PULLMAN, Wash. – The question of who really wrote Shakespeare’s masterpieces and how that affects our understanding of creativity will be discussed in a free, public, common reading presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, in Todd 130.
Events across the university through the year were based around the common reading book, “Being Wrong,” by Kathryn Schulz.
“Traditionally, we may have been wrong all along about ‘Shake-speare,’ ” said Michael Delahoyde, Washington State University English clinical associate professor. “Coming to an understanding of the implications of our having been mistaken about the Bard is crucial for our understanding of the humanities – and of humanity.
“What is creativity? Where does it come from?” Delahoyde said. “Beyond the Shakespeare authorship controversy, how we approach the enigma and answer the question concerning who wrote the works, right or wrong, determines how we construct our paradigms of creativity – not just in the arts but throughout our own lives and in our endeavors as human beings.”
Delahoyde has taught at WSU since 1992 and is part of the Teaching Academy. His website lists his expertises as heretical Shakespeare, Chaucer, popular culture, vegetarian cooking, monster films, the TV soap opera “All My Children,” apostrophes and housework, among others. He earned BA degrees in English and music at Vassar College, and an MA and Ph.D. in English at the University of Michigan.