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Sunday, November 23, 2003
Green eggs and subversion
Dr. Seuss. Even his name is a mystery. We all know the characters he created: the Grinch (which he claimed was a self-portrait), Horton the Elephant, the Star-Belly Sneetches, the Whos and, of course, his most famous creation, the Cat in the Hat, who springs to the silver screen across North America this weekend in his newest, Mike Myers incarnation.
But who the deuce was Seuss? Tell me, oh tell me, oh tell me, by Zeus!
I'll tell you, I'll tell you, I'll tell you, by Zeus, in a way that I pray will be not too abstruse.
The Globe and Mail | 23 November 2003
posted by Marco Graziosi Sunday, November 23, 2003
Saturday, November 22, 2003
Carroll birthplace put in trust's care
THE Cheshire birthplace of one of England's finest authors and academics has been handed over to the protection of the National Trust.
Lewis Carroll was born and raised at Daresbury Parsonage, which lies in a corner of a field two miles outside the village.
The double-fronted building had a lobby, parlour, study, schoolroom and seven upstairs rooms, but was destroyed by fire in 1891. The original foundation footprint and a well, however, are still preserved.
Now the Lewis Carroll Birthplace Trust, which has run the site for 11 years, has gifted it to the charity to ensure its future is secured.
ic CheshireOnline | 11 November 2003
posted by Marco Graziosi Saturday, November 22, 2003
Carroll's photos hint at deeper childhood wonderland
Lewis Carroll is best known as the author of the Alice in Wonderland books, but the shy, stammering Oxford mathematics professor, whose real name was Charles Dodgson, was as much an accomplished photographer as he was a writer. 'Dreaming in Pictures,' now on view at the Art Institute, presents 76 of the more than 3,000 photographic images Carroll produced in his life. Dating from the 1850s through the 1870s, the photos are a stunning glimpse of Carroll's take on childhood, and all the more interesting to anyone familiar with the Alice books.
Chicago Sun-Times | 21 November 2003
posted by Marco Graziosi Saturday, November 22, 2003
Friday, November 21, 2003
Kitty Litter
At one point in 'The Cat in the Hat,' the Cat, played by Mike Myers, is mistaken for a pinata by a group of children at a birthday party. One by one, they line up to smack him, and the scene culminates with a husky lad swinging a baseball bat directly into the unfortunate feline's cojones.
That's a remarkably precise metaphor for what this movie does to the memory of Dr. Seuss. If the producers had dug up Ted Geisel's body and hung it from a tree, they couldn't have desecrated the man more.
The big-screen 'Cat' represents everything corrupt, bloated, and wrong with mainstream Hollywood movies. It takes a slender toddler-classic about the joys of anarchy -- a 10-minute bedtime read at best -- and pumps it into 73 minutes of state-of-the-art vulgarity. It lets a pampered star get away with doing Austin Powers in a funny suit. It substitutes belches, farts, and splattery computer-generated effects for the good doctor's low-tech whimsy, and it makes sure there's enough product placement and soundtrack tie-ins to profitably extend the franchise well into next year.
Boston.com |21 November 2003
posted by Marco Graziosi Friday, November 21, 2003
Thursday, November 06, 2003
The Owl and the Pussy-cat
Peter Martin has created a beautiful set of animated illustrations for the best-known of Lear's poems. Take a look!
posted by Marco Graziosi Thursday, November 06, 2003
Charles Causley
Charles Causley, who died on Tuesday aged 86, was among the most important British poets of his generation.
Causley came to Westminster Abbey - once - for a ceremony, with appropriate music and readings, to unveil a stone to Edward Lear. 'That was very nice,' he remarked. 'If church were always like that, I might come more often.' He was the most compassionate and least sectarian of poets, and much loved by his fellow practitioners. Philip Larkin respected him, and John Wain would speak of him with affectionate wonder.
Telegraph | 6 November 2003
posted by Marco Graziosi Thursday, November 06, 2003
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
The Medieval Bestiary
Here begins the book of the nature of beasts.
Of lions and panthers and tigers,
wolves and foxes, dogs and apes.
~ Aberdeen Bestiary
I seldom recommend whole sites in this page, but this one deserves a careful exploration. You will find detailed descriptions of several manuscripts, a list of the beasts (many fantastic but all with fantastic descriptions) with lots of pictures and a bibliography. If this is not enough, you can download pdf editions of old texts about bestiaries.
posted by Marco Graziosi Wednesday, November 05, 2003
Monday, November 03, 2003
Inbal Pinto
Inbal Pinto's latest show, Boobies, creates a world in which characters from Edward Lear and Mervyn Peake might happily meet. On a beach sown with blue seagrass, a dropsy-bellied patriarch wages war against a sinister emerald-bearded merman. A giant warrior queen drops fledgling soldier chicks from beneath her crinoline skirt. A chorus of blue-feathered jesters dance beneath a rust red sky, and the cast of surreal cross-breeds is completed by a pair of top-heavy dinosaur fowl and a trio of a slutty cabaret songbirds.
Guardian Unlimited | Arts reviews | 3 November 2003
posted by Marco Graziosi Monday, November 03, 2003
Sunday, November 02, 2003
Foreign resident publishes book
Minster Giovanna Debono was the guest of honour at the launching of A Pomskizillious Recipe Book by Susan Lowe, last Sunday.
After congratulating the writer, Minister Debono expressed her hope that other foreign residents in Gozo would take up a familiar inspiration to promote the island on different levels. She also thanked the foreign residents who have collaborated throughout the years to contribute towards the improvement of life in Gozo.
Inspired by Edward Lear, Ms Lowe noticed that the 'writer of Nonsense verse' repeatedly mentioned food in his writings and decided to collect as much material as possible which led her to research collections in the UK and USA. Edward Lear was fascinated by Gozo and described it as pomskizillious, one of his self-invented words. This inspired Ms Lowe to entitle her book A Pomskizillious Recipe Book, which was published on the tenth anniversary of the Pomskizillious Museum of Toys in Xaghra.
The book, which contains reference to writings about Malta and Gozo, is available from the museum. All proceeds are being donated to a fund for the environment in Gozo and Malta.
The Times & The Sunday Times, Malta | 2 November 2003
posted by Marco Graziosi Sunday, November 02, 2003
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