Friday, November 14, 2008

Was Shakespeare an Identity Thief?

Pamelas Latest Book

Could Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, have been the true author of the plays attributed to actor William Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon? Was Shakespeare involved in a conspiracy to conceal his identity?

SFA grad and former Steen Library employee,
Pamela Lynn Palmer,(MySpace page) explores that theory in her award-winning play, "Eclipse of the Sun: A Play in Two Acts." The promotional brochure explains, "Sex, violence, and intrigue in the court of Elizabeth I conspired to mask a grievous case of identity theft, perpetuating what may be the greatest literary hoax of all time."

USA Book News named her play a Finalist in the Theatre Arts:Drama/Play category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards. "Eclipse of the Sun" won “Best Play” in the Spring 2004 WriteMovies.com international competition.

"The University of Southwestern Louisiana kept sponsoring a contest for a play about the life and works of Edward de Vere. I finally looked up the name and realized he was the Earl of Oxford some believed might be the true author of the works under the name William Shakespeare. I did some research and found the theory fascinating, . . .and wrote my play.” She won the contest, the Miller Award Drama Category from the Deep South Writers Competition.

A prolific writer and award-winning poet, Pam Palmer authored the young adult novel, "Horse of the Dawn," now a talking book.


Born in Shreveport, LA and raised in Houston, Pam graduated from high school in Houston, TX in 1969. She finished two degrees at SFASU in just 4 years and added, “Of course my social life suffered!” She earned a B.A. in English (with honors) in 1971 and an M.A. in English 1973.

Photo by permission of Ivan Murray, PIO, Palo Verde College

Pam Palmer worked at R.W. Steen library from 1976-1997; first, as a Library Assistant in Humanities, then in Special Collections (now the ETRC), and later in Reference/Documents. She currently resides in Valencia, California and would love to see “Eclipse of the Sun” debut at SFA!

Photo by permission of Ivan Murray, PIO, Palo Verde College




Carol Scamman
cscamman@sfasu.edu
rm. 202e
936.468.1710
Subjects - Art, English, Modern Languages, Social Work, Sociology, Theatre

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