SHAKESPEARE HERITAGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 62, 4 June 1927, Page 13

SHAKESPEARE HERITAGE

THE BARD IN AMERICA NATIONAL TRIBUTE PAID One of the strongest and most enduring ties that bind the different members of the English-speaking race together is their common heritage of Shakespeare. That the poet was not merely for an age, but for all time, was demonstrated afresh, says the “New York Times." by a celebration of his 363rd birthday in the Central Park recently. The ceremony was held around the Shakespeare statue, on the Mall, under the auspices of the American Shakespeare Foundation, of which Elihu Root is the honorary president. The consular representatives of SO nations attended. and as many floral wreaths were received from officials, societies, and individuals. Chief among the wreaths was one of bay leaves from Shakespeare’s garden, sent by the Mayor of Stratford-on-Avon to the Mayor of New York. Mrs. Walker received it for the city, and it was phiced on the shoulders of the statue. A Dinner at Night The club also held an anniversary dinner the same night at the National Arts Club. Dr. James J. Walsh, writer, one of the speakers. said: “Three-quarters of Shakespeare* audience could not read and write, and in Shakespeare’s time there was not a bathtub in England. People wore the same clothes night and day. Yet the people of that day seemed to have clean minds. Shakespeare wrote no sex plays. We have clean bodies, but how about our minds?” "We need to glorify Shakespeare in this age of disordered life.” declared Henry Wellington Waok. writer and former president of the federation. “We need to impress on youth that all the elements of daily life that are worth while are found in the genius of the bard.”