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Date: (Your return address and email address)

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Re: Declaration of Reasonable Doubt About the Identity of William Shakespeare

Dear ____________,

I am writing to invite you to please join Sir Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Irons, Mark Rylance, Michael York [or other names you choose from the list of Declaration signatories at: www.doubtaboutwill.org/signatories], myself, and more than 1,400 others, including over 250 faculty members, in signing the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt About the Identity of William Shakespeare. A copy is enclosed. It can be signed online at the website of the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition (SAC) at: www.DoubtAboutWill.org, or you can fill out and return the enclosed Signing Form to the SAC at the address shown at the bottom of the form.

Orthodox Shakespeare scholars claim that there is “no room for doubt” about the author’s identity. They say that the authorship controversy is therefore not legitimate, and should not be seen as an appropriate topic for research, or classroom discussion. It is often regarded as a taboo subject, which professors and students pursue at their peril. We believe that an objective assessment of the evidence shows that there are good reasons to doubt the traditional attribution, and the issue should therefore be regarded as legitimate.

The Declaration was written to clarify why so many outstanding thinkers have expressed doubt about the author’s identity. It also provides a convenient way for prominent people to take a moderate, reasonable position on the issue, while putting their doubts on record. It provides a brief, yet definitive statement of the evidence and arguments for and against William Shakspere of Stratford, but it takes no position on the true identity of the author. Thus, doubters of any persuasion can sign it, and even some traditionalists have done so. It has been fully vetted, with not one factual error identified, even by orthodox scholars.

The Declaration gained worldwide attention on September 8, 2007, when Mark Rylance, founding artistic director at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, Sir Derek Jacobi, and others held a signing ceremony in Chichester, West Sussex, following a performance of Mark’s authorship play, “I Am Shakespeare.” There will be additional efforts to hold high-profile Declaration signing events this fall. Please join me, and those named above, in promoting the legitimacy of the Shakespeare authorship issue in academia.

The easiest way to reply to this is to send me an email at the address shown above, or you can phone me at: (___) ___-____. Also, please let me know about any other doubters who I could consider contacting.

Thank you.

Sincerely, Enclosures (2) [4-page Declaration, plus Signing Form]

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