Letters to the Editor As an English major from the Class of
option for the future of Mills College. In my
1952, I was enchanted by the reminis-
opinion, that omission left it ineffectual.
cence about Libby Pope in the summer Quarterly. It brought back such rich memories—she did, indeed, embody Dr. Hedley’s deathless line: “The magical madness of Mills.” I have recently been immersed in the Volume CXI, Number 2 (USPS 349-900) Winter 2022
Oxfordian position regarding the author-
President Elizabeth L. Hillman
has been plying me with a series of very
Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement Nikole Hilgeman Adams Managing Editor Allison Rost
ship of the canon known as the works of William Shakespeare. My erudite cousin impressive tomes that make it perfectly clear that Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, is the obvious wielder of the pen that produced these works under the pseudonym of William Shakespeare. Having just fin-
Design and Art Direction Nancy Siller Wilson
ished the latest offering, Shakespeare
Editorial Assistant Tri-an Cao ’21, MFA ’22
does a thoroughly admirable job of orga-
Contributors Debra Connick ’85 Lila Goehring ’21 Jessica Lipsky Moya Stone, MFA ’03
of the Oxfordian movement to date, and
The Mills Quarterly (USPS 349-900) is published quarterly by Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California, and at additional mailing office(s). Postmaster: Send address changes to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613.
Pope. How I should love to hear what she
Revolutionized, in which James Warren nizing the history and documentation the impressive body of evidence backing up the claim of Oxford as the true author of the works, I can only wish that I could discuss the whole thing with Dr. would have to say about it all, knowing how dear the various Shakespeare theories were to her heart. We were so fortunate to be at Mills during the golden years, with Libby Pope, George Hedley, Alfred Neumeyer, Luis
Copyright © 2022, Mills College
Monguió, the Milhauds, and all the rest!
Address correspondence to Mills Quarterly, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Email: quarterly@mills.edu Phone: 510.430.3312
Those enchanted days have so greatly enriched all the many days of my long and interesting life. Dr. Pope is deeply missed and truly honored in memory. Carol Holtzman Wolf’s shared memory brought back such a flood.
Share your thoughts
–Marie Muirhead Escher ’52 Arcata, California
Submit your letter to the editor via email to quarterly@mills.edu, online at quarterly.mills.edu, or by mail at: Mills Quarterly 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, CA 94613 The Quarterly reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity.
2
M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY
Bravo for the current fine issue of Mills
–Mary Parker Lawrence ’57 Portland, Oregon It is difficult to read the letters in the Quarterly. So many are joyfully optimistic or justifiably concerned. We can argue about the practicalities of the current and future state of Mills forever, but I believe the emotional impact that this transition holds is unarguable. When I think about my beloved campus, which really was an “alma mater” for me as for so many of us, Mills was home in every sense of the word. When I imagine the halls of Ethel Moore or the corridors of Orchard Meadow being traversed by young men, my heart sinks a little. Or when I think about the small class sizes that allowed us to speak up and out and share ourselves in safe ways, I am saddened by the loss of that same spirit. I am a professor myself now, and some of my most cherished students are cisgender men, yet I am thankful every day for my time at Mills as it gave me and other young women and nonbinary students a place to find our voices—and strong ones at that—when the wider world didn’t make space to listen. I write today simply to acknowledge the emotional impact this has on our Mills community versus glossing it over with pleasantries. In the end, this will affect the majority of us alums, I would assume, in a way that is hard to put into words. My heart is in the fabric of that place, and I pray that it is respected and protected for a younger generation to experience someday while still feeling the power of the trailblazers that traversed its grounds. –Emily MacDonald ’03 San Pedro, California “What? Are you even American?” At one of my first workplaces after I grad-
Quarterly! I strongly support the proposed Mills
uated from Mills, this was my co-worker’s
Northeastern
response to me saying that I felt more emo-
University, based on solid information
tion watching Return of the Jedi than The
and support provided.
Notebook. The office was mostly women—
College
merger
with
The angry lawsuit against this merger
about 95%—and it was in a small town in
did not propose a “Plan B” or other viable
North Carolina. We had a Jesus statue in
