Mark Burstein (editor)

Last updated
Mark Burstein Mark Burstein.jpg
Mark Burstein

Mark Burstein (born 1950) is an author, book editor and expert on the works of Lewis Carroll. [1] He is a lifelong Carrollian and has been a key figure in the Lewis Carroll Society of North America (LCSNA). [2]

Contents

Lewis Carroll expert

Burstein's father, Sandor G. Burstein, inspired him with a love for the works of Lewis Carroll at an early age. [3] He has served the Lewis Carroll Society of North America (LCSNA) as its president, publications chair, [4] and longtime editor of its magazine, Knight Letter. [5] In 1979 he and Sandor founded The West Coast Chapter of LCSNA, Mark serving as its first and only president. [2] [6]

Burstein has written, edited, or made contributions to over twenty books by or about Lewis Carroll. [3] He was the editor and art director of the deluxe 150th Anniversary Edition of Martin Gardner's The Annotated Alice (W. W. Norton, 2015), and of the first trade edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland illustrated by Salvador Dalí (Princeton, 2015). [7] He is the series editor of The Complete Pamphlets of Lewis Carroll Volumes V and VI (LCSNA/University of Virginia Press, 2015, 2020). His books have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, French, Korean, and Spanish.

Burstein continues to build the collection of Carrollian memorabilia begun by his father, Sandor. [8] [9] He owns over two thousand editions of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  and Through the Looking-Glass [6] in 140 languages, [10] [11] and around two thousand additional books by or about Lewis Carroll. [12] [1]

Martin Gardner

Burstein is a longtime admirer of fellow Carrollian and Scientific American columnist Martin Gardner. [13] In 2011 he created and edited A Bouquet for the Gardener: Martin Gardner Remembered (LCSNA, 2011), with contributions from other Gardner aficionados including Raymond Smullyan, Douglas Hofstadter and David Singmaster. [12] In 2015 he edited the aforementioned anniversary edition of Gardner's Annotated Alice. [7]

In April 2022 he gave two talks at the 14th Gathering 4 Gardner; first a featured presentation titled What IS It about Alice? [3] and then a talk about the many occurrences of Lewis Carroll in Gardner's "Mathematical Games" column titled A Literary Englishman and the Scientific American: Lewis Carroll’s Appearances in ‘Mathematical Games'. [3]

Comics and Comix

Burstein is a connoisseur and collector in the field of the American comic strip, particularly Pogo , and the Underground Comix of the 1960s and 70s. His books include Much Ado: The POGOfenokee Trivia Book (Eclipse Books, 1988), Alice in Comicland, [14] and Dave Sheridan: Life with Dealer McDope, The Leather Nun , and The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (Fantagraphics Underground, 2018). [15]

Personal

Burstein got a BA at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) in 1972. [16] A longtime supernumerary with the San Francisco Opera, he lives in Petaluma, California, surrounded by a huge collection of Carrollian memorabilia. [9] He is married to Llisa Demetrios, granddaughter of both Charles Eames and Virginia Lee Burton. They have two children, Martin and Sonja.

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

John Tenniel British illustrator and cartoonist (1820–1914)

Sir John Tenniel was an English illustrator, graphic humorist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. He was knighted for artistic achievements in the 1893 Queen's Birthday Honours List. Tenniel is remembered mainly as the principal political cartoonist for Punch magazine for over 50 years and for his illustrations to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871).

Jabberwocky Nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll

"Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). The book tells of Alice's adventures within the back-to-front world of Looking-Glass Land.

<i>Through the Looking-Glass</i> Book by Lewis Carroll

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a novel published on 27 December 1871 by Lewis Carroll and the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it. There she finds that, just like a reflection, everything is reversed, including logic.

The Annotated Alice is a 1960 book by Martin Gardner incorporating the text of Lewis Carroll's major tales, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871), as well as the original illustrations by John Tenniel. It has extensive annotations explaining the contemporary references, mathematical concepts, word play, and Victorian traditions featured in the two books.

<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i> 1865 childrens novel by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 English children's novel by Lewis Carroll. A young girl named Alice falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre.

Alice (<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i>) Fictional character from Carrolls "Alices Adventures in Wonderland"

Alice is a fictional character and the main protagonist of Lewis Carroll's children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass (1871). A child in the mid-Victorian era, Alice unintentionally goes on an underground adventure after accidentally falling down a rabbit hole into Wonderland; in the sequel, she steps through a mirror into an alternative world.

Alice Liddell Basis of the character in "Alice in Wonderland"

Alice Pleasance Hargreaves, was, in her childhood, an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip became the children's classic 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She shared her name with "Alice", the heroine of the story, but scholars disagree about the extent to which the character was based upon her.

March Hare Fictional character from Alices Adventures in Wonderland

The March Hare is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Duchess (<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i>)

The Duchess is a character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published in 1865. Carroll does not describe her physically in much detail, although as stated in Chapter 9, "Alice did not much like keeping so close to her: first, because the Duchess was very ugly; and secondly, because she was exactly the right height to rest her chin upon Alice’s shoulder, and it was an uncomfortably sharp chin." Her hideous appearance and short stature is strongly established in the popular imagination thanks to John Tenniel's illustrations and from context it is clear that Alice finds her quite unattractive.

<i>A New Alice in the Old Wonderland</i>

A New Alice in the Old Wonderland is a fantasy novel written by Anna M. Richards, illustrated by Anna M. Richards Jr., and published in 1895 by J. B. Lippincott of Philadelphia. According to Carolyn Sigler, it is one of the more important "Alice imitations", or novels inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice books.

The Lewis Carroll Society of North America (LCSNA) is a learned, not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering interest in the life and works of the Rev. Charles L. Dodgson, known to the world as Lewis Carroll, through its publications, and by providing a forum for speakers and scholars, and helping collectors, students, and other Carroll enthusiasts connect with each other.

"How Doth the Little Crocodile" is a poem by Lewis Carroll which appears in chapter 2 of his 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alice recites it while attempting to recall "Against Idleness and Mischief" by Isaac Watts. It describes a crafty crocodile that lures fish into its mouth with a welcoming smile.

Red Queen (<i>Through the Looking-Glass</i>)

The Red Queen is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Lewis Carroll's fantasy 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass. She is often confused with the Queen of Hearts from the previous book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), although the two are very different.

Alice in Wonderland dress

Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of the most iconic figures to emerge from 19th century children's literature, and one who is instantly recognized by her attire. Although many artists have depicted Alice in many different ways, the original illustrations by John Tenniel have become iconic through their subsequent repetition in most published editions and film adaptations.

"You Are Old, Father William" is a poem by Lewis Carroll that appears in his 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is recited by Alice in Chapter 5, "Advice from a Caterpillar". Alice informs the Caterpillar that she has previously tried to repeat "How Doth the Little Busy Bee" and has had it all come wrong as "How Doth the Little Crocodile". The Caterpillar asks her to repeat "You Are Old, Father William", and she recites.

Lewis Carroll British writer, Anglican deacon and photographer (1832–1898)

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass (1871). He was noted for his facility with word play, logic, and fantasy. His poems Jabberwocky (1871) and The Hunting of the Snark (1876) are classified in the genre of literary nonsense.

<i>Clara in Blunderland</i>

Clara in Blunderland is a novel by Caroline Lewis, written in 1902 and published by William Heinemann of London. It is a political parody of Lewis Carroll's two books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). The book was followed a year later by a sequel, Lost in Blunderland.

In a publishing career spanning 80 years (1930-2010), popular mathematics and science writer Martin Gardner (1914-2010) authored or edited over 100 books and countless articles, columns and reviews.

Illustrators of <i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i>

Illustrators of the Alice books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871), number more than 100. The focus here is on English-language editions. Many other artists have created illustrations for non-English language editions. The illustrator for the original editions was John Tenniel, whose illustrations for Alice and Looking Glass are perhaps the best known illustrations ever published. This article is an ongoing attempt to list all major illustrators of the Alice books from 1899 to the present day.

Charlie Lovett is a bestselling novelist, bibliophile, podcast producer, children's playwright and expert on both the works and the life of Lewis Carroll. He has the world's largest collection of Carollean memorabilia and was twice president of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America.

References

  1. 1 2 Q&A with Mark Burstein on "The Annotated Alice" 150th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, BookCulture
  2. 1 2 Chronological List of The Meetings of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America 1974 – by August A. Imholtz, Jr. and Mark Burstein
  3. 1 2 3 4 Featured Presenters The 14th Biennial Gathering 4 Gardner Conference (2020): "Why is Alice in Wonderland, along with the other Alice books, so prevalent in our culture and around the world? Why is Alice the most quoted and widely illustrated novel in English, as well as one of the most translated?"
  4. Officers LCSNA
  5. The Knight Letter Official website of the LCSNA
  6. 1 2 Radio Interview With Current LCSNA President on Carroll’s Birthday The Blog of the LCSNA, January 28, 2014
  7. 1 2 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: 150th Anniversary Edition by Lewis Carroll, Illustrated by Salvador Dalí, Edited by Mark Burstein Thomas Banchoff
  8. Mark Burstein & Alice: a World of the Mind by Bruce E. McKinney, Rare Book Monthly, January 2004 Issue
  9. 1 2 Knight Letter No. 98, Spring 2017 LCSNA: "The Burstein Carroll collection is located in a tower in one of two large buildings on the Burstein ranch in Petaluma. Over the years, he has built on and expanded the Carroll collection begun by his late father, Sandor Burstein, whose name will be well known to many Carrollians. Ranged in rows in the main room are stuffed White Rabbits and several egg-like figurines of the Humpty Dumpty variety. The 'Drink Me' collection offers many Wonderland-inspired potables, including Babble Mendocino red wine, a vin extraordinaire with Tenniel illustrations on the label."
  10. Author: Carroll Rare Book Room
  11. Burstein’s collection includes translations of Carroll books in Dutch, Esperanto, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Persian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and Swahili.
  12. 1 2 Books by Mark Burstein at Amazon
  13. The annotated Alice : Alice's adventures in wonderland & through the looking-glass edited by Mark Burstein and Martin Gardner, Buffalo Public Library: "Martin Gardner's groundbreaking work went on to sell over a million copies, establishing the modest math genius as one of our foremost Carroll scholars."
  14. Alice in Comicland New York Journal of Books
  15. Dave Sheridan: Life with Dealer McDope, the Leather Nun, and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers by Dave Sheridan and Mark Burstein
  16. UCSC Campus Directory 1972: Mark Burstein University of California at Santa Cruz