This week, scholars Dennis McCarthy and June Schlueter announced that
they had discovered a new major source of Shakespeare’s plays. Using
plagiarism software and literary analysis, McCarthy and Schlueter are
preparing a new book in which they argue that the forgotten A Brief Discourse of Rebellion and Rebels by the even-more-forgotten George North was a key point of inspiration for 11 of his major works.
He wrote prolifically, which necessitated recycling ideas, themes, and bits of dramatic business. As a part owner of his company, he also had to respond to practical matters like trends, government censorship, and the need to fill up to 3,000 seats a night.
A grubby businessman furiously writing plays and ripping off whatever he could get his hands on hardly fits our model of artistic genius.
A Little Bit of West Texas:
Wyman Meinzer is the photographer. He once lived in the old jail in Benjamin, TX. The photo of the coiled rattlesnake appeared on the cover of a wildlife magazine in the 80s. He said there were times he crawled a long way on his belly to get a good shot of a wild animal. And the music is perfect. It was a pleasure to see so many living deer with such amazing antlers. The music is by Doug Smith. Doug is from Petersburg, Texas. Doug plays by ear -- he cannot read music. A pickup accident left Doug paralyzed, but fortunately he has learned to play again. Most of the pictures were taken in West Texas in the rolling plains (Caprock to Seymour), the Fork, 6666, and Waggoner Ranches. There are some scenes in Palo Duro Canyon .
