December 22, 1998
The Next Shakespeare
Have you ever heard the phrase, "There will never be another Shakespeare?" well, in the literal sense, this is obviously true. Even if we clone the very DNA from his bones, not only will this scientist be accursed, but this neo-Will has no guarantee of being a playwright. Environment is just as much a part of a person as is hereditary. Now, most people don't use the literal sense of this phrase and instead imply that today's modern world is incapable of producing geniuses whose work stands throughout the ages.
There is some truth in this. Looking at the literary world today and the recalling the Sunday book review section of the paper, I cannot find any work or author who will rank up there like Shakespeare and Melville. Sure, Toni Morrison is popular, but her limited appeal leads me to believe she will be listed in the ages, but only as a partially known like Philip Freneau or William Saroyan.
Why does our society seem to detest the existence of geniuses? Maybe it's a level of competition problem. Since we are so much more connected nowadays, the number of people rushing to the top vastly decreases the total success rate. Shakespeare only had to challenge his fellow Englishmen.
Perhaps we were all screwed the moment we landed on the moon. Instead of too many of us running at the same goal, the goal has merely been pushed farther out of place. To impress everyone today requires so much more than it did back in Elizabethan times.
The whole point of this is that it's easy to question whether or not you are a genius. I often wonder if my influence will echo throughout the future, but a great sense of humility follows me. In fact, I will be truly amazed if any of you remember this little mailing list fifty years from now. Shakespeare I am not.