Join Linda Cassady for a journey into the literary wonderland of Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, through the treasured Cassady Carroll Collection of USC's Special Collections. This engaging lecture explores how a remarkable book collection has inspired students to discover the genius behind Alice's adventures, transforming some into artists in their own right. Discover the extensive works by and about Lewis Carroll housed in the University of Southern California Special Collections, and learn how an innovative Wonderland Award competition sparks the imagination of Southern California students as they pursue and rediscover Dodgson's legacy. Come see how students tumble down their own rabbit holes of creativity, finding Alice in the wonderland of their own imaginations through art, literature, and scholarly exploration. The Carroll Collection The Cassady Lewis Carroll Collection was established in 2000 and has grown to contain more than 6,000 rare books, pamphlets, letters, and other items related to the work of Lewis Carroll including inscribed editions, books from Carroll‘s own library, and many works by major illustrators of the Alice stories. There are signed copies of movie scripts, playbills from stage adaptations, Victorian-era playing cards, and pop-up books. More recently, comic books, graphic novels, manga editions, literary parodies, computer games, movies, and original art work related to Carroll and his Alice books are part of the collection. The Wonderland Award The Annual Wonderland Award is an annual multidisciplinary competition at the University of Southern California that encourages new scholarship and creative work related to Lewis Carroll. A primary goal is to promote use of the G. Edward Cassady, M.D., and Margaret Elizabeth Cassady, R.N., Lewis Carroll Collection, held in Doheny Library at USC. Since 2005, about 600 students have reimagined, reinterpreted, and remixed Carroll’s stories. Submissions include film and screenplays; poetry and readings; short fiction; book art [writing desks, boxes of wonder, missing diaries]; music, lyrics, scores, and performances; art [photography, painting, digital art, art installations]; ballet and dance; golf courses, board and digital games [with music, readings, and polysyllogisms]; illustrated novels; arts and crafts [dolls, ceramic tea sets, and fashion], and scholarly essays. Linda Cassady and her husband, George Cassady, MD, gifted a Lewis Carroll Collection to the University of Southern California in 2000. Her area of "collecting” Carroll is as a sponsor and judge of the Wonderland Award, an annual multidisciplinary competition that encourages new scholarship and creative work related to Lewis Carroll. Linda is a member of the USC Libraries Board of Councilors. She is the past president and current treasurer of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Coronado Public Library on Facebook / Instagram
