I was delighted to be invited as the keynote speaker for St. Peter’s College’s recent Lewis Carroll Symposium. English Club President Jonathan Brantley (wearing the stylish brown hare ears in the photo) and his fellow club members put together a great afternoon of events. As requested, I gave an informal talk about how I “fell down the rabbit hole” and became a Lewis Carroll fan for life, ending up as President of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Jonathan presented a very good paper giving attendees an overview of the creation of the two “Alice” books, and their continuing impact on our culture. There was also a frabjous and bountiful buffet of Carrollian treats, including some elegant cupcakes bearing Cheshire Cat smiles, or quotes like “Eat Me” and “Drink Me”. I was very impressed with all the organization that went into the afternoon, and had a great time talking with both students and faculty. A brillig event!
I had a number of good auditions this month, and a number of callbacks from those. No bookings, but great feedback, and so I press on! I also did more Lewis Carroll-related interviews in anticipation of the March release of the Tim Burton “Alice” film sequel. Interviews included a recorded interview for NPR, and a phone interview Charlene Gianetti for her excellent site, womanaroundtown.com. You can read the resulting article, in which I’m heavily quoted, here. I also did an interview for a Polish publication that I was assured was a cross between Time and New Yorker magazine. I’ll look forward to reading a translation of that article.
Carrollian Interviews!
As current President of the Lewis Carroll Society, I occasionally receive requests for interviews or expert answers to various Carrollian questions. I recently gave an interview to Glance magazine, and now this month I gave another to the Wall Street Journal in conjunction with the upcoming spate of adult-oriented movies based on children’s books, including Tim Burton’s upcoming riff on Alice in Wonderland, which opens 3/5/2010. The WSJ journalist and I spoke for 90 minutes, and one sentence made it into the article. That’s showbiz! I also answered an expertise question for the staff of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? They wanted to know whether Lewis Carroll had coined the word “snark.” Answer: To the best of our knowledge, yes! I told them he also came up with the term “portmanteau word” to describe a word that in today’s lingo would be called a “mash-up” of two words. Example: his word “slithy” could be a combination of “lithe” and “slimy”. Carroll’s works, including the famous poem Jabberwocky, are full of portmanteau words. Speaking of game shows, there’s a Carrollian question on Jeopardy and a clue/answer in the New York Times crossword puzzle about once a week. His works are that much a part of our popular culture.
Alice in Fort Lee, NJ!
I hosted the fall meeting of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America on 10/17. The focus was on early film versions of the Alice stories, and the meeting included a screening of the rare “Bud” Pollard version — the first “talkie” Alice in Wonderland — filmed in the early 1930’s right there in Fort Lee, NJ! Who knew Fort Lee was an early film capitol? A fascinating meeting, and a great children’s reading at nearby Elementary School #4.
I’ve been elected President again! (No, really)
I’m delighted to report that I was unanimously re-elected as President of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America for another two-year term. It’s a lot of work, but literacy is such a worthy cause!
I was elected President of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America (LCSNA).
This not-for-profit organization’s efforts include educational outreach in the form of readings and performances from the works of Lewis Carroll. Twice a year I go to schools and give free readings from either Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. If you know a school that would like a reading, or for more information, please visit www.lewiscarroll.org .
