I have never read L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900. Isn’t that terrible? The illustrations by W.W. Dinslow I have always loved from a distance. Perhaps I lost interest in the reading when my first-grade class production never got off the ground. (I was supposed to play Toto, whose safety was always a cause for worry.) That’s a long time to hold a grudge!

At the museum we are in the midst of Oz-tober, a celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the Technicolor film version starring Judy Garland. Chicagoans have a lot of reasons to celebrate Baum. Though he was born in New York and died in California, we still claim him as our own for good reason. Baum saw the White City of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition through a green lens. He lived in Chicago for many years, his family hopping from neighborhood to neighborhood as he wrote. Oz Park, near DePaul University, anchors the fruits of his boundless imagination in our local ground, the “emerald” on the Midwestern prairie. If you suspect that you have left Kansas, you just might find yourself in Lincoln Park.

I must say my appreciation of Baum (1856-1919) and the land of Oz has never been stronger. Having seen the film at least 70 times now, to be safe, there is no better time than the present to dig into Baum and then turn to what other writers say about him now. The museum is doing just that this weekend—looking at Baum’s connection to Chicago with tours and a lecture.

Baum’s vision was also anchored in the everyday, the details and stuff that surround us, the simple reminders of where and how you make your home. Any idea or resource is ripe for the taking and embeds his fantasy. I’m sure it is obvious to longtime fans, but it never dawned on me that he named Elphaba after his initials. Ever tried this? His combination comes off as much more elegant than mine does.

The detail I like best, however, is the humble origin of the land of Oz, the file cabinet label. The story goes that Baum’s eyes struck a file cabinet with individual drawers labeled A-N and O-Z. Oz is within your reach, somewhere over the rainbow or in a desk drawer. Find it, create it. And read!

> Learn more about Oz-tober events

Tags: 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Emerald City, Jill Grannan, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Park, Oz-tober, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, White City

This entry was posted on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Collections, Events, Film, History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.