Joseph Sobran, author, commentator, and a former editor with William F. Buckley’s National Review magazine, passed away last month. He was only 64 but, like his culture war colleague Sam Francis, his prodigious production of books, essays, and syndicated columns—Joe’s writing style was often compared to P.G. Wodehouse and G.K. Chesterton—ensures his legacy will be a long one.
One sign of a brilliant mind is that its owner can be an expert on more than one issue—perhaps several disparate subjects. Joe’s book, “Alias Shakespeare: Solving the Greatest Literary Mystery of All Time,” (Simon & Schuster, 1997) proved him to be one of best known scholars on Shakespeare’s writings: he asserted that the Bard of Avon was actually poet and writer Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. The topic is a matter of fierce debate which Joe authoritatively addressed in speeches, columns, and as a featured participant in a forum sponsored by Harper’s magazine.
Finally, I offer this personal observation of my friend: in a bar, with a cigar, there was no better story teller. Joe Sobran could quote Shakespeare (or perhaps it’s Edward DeVere) at length and attach it to such punch lines as “a bribe is an irregular transaction through which the citizen may get his money’s worth of service from the government,” or “when a politician wrestles with his conscience, he usually wins.” In my estimation, a good man is defined by his appreciation of comedy, his consistency in convictions, and his courage to endure. In America’s culture war, we lost a very good man.