Ellen Handler Spitz, Visual Arts, in the New Republic

In her recent column for the New Repulbic entitled “Yellow Brick Philosophy,” Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College professor of visual arts, revisits L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the first in his series of Oz books. She addresses rumors that the series will be revisited by Hollywood:

It may be too much to hope that a new movie of Oz directed by Sam Raimi will try to convey any of this intellectual richness. Yet beyond spreading color, invention, and enchantment, L. Frank Baum’s masterpiece remains a literary work that inspires children to think; its well-worn printed pages and its quaint pictures open onto serious and expansive vistas of mental excursion.