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Arne Nixon Center to host Burnett
international conference April 25-27

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The Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature, a department of the Henry Madden Library, will host the first conference ever to examine the life and works of Frances Hodgson Burnett, April 25-27 at Fresno State. The "Frances Hodgson Burnett: Beyond the Secret Garden Conference" is attracting participants from England, Ireland, Japan and many parts of the United States.

Frances Hodgson Burnett is renowned for her classic children's books "The Secret Garden," "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and "A Little Princess." The fact that most of her more than 60 best-selling novels were written for adults is not so well known. These books, with subjects like working women, single motherhood, abusive marriages and the interaction of cultures, are sparking new, international interest. The conference will bring together all of the major authors who have written about Burnett and will present new research by international experts in children's literature.

The deadline for conference registration is April 11. Optional university credit is available. For more information, see www.arnenixoncenter.org, e-mail anc@listserv.csufresno.edu or call 8-8116.

Burnett's novel "The Making of a Marchioness" recently has been republished in England with an Afterword by the conference's keynote speaker, Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina. Gerzina is a Vassar Professor of English whose new biography of Burnett will be published by Rutgers University Press this year. Her keynote speech is entitled "Not Just for Children: The Life and Legacy of Frances Hodgson Burnett." Gerzina's other books include "Black London: Life Before Emancipation and Carrington."

Pulitzer Prize winner Alison Lurie, who teaches children's literature at Cornell University, will deliver a lecture at the conference on "The Making of a Marchioness." Lurie, who won the Pulitzer for her novel "Foreign Affairs," is the author of "Boys and Girls Forever: Children's Classics from Cinderella to Harry Potter" and "Don't Tell the Grown-Ups: The Subversive Power of Children's Literature."

Ann Thwaite, Burnett's principal biographer, author of "Waiting for the Party: The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1849-1924," will also be a featured speaker. Thwaite is the esteemed British author of "A. A. Milne: The Man Behind Winnie-the-Pooh" and "The Brilliant Career of Winnie-the-Pooh: The Definitive History of the Best Bear in All the World."

Other featured conference speakers will include Phyllis Bixler, author of "Frances Hodgson Burnett" (Twayne's English Authors Series); Angelica Shirley Carpenter, Curator of the Arne Nixon Center and author of "Frances Hodgson Burnett: Beyond the Secret Garden;" Michael Cart, librarian, teacher, Booklist columnist, and author of "From Romance to Realism, a History of Young Adult Literature;" and Penny Deupree, Frances Hodgson Burnett's great-granddaughter.

Other conference presenters include Carole Dunbar, lecturer, St. Patrick's College in Drumcondra, Ireland; Jerry Griswold, professor of English and Comparative Literature, San Diego State University, and author of "Audacious Kids: Coming of Age in America's Classic Children's Books"; and Ariko Kawabata, assistant professor, Aichi Prefectural University, Japan.

Back to University Journal, 4/03 Issue