Yesterday, chief art critic at the UK Telegraph newspaper, Richard Dorment, gave the exhibition a three star review (“by no means all the work [...]]]> Rounding off our coverage of the Tate Liverpool’s Alice in Wonderland exhibition, here’s a video interview with co-curator Christop Schulz that gives some tantalizing glimpses of the artwork on display.

Yesterday, chief art critic at the UK Telegraph newspaper, Richard Dorment, gave the exhibition a three star review (“by no means all the work in the show is terrible . . .”), nevertheless, we still wish Liverpool was a little easier to get to on public transit (from California). For the rest of this month we will focus on Alice news and events more accessible to folks in the New World, we promise.

The LCSNA’s beautiful 234-page hardcover is a delightful portmanteau accomplishment, combining entertaining and heartfelt [...]]]> Callooh!  Callay!!  We are delighted to announce that the LCSNA has just published a frabjous new book paying tribute to the late, great Martin Gardner–columnist, philosopher, polymath, magician, religious thinker, and author of more than 70 books, including the groundbreaking Annotated Alice. 

The LCSNA’s beautiful 234-page hardcover is a delightful portmanteau accomplishment, combining entertaining and heartfelt reminiscences from those who knew Gardner with a traditional festschrift (academic essays written in his honor).  The book is introduced by Gardner’s son Jim, and includes  contributions from such noted authors as Douglas Hofstadter, Morton N. Cohen, Scott Kim, David Singmaster, Michael Patrick Hearn, Raymond Smullyan, and Robin Wilson, to name but a few.  Our book also contains Gardner’s own final, post-”Definitive Edition” addenda to his towering Annotated Alice classic, as well as an authoritative bibliography of Gardner’s Carroll-related writings.

A Bouquet for the Gardener is a must-read for anyone who loves Lewis Carroll, puzzles, logic, math, and great thinking on a wide range of topics.  Current members of the LCSNA will be mailed one free copy as a bonus of membership.  We are thrilled to be able to make this important book available to the public as well via Amazon (US link; UK link).  Members can also buy additional copies on Amazon.

Our thanks to all who contributed to this effort, both on the pages and behind the scenes.  It is impossible to overstate the debt we all owe to Martin Gardner.  We invite you to join us in saying thank you and in celebrating his remarkable life by reading A Bouquet for the Gardener.

Thanks to our host Brewster Kahle and the magnificent Internet Archive, last month’s San Francisco/Petaluma meeting is now available online. If you missed the event, or would like to relive the highlights, you can download any or all of the [...]]]> All the thrills of the LCSNA Spring 2011 Meeting in the privacy of your own home!

Thanks to our host Brewster Kahle and the magnificent Internet Archive, last month’s San Francisco/Petaluma meeting is now available online. If you missed the event, or would like to relive the highlights, you can download any or all of the meeting segments here.

The mission of the Internet Archive is to offer permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital format. We encourage you to watch founder Brewster Kahle’s address to the meeting to learn how the Lewis Carroll Society of North America could, like the Grateful Dead, be at the forefront of media preservation – ensuring the immortality of Alice for future generations.

The Internet Archive, San Francisco

It may be tricky to type, and it could be a struggle to fit it on your business card, but it sure is memorable.

The Hunting of the Snark is an animated feature [...]]]> Assuming the filmmakers don’t meet with a Boojum, there will be a British stop-motion animation of Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark released in 2012. Our very own Andrew Sellon (LCSNA President emeritus) recorded some voice over work, including the role of the Judge!

The Hunting of the Snark is an animated feature about a group of strange individuals that embark on a voyage with the aim of capturing “The Snark,” regardless of the fact that none of them even know what it is, or how to catch it, the film is  directed by Saranne Bensusan with several other confirmed crew members.

Their website is here, there is a twitter you can follow for updates, and a facebook fan page. Here are a few pictures of the process:

Early version of The Baker

"Bathing machines"

If you’re a fan of Lewis Carroll, Alice, the Snark, and you’re anywhere near the NYC area, you should check out the Events page of the LCSNA’s web site to see the full agenda for our fall meeting, to be held in Manhattan on Saturday, [...]]]>

The Mystery of Lewis Carroll, by Jenny Woolf

If you’re a fan of Lewis Carroll, Alice, the Snark, and you’re anywhere near the NYC area, you should check out the Events page of the LCSNA’s web site to see the full agenda for our fall meeting, to be held in Manhattan on Saturday, November 6th.  The impressive roster of speakers includes noted author and critic Adam Gopnik, who will be discussing whether recent adaptations do or do not honor Lewis Carroll’s original works, as well as Carroll biographer Jenny Woolf, who is traveling over from England specifically for this event.  Many of the speakers will be signing copies of their latest book(s), available in limited quantity at the meeting for a special 20% discount.   There will be a three-course dinner at Josephina’s after the meeting, for the Carrollian cost of $42 per person.

In addition to the wonderful agenda posted on our site, we’ve just learned that member Mahendra Singh will also be on hand to sell and sign copies of his new edition of The Hunting of the Snark.  This is a don’t miss meeting.  It occurs on the weekend of the NY Marathan, however, so if you need accommodations, you should check with hotels (or local friends!) right away. 

Please remember to let Secretary Clare Imholtz know if you plan to attend so that we can keep track of the headcount, as we expect a big turnout and seating is limited.  You don’t need to be a member to attend our free meetings.  We hope to see you there!

“Namesake is the story of Emma Crewe, a woman who discovers she can visit other worlds. She finds out that these are places she [...]]]> Isabelle Melançon, creator of the new web comic Namesake, which has just launched, promises that Lewis Carroll, Alice, and many familiar fairy tale characters figure prominently in the story.  From the web site:

“Namesake is the story of Emma Crewe, a woman who discovers she can visit other worlds. She finds out that these are places she already knows – fantasy and fairy lands made famous through the spoken word, literature and cinema. Her power as a Namesake forces her to act as a protagonist in these familiar stories as she figures out how to get home.  But as she travels, she discovers that those controlling her story have their own selfish goals in mind – and her fate is the key to everyone’s happy ending.  Join Emma, her sister Elaine and their friends as they tumble down the rabbit hole.  If you like, adventure, humor, stories of friendship, fairy tales and fantasy, this is the webcomic for you.”

Click the image on this post to visit the site.  Since the comic will have new content three times a week, if you like what you see, you might want to subscribe to the site’s RSS feed to make sure you see the prologue and all subsequent pages.