Presentations and Presenters
Is Sherlockian Scholarship Scholarly? - Robert Perret
Sherlock Holmes has one of the oldest fandoms in the world. Nearly from the inception of the character in the nineteenth century there has been avid discussion, hand-crafted publications, fan written fiction, costume creation, art in various media, parodies, knock-offs, and everything else we recognize as fannish behavior in the twenty-first century. Yet there is one unique element to Sherlock Holmes fandom; amateur scholarship. Of course other pieces of Victorian popular literature are studied and published upon; Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens and many more. But they are studied in ivory towers by people wearing leather patches on their elbows and being published in places that turn up their noses at any aspiring author who lacks an alphabet soup of academic credentials after their name. Not so Holmes. Dentists and accountants, businessmen and clergymen, irregulars from all walks of life create Sherlockian scholarship and submit it to journals that lay outside the purview of traditional academia. At least, we call it scholarship. But is it? What separates a Sherlockian article from an especially nitpicky and footnoted blog post about the Marvel superhero movies? Conversely what separates a Sherlockian article from an ivy-covered reconsideration of Chaucer in a specialized literary journal? Is Sherlockian scholarship scholarly? This session will examine the results of a study of the Baker Street Journal and the results of a survey of Sherlockian scholars. We will also examine our own thoughts of the issues of scholarliness, intellectual legitimacy, and our eccentric brand of especially bookish fan behavior.
Robert Perret is a writer, librarian, and Sherlock Holmes fan living on the Palouse in north Idaho. His scholarly credits include "Is Sherlockian Scholarship Scholarly?" and "Irene by Any Other Name" for The Watsonian, "A Study in Scholarship: The Case of the Baker Street Journal" for Proceedings of the Pondicherry Lodge and a chapter on the character Flaxman Low for the monograph Victorian Detectives in Contemporary Culture: Beyond Sherlock Holmes. He also writes fiction and his short stories have appeared in anthologies from Bellanger Books, MX Press, Mocha Memoirs Press, and 18th Wall, among others. He is a member of the John H. Watson Society ("Sampson") and Doyle's Rotary Coffin. More information can be found at www.robertperret.com.
Nevertheless, She Persisted: Women Who Broke the Sherlockian Gender Barrier - Sonia Fetherston & Julie McKuras
This talk will focus on the efforts of key Sherlockian women (1930s - 1990s) who refused to sit down and be quiet. By virtue of their excellence — as writers, speakers, organizers, thinkers and problem solvers — they broke the Sherlockian gender barrier. Because they persisted, the door was opened for other women to become respected leaders in the Sherlockian (and Irregular) world. While there is a great deal written about the men who shaped the study of Sherlock Holmes, and the formation of The Baker Street Irregulars, women are often footnotes. Women were not accepted as equals for many years despite their achievements. We will focus on several women, in particular, as well as a few groups: Edith Meiser, Katherine MacMahon, Helen Yuhas, Kathleen Morrison, the students of Albertus Magnus College, and the BSI Class of 1991, including Susan Rice, Julia Rosenblatt and Evy Herzog.
Sonia Fetherston, BSI is a multiple award-winning writer from the Pacific Northwest. For nearly thirty years her Sherlockian work has appeared in The Baker Street Journal, the Journal of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, Canadian Holmes and many other publications. A member of The Baker Street Irregulars, Sonia is also active with The Sound of the Baskervilles (Seattle) and The Sydney Passengers (Australia). She is one of the few women ever inducted into the legendary Speckled Band of Boston, and is the only woman to be honored with that group’s prestigious Sherlock Holmes Memorial Bowl. Sonia is the author of two books about illustrious members of the BSI, and her essays have appeared in numerous anthologies and textbooks.
​
Julie McKuras, ASH, BSI has been a member of the Norwegian Explorers since 1993, serving as president for nine years. She joined The Friends of the Sherlock Holmes Collections board in 1995 and was involved with the publication of the Friends newsletter from the beginning in March 1997, assuming the position of editor in September 1999. Julie is a member of A.S.H. ("The Compliments of the Season"),The Baker Street Irregulars ("The Duchess of Devonshire", 2001), The Hounds of the Baskerville (sic) and The Sherlock Holmes Society of London. She has contributed articles to The Baker Street Journal, The Serpentine Muse and The Sherlock Holmes Journal, and has presented at a number of symposiums. With Susan Vizoskie she co-edited Sherlockian Heresies, co-edited The Missing Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes, and co-wrote the 2017 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual "A Woman of Mystery"; Helene Yuhasova, Poetress Laureate of The Baker Street Irregulars with Sonia Fetherston. Her collection of Sherlock Holmes items and books has taken over much of her home in Apple Valley, MN, and her long suffering spouse Mike happily accompanies her on Sherlockian events throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Building Baker Street - Chuck Kovacic
Chuck Kovacic is pleased to be presenting “Building Baker Street,” detailing his recreation of the fabled sitting room of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, 221b BAKER STREET/Los Angeles. Chuck will explain the “who, what and where” to acquire the inventory and knowledge necessary to bring Mr. Holmes to your home! Additionally, a selection of rare Sherlockian items will be offered at his dealer’s table.
Chuck Kovacic is a Los Angeles-based Sherlockian, a dealer in rare Sherlockiana and a presenter at conferences in Paris, Meiringen, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dayton and now, Portland. He has contributed to Beacon Society guidelines for presentations of the master detective, produced mystery themed corporate events, has co-founded a scion society and journal, the late BAKER STREET WEST 1. An award winning artist, his portrait of William Gillette is a fixture at the yearly Gillette Luncheon and his rendering of BSI founder, Christopher Morley, hangs at the fabled McSorley’s Pub in New York. He is the designer and creator of 221b BAKER STREET/Los Angeles, a full-scale, sitting room recreation, and invites guests to take a virtual tour in 360 at www.chuckkovacicarts.com.
Gimme More!Holmes: Holmestice, Fanworks Exchanges, and Fan Engagement with Sherlock Holmes Adaptations - Haley aka colebaltblue and Elizabeth aka sanguinity
In a world where Sherlock Holmes is the most-adapted character of film history -- and has a comparably strong showing in pastiche -- how do you discover and share the adaptations of your heart, the rare finds one might never know to look for? Fannish gift exchanges are one avenue by which fans induct each other into the rich and turbulent sea of Holmesiana, introducing a new generation to old favourites and building enthusiasm for hidden gems. Haley and Elizabeth will discuss online creative spaces and how they help the Holmesian fandom to grow and thrive, with a particular focus on the triumphs and challenges of running Holmestice, a pan-Holmesian gift exchange with a nine-year history of 900 works in 53 Holmesian universes.
​
Well-acquainted with fanfiction and fandom before BBC Sherlock arrived on the scene, Haley aka colebaltblue watched the first season and immediately went looking for fellow fans and their stories online. While Sherlock was her gateway into the incredibly wide and varied world of Holmes, it was because of a fanfic that she realized she was missing all the best parts of the story by not understanding the source material. She has been attempting to catch up on 170+ years of Holmes ever since. She is one of the founders and moderators of Holmestice, the twice-yearly pan-Holmesian fanworks exchange that celebrates all iterations of Holmes. She has her MA in Humanities and works in the software industry.
​
Elizabeth aka sanguinity has been a Holmes fan for seven years and has spent most of that time rejoicing in the great, chaotic mess that is Holmesiana: the myriad visions of the Great Detective, from dignified to bonkers; the cross-talk, homages and throw-downs between adaptations; and the serious questions sometimes posed about race, class, gender, and nationality. She moderates Holmestice, a twice-annual gift exchange for all versions of Sherlock Holmes and his (her! their!) associates, administrates the More!Holmes collection on AO3 (a collection for rarer Holmesian fandoms), and has vidded a hundred-year retrospective of Sherlock Holmes on screen. She has a BA in Mathematics and an MS in Systems Science, and entirely too many opinions about Moriarty and his mathematical interests. She is a long-time resident of Portland OR.
You Say Baritsu, and I Say Bartitsu: The True Story of the Secret Fighting Techniques of the Original Sherlock Holmes - John Longenbaugh
The original Holmes stories allude to the Great Detective being a formidable fighter in several different forms, including the mysterious "Baritsu" that he uses against Professor Moriarty. But what do the stories really say about his fighting prowess? And what is "Baritsu?" Along with a short survey of Sherlock Holmes as fighter and some history of the real-world mixed martial art that Conan Doyle was referring to, this event will include a brief demonstration by members of Seattle's 19th century martial arts club, the Barton-Wright-Alfred-Hutton-Alliance-for-Historically-Accurate-Hoplology-and-Antagonistics, or BWAHAHAHA.
​
John Longenbaugh is a writer-director based in the Pacific Northwest, whose plays have been produced across the country and in England and Canada. They include Scotch and Donuts, Arcana, How to be Cool, and Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol. He is the creator of the adventure serial BRASS, set in an alternate-history Victorian England, which is produced as a podcast, a series of short films and live stage events. An avid Sherlockian and member in good standing of Seattle's Sound of the Baskervilles, Longenbaugh has lectured at Sherlock Seattle on a variety of topics and interviewed both Laurie King and Leslie Klinger among other eminent writers. He is also an avid student of Bartitsu and a member of BWAHAHAHA, and recently lectured at Combat Con in Las Vegas on the Martial Arts of Sherlock Holmes, for which he also helped prepare a full curriculum. For more on BRASS, click here.
Sherlock Holmes in Horror & Science Fiction - Nancy Holder
Sherlock Holmes versus the dinosaurs? Holmes the time traveler? Yes, he's faced the Ripper (in pastiches) and the Hound (in the Canon) but there's so much more of the Weird in the world of Holmes. Come investigate the vast landscape not only of pastiches, but of ACD's own fascination with the supernatural and fandom's obsession with reimagining the Master in seemingly endless variations.
​
Nancy Holder is the New York Times bestselling author of over eighty novels and two hundred short stories, essays, and articles. Her awards include the 2019 Grand Master Award from the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, and five Bram Stoker Awards for supernatural fiction from the Horror Writers Association. Her work in the world of Sherlock Holmes includes creating the online storytelling game The Unsolved Cases of Sherlock Holmes for Storium™ and pastiches for In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, Gaslight Grimoire, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Was Not, The X-Files: Secret Agendas, The Further Crossovers of Sherlock Holmes, and others, as well as SH "guest-star" appearances in the Domino Lady series of comic books. She has also written an essay for the Baker Street Journal about writing Sherlock Holmes in comic book form. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Horror Writers Association, and a member of the scions the Sound of the Baskervilles, the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, and the John H. Watson Society.
Sherlock Holmes and Medicine - Bruce R. Parker, MD, BSI
Doctors and Medicine play a key role in the lives of Sherlock Holmes, his "Boswell", and his literary agent. The personalities range from a brilliant diagnostician and a famed dermatologist to an evil-minded bender of fireplace pokers. Diseases in the Canon play a role from the common, consumption, to the bizarre, ichthyosis. Drugs, poisons, dying terriers, and snakes all contribute to the problems resolved by the world's first consulting detective. In this presentation we will examine the role and significance of medicine in the brilliant adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
​
Dr. Bruce R. Parker was born in Detroit, MI, in 1937; he graduated from Harvard College in '59 and Harvard Medical School in '63, completed his Radiology Residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in 1967, and served in the USAF 1967-1969. He is currently married with two children and four grandchildren, and is a Professor of Radiology at Stanford University, where he has also taught American undergraduate credit-bearing courses in British Detectives. Bruce was invested in the Baker Street Irregulars in 1982 as "A Garrotter by Trade", and is a member of Sherlock Holmes Society of London, The Scowrers and Mollie Maguires of San Francisco, The Knights of the Gnomon of Redwood City, The John Openshaw Society of Houston, and others.
I Write of Sherlock Everywhere: Sherlockian Themes in Pastiche/Fanfiction and in Original Works - Lyndsay Faye
Thousands of people have written derivative Sherlock Holmes stories, from Neil Gaiman to Stephen Fry to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Michael Chabon (at age ten or thereabouts). But his influences are felt far more widely than the creations that name him specifically. Is it possible for a Sherlockian to write a tale wholly independent of the Great Detective and the Good Doctor? Even authors who specifically veer away from classic mystery stylings in favor of the gritty, the surreal, and the nihilistic have heard of Sherlock Holmes, and make a conscious act of rebellion. Does loving Sherlock Holmes make his intrusion into one's original work inevitable? To what extent is ALL fiction fanfiction? This will be a guided discussion with audience participation welcome.
​
Lyndsay Faye moved to Manhattan in 2005 to audition as a professional actress; her schedule opened up when her day-job restaurant was knocked down with bulldozers. Her first novel Dust and Shadow: an Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson is a tribute to the aloof genius and his good-hearted friend whose exploits she has loved since childhood. After writing fifteen additional short stories over the next six years, she collected them in the critically acclaimed The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. Her latest novel, The Paragon Hotel, follows “Nobody” Alice James as she flees the Harlem Mafia only to wind up in Ku Klux Klan-plagued Portland, Oregon in 1921.
"Hum"--Reflections on a Sherlockian World, Inspired by Poetry, Roses, and Bees - Timothy J. Johnson
Inspired by Mary Oliver's poem, "Hum," this presentation will attempt to reflect in narrative poetic form on our Sherlockian world--fandom, devotees, the lot--from the perspective of a curator for a significant Holmesian collection who believes, with Holmes, "that we have much to hope from the flowers" and, we might add, the bees.
​
Tim Johnson is Curator of Special Collections & Rare Books and the E. W. McDiarmid Curator of the Sherlock Holmes Collections for the University of Minnesota Libraries. In these capacities he oversees the University Libraries main rare book collection and over 150 special collections, including the world’s largest gathering of material related to that most famous consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. Tim has an undergraduate degree in history and graduate degrees in Library Science and Theological Studies.
A Play-acting Busybody: Essential Elements of Performing Holmes - Kris Hambrick
Over 75 actors have essayed Holmes on screen, let alone the thousands who have played him on stage. What are the elements of a Holmesian performance? How do we know a performer is Holmes? Come to a guided discussion from Holmes-on-Film scholar and Sherlockian actor, Kris 'Pepper' Hambrick.
​
Kris 'Pepper' Hambrick has been a Sherlockian since the age of 9 and the airing of "The Devil's Foot" on PBS. She's been part of various Sherlockian societies, including the Wigmore Street Post Office, Sherlock Seattle, and Sound of the Baskervilles, and has played Holmes twice on stage in the greater Seattle area.
The Origins of the Sherlock Holmes Multiverse - Brad Keefauver
Sherlockians have come to accept that Sherlock Holmes can exist in any era and any place, and alternate universe fic has demonstrated that he doesn’t even have to be a detective to still be our Sherlock. But where did our Sherlock Holmes multiverse truly begin? Have we ever actually had a stable single-universe Canon? The Pandora’s Box of Sherlocks has been opened, and once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, could be the Sherlock Holmes we had all along.
​
Brad Keefauver has been writing about Sherlock Holmes in one place or another since 1978, going from monthly newsletter columns to frequent blogging in the four decades that followed. His 1987 book, The Elementary Methods of Sherlock Holmes, was chosen by the late John Bennett Shaw for the final revision of his “Basic Sherlockian Library.” Brad has served, on one occasion or another, as head of Peoria’s Hansoms of John Clayton, discussion leader for the Hounds of the Internet, editor of The Holmes and Watson Report, and bartender for the Dangling Prussian Amateur Press Association, where real Sherlockians met in fictional form. His fascination with Sherlockian chronology and Watson’s wives has produced presentations that have eventually led him to a multiverse theory of Holmes and Watson. He has a day job as a systems analyst a healthcare system, and has managed to be a decent companion to “the good Carter,” as he sometimes refers to his wife Kathy, for thirty-seven years.
Dinner & Ball Entertainment
PROFESSOR D.R. SCHREIBER
Professor DR Schreiber is a Portland-based magic historian, performer, and teacher of young magicians. He has performed throughout the West Coast, the United Kingdom and Hungary. He is the past President and a current board member with the Portland Assembly of Society of American Magicians, a member of the Portland Society of Magicians, the Conjuring Arts Research Center and the Academy of Magical Arts (Magic Castle), as well as a certified mentor for the Society of Young Magicians, Salem and Portland chapters. Schreiber is also holds status of Full Professor at Camelard College of Conjuring Chemmis.
​
As a professor of natural philosophy, presenter of experimental conjuring, and exhibitor of legerdemain, Professor DR Schreiber evokes the spirit of early magical performances. His audiences experience illusion and mystery in the same way that 18th, 19th, and early 20th century aristocrats, nobles and elite would have seen it, in their home, mansion, or estate with a private demonstration. Professor DR Schreiber brings parlor magic back into parlors.
SHARON LEWIS "AURORA" & SHARON SANANDA KUMARA
Sharon Lewis "AurorA" is a Psychic Medium, Channel, and Energy Healer. She is a medium with the paranormal investigative team White Light Paranormal Insight. AurorA is in the documentary All Around Us (2018) based on Seth Michael McKay’s life. She is a Reiki master, uses Theta II, The Wonder method, and her own modality called Transcendental Transformation. In 2013 she founded a channeling team to bring positive messages. She is a member of a group that does experiments with long range telepathy in Oregon and Washington. AurorA makes handmade jewelry infused with the energy that we all are infinite beings of love.
​
Sharon Sananda Kumara is in service to the Portland area as a spiritual counselor, psychic-medium, hypnotherapist, past life therapist, and teacher of varied metaphysical subjects. Sharon has been assisting people with connection to their departed loved ones and personal inner guidance since 2002. She is the founder of Light Journeys Metaphysical Faire & The NW Academy of Metaphysics.
NAHAYLA
Nahayla sprang from a field of prairie flowers a long time ago in a country where tarot cards were taught in elementary school as the only true science. Gratefully, Nahayla emigrated to the Great Northwest to bring the imagery and insight of the Tarot to all in search of the world’s mysteries. She will delight and intrigue you with answers to your questions on love, life, the future, the past, and anything in between.