Letters

Thursday, May 28, 1998

Letters

Queenly

clarification

A few people have reacted negatively, alas, to my brief
reference at the inauguration to the Queen of Sheba, and I do hope
you will let me briefly respond. It had nothing to do with Ms.
Mosley. It was directed at the chancellor and followed on the fact
that I was introducing the second musical piece, an extract from
Randall Johnson’s "The Song of Solomon," which spoke to the ancient
theme of giving advice to a ruler. Solomon’s story instantly brings
to mind the famous judgment over who was the real mother of the
disputed baby, and the visit of the Sabean queen, very rich and
very wise, who came to see how wise Solomon truly was. Eventually
the king passed the test, but not before he had been "proved" with
"hard questions"; the baby judgment had been easy by comparison! I
wanted to allude for a moment to these wonderful images about the
nature of leadership, and, in a way, to take a kind dig at the
chancellor as a Solomon yet to pass his tests. I apologize if I
have upset anyone. I hope people will read I Kings 10 (or 2
Chronicles 9 where the story is repeated).

Michael Allen

Professor of English