Richard Jerome Kennedy (born December 23, 1932, in Jefferson City, Missouri), is an American writer of children's books and a supporter of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship. He was the first to suggest that John Ford was the author of the 578-line poem A Funeral Elegy which in 1995 had been touted by Donald Foster as being written by William Shakespeare. [1]
Life
Kennedy attended Portland State University, where he graduated with a B.A. in liberal arts in 1958. He additionally earned a teaching certificate in elementary education from the University of Oregon. [2] However, he found teaching elementary school unsatisfactory, so he tried other jobs, including bookstore owner, deep sea fisherman, moss picker, custodian, cab-driver, and archivist, before turning to writing. [3] [4]
Shakespeare authorship question
Kennedy has been a long-time advocate of the theory that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was the person actually responsible for writing the works of William Shakespeare. He is a founding member of the Shakespeare Fellowship, and in 2005 he proposed that Shakespeare's Stratford monument was originally built to honor John Shakespeare, William's father, who by tradition was a "considerable dealer in wool". [5]
Notable works
- The Porcelain Man, illus. Marcia Sewall, 1976
- The Blue Stone, illus. Ronald Himler, 1976
- The Dark Princess, illus. Donna Diamond, 1978
- Amy's Eyes, illus. Richard Egielski, 1985
Awards
- American Library Association Notable Book List, 1976, for The Blue Stone
- American Library Association Notable Book List, 1978, for The Dark Princess
- Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, 1976, for The Blue Stone and The Porcelain Man
- Association of Logos Bookstores Award, 1985, for Amy's Eyes
- German Rattenfänger (Rat Catcher, i.e. Pied Piper) award as best foreign book translated in 1988 for Amy's Eyes
References
- ^ Niederkorn, William S. (June 20, 2002). "A Scholar Recants on His 'Shakespeare' Discovery". The New York Times.
- ^ Harrison, John (March 12, 1977). "It's a gift". Eugene Register-Guard: pp. 5A, 7A.
- ^ Harrison.
- ^ "(Jerome) Richard Kennedy." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Literature Resource Center. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
- ^ Vickers, Brian (June 30, 2006). "Stratford's Wool Pack Man". Times Literary Supplement (5387): p. 17.
External links
- Camelot, God wot! or: What a Woman Wants
- The Snow Queen, a Christmas Musical
- Come Again in Spring, an animated telling of Come Again in the Spring. Directed, designed and animated by Belinda Oldford, produced by the National Film Board of Canada
- "The Woolpack Man"
- Richard Kennedy at Library of Congress, with 21 library catalog records
