Did "Avonian Willy" Write the Works of William Shakespeare?

I never liked the Anti-Avonian theories because I always saw them as anti-individual.

Allow me to set this up with one of my particular meanders.

Last night, I thought about Richard Pryor. I googled him. The Wiki article mentions that he performed at the same venues as Bob Dylan and Woody Allen. My first reaction was that those must have been great shows.

Today, it occurred to me that the Anti-Avonians -- the people who think everyone alive between 1564 and 1616 wrote the plays with the exception of "The Stratford MAn -- object to Billy because he did not have a university degree.

Scholar and critic Jonathan Bate outlined the most important playwrights who were age peers of of Avonian Willy. Only half of them had university degrees, including Ben Jonson.

But -- and you were wondering at the non sequitur, right? -- Richard Pryor, Woody Allen and Bob Dylan are all without university degrees and how many thousands of people consider them geniuses? How many people have been entertained by them? How many people say they changed comedy, film and music?

Genius is genius. Genius may be its own reward.