Jerome Richard 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.
Life
He was educated at Portland State University (B.A., liberal arts, 1958) and earned a teaching certificate in elementary education from the University of Oregon. Teaching elementary school proved unsatisfactory, so he tried other jobs, including bookstore owner, deep sea fisherman, moss picker, custodian, cabdriver, and archivist, before turning to writing.
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".
Works
- The Parrot and the Thief, illustrated by Marcia Sewall, 1974.
- The Contests at Cowlick, illustrated by Marc Simont, 1976.
- The Porcelain Man, illustrated by Sewall, 1976.
- Come Again in the Spring, illustrated by Sewall, 1976.
- The Blue Stone, illustrated by Ronald Himler, 1976.
- Oliver Hyde's Dishcloth Concert, illustrated by Robert A. Parker, 1977.
- The Dark Princess, illustrated by Donna Diamond, 1978.
- The Rise and Fall of Ben Gizzard, illustrated by Sewall, 1978.
- The Mouse God, 1979.
- Delta Baby and Two Sea Songs (poetry), illustrated by Lydia Dabcovich and Charles Mikolaycak, 1979.
- The Lost Kingdom of Karnica illustrated by Uri Shulevitz, 1979.
- The Leprechaun's Story, illustrated by Sewall, 1979.
- Inside My Feet: The Story of a Giant, illustrated by Himler, 1979.
- Crazy in Love, illustrated by Sewall, 1980.
- The Song of the Horse, illustrated by Sewall, 1981.
- The Boxcar at the Center of the Universe, illustrated by Jeff Kronen, 1982.
- Amy's Eyes, illustrated by Richard Egielski, 1985.
- Richard Kennedy: Collected Stories, illustrated by Sewall, 1987.
- Little Love Song (poetry), illustrated by Petra Mathers, 1992.
Kennedy also is the co-author of two musicals with Mark Allen Lambert, The Snow Queen, (published as a Laura Geringer Book in 1996, with pictures by Edward S. Gazsi), and Camelot, God Wot! or What a Woman Wants, 1989.
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
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".