Evolution of Alice exhibit at Milner Library

Photos from the new exhibit of "The Evolution of Alice in Wonderland for 150 years" at Milner Library at Illinois State University. 

Title of Alice in Wonderland exhibit near Special Collections on the 6th floor of Milner Library at Illinois State UniversityA first edition of Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and materials inspired by Alice.

Alice puppets from the library's Lois Lenski collections

Alice in Wonderland exhibit opening at ISU's Milner Library

Twelve different illustrators' interpretations of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland will be exhibited in the special collections section of Illinois State University's Milner Library. Included in the exhibit will be Alice related items such as posters and fashion.

Thanks to the Maureen Brunsdale, special collections librarian, and Reiley Bonislawski, Milner library intern and an English major at ISU, who made this exhibit possible.

We have received quite a bit of media attention.

• WMBD-TV reported on putting up the show on Thursday, Nov. 5. http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/celebrating-150-years-of-alice

• The Vidette's reporter Brent Bader did several interviews to write his article on the show "Milner Library Celebrates Alice in Wonderland's 150th anniversary." (Nov. 3, 2015) http://www.videtteonline.com/index.php/2015/11/03/milner-library-celebrates-alice-in-wonderlands-150th-anniversary/

• WJBC interviewed me and Reiley Bonislawski last month for a preview about the exhibit.

• The Pantagraph had a mention of the show in its roundup article about arts events this weekend. http://www.pantagraph.com/entertainment/go/art-round-the-corner-and-beyond/article_a9fa31a0-c936-5cad-99a2-a3a0e0394012.html

Into the Woods, Into rethinking fairy tales

The new Disney film Into the Woods delves into fairy tales by looking at them through a psychological lens. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine also wanted to ask the question "What happens after fairy tales end?" when they produced the musical on Broadway.

Should fairy tales be re-told and re-imagined? As I explained in this article on the ISU Media Relations site, "Into the Woods fractured fairy tales right on track," people are constantly looking at fairy tales as a kind of mirror to understanding contemporary times. Fairy tales, which were once mainly told to adults around fire on cold winter nights, are now routinely seen as children's literature. Yet, they are still scary, still intended to teach about harsh reality, and are riveting entertainment. For further thoughts, check out the article.

Thanks to Rachel Hatch for interviewing me for the ISU Media Relations article.

Mary Poppins, P. L. Travers & ISU connections, an interview on WGLT

Thanks to Judy Valente for her delightful interview of me on WGLT about Mary Poppins as both a delightful filmJulie Andrews as Mary Poppins and P. L. Travers, author of the book and a popular children's book as well as a small, but interesting connection of ISU to P. L. Travers. Judy is such a great interviewer.

Disney's Mary Poppins film was released 50 years ago this week. As we learned in the recent Disney film Saving Mr. Banks, P. L. Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins series, was never happy with the adaptation. Pamela Travers was opinionated, but thoughtful, and certainly had a wide range of interests including Zen Buddhism and mytical Sufism. 

In the WGLT interview, Judy asks why Mary Poppins, the film, has such a long-standing appeal with both adults and children. I think that it is partly because Travers understood that children whose lives are in even a small amount of dissarray fantasize about order and everything working out. But it is also because Walt Disney understood the humor and charm of the story and could add the studio's magic to make it wonderful entertainment. Finally, the film causes adults to not only reflect back on their childhood but to consider how they are as parents; are they fulfilling their own hopes and dreams for their family?  The film is more complicated than we perhaps realized when we saw it as children, but that, in turn, makes seeing it again just as fulfilling.

Thanks, again, to Judy Valente for the opportunity to thoughtfully reflect on the delightful film as it turns 50.

Illinois connection to Walt Disney and Mary Poppins

Walt Disney grew up, partly, in Illinois.  The first person to get P. L. Travers to admit that she didn't really like the Disney version of her popular book Mary Poppins was from Illinois State University.  I spoke about these connections to ISU's Media Relations in a nice article by Rachel Hatch.  Here's the link: http://mediarelations.illinoisstate.edu/report/1314/march4/disney.asp