As an actor, playwright, film-maker and popular lecturer, Mark McPherson brings his own unique style to the stage, even as he has done in his national and international one-character dramas in which he has portrayed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, George Bernard Shaw, Charles Dickens, Wyatt Earp, Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt and C.S. Lewis. He is also the author of two non-fiction volumes, “Looking For Lisette: In Search Of An American Original”, and a memoir, “An Irregular Life: The Adventures and Memories of a Fortunate Sherlockian”.
Bringing a keen sense of curiosity, intellectual method and vibrant humor to his subjects, Mark McPherson admits to applying “the sort of investigative and deductive techniques” to his case-work as two of his idols, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his fictive creation, Sherlock Holmes. Dubbed” Michigan’s Indiana Jones” by legendary radio host J.P. McCarthy, Mark McPherson’s work has been critically acclaimed on a national as well as international basis. “Poe is fine, but McPherson is superb” wrote America’s literary giant, Ray Bradbury.
For these and other reasons we look forward to what Mark has to say concerning the enigma of Shakespeare, at 7pm on Saturday, September 17.
Please note that this program will be presented live and on Zoom. The live presentation will take place at:
Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield
23925 Northwestern Hwy
Southfield, MI 48075
Doors open at 630pm. The program begins at 7pm. Admission: $4 for Mensa Members, $5 for non-Mensans.
Following the presentation, please join us for dinner at Buddy’s Pizza, located at 31646 Northwestern Hwy., in Farmington Hills, Just Northeast of Middlebelt Rd.
If you’d prefer to participate on Zoom, you’ll need to pre-register by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-0922-Gathering ,The event’s Zoom URL and instructions for connecting will only be sent to those who are pre-registered. The Zoom room opens at 6:30pm for mingling. There is no charge for the Zoom presentation.