Tag Archives: L. Frank Baum

Dorothy and the Oklahoma Earthquakes

By Robin Bates | Published: November 12, 2015

Oklahoma is now #1 in the world for number of earthquakes. “Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz” is also about a midwesterner encountering earthquakes for the first time.

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Trump & GOP Tax Plans: All Humbug

By Robin Bates | Published: September 29, 2015

Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Jeb Bush have all presented tax plans that claim to be populist even as they mainly benefit the wealthy. The Wizard of Oz would feel right at home in their company.

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The Wicked Witch, Disillusioned Dreamer

By Robin Bates | Published: July 1, 2015

Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked,” like versions of the Oz story before it, wrestles with the death of the American Dream.

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Hillary Will Be Cast as a Witch

By Robin Bates | Published: April 23, 2015

Prepare to see Hillary Clinton cast by the GOP in the role of the Wicked Witch of the West

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Erdrich Charts a Third Way for Fantasy

By Robin Bates | Published: March 31, 2015

L. Frank Baum and Edgar Allen Poe represent the light and the dark strains of American fantasy. But Louise Erdrich introduces a third strain, Native American, to the conversation.

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When American Fantasies Are Dangerous

By Robin Bates | Published: March 23, 2015

The denial of reality that has taken over certain segments of the GOP is well described by Neil Gaiman in “American Gods.” America has a long tradition of such fantasizing.

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Sarah Palin as Dorothy

By Robin Bates | Published: February 12, 2015

Sarah Palin’s attraction in part lay in the way that she seemed to be a reincarnation of MGM’s Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.”

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Wizard of Oz, America’s Greatest Fairy Tale

By Robin Bates | Published: February 11, 2015

“The Wizard of Oz” is the quintessential American fairy tale, with roots in a 19th century depression.

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Oklahoma Tornado Recalls Dorothy’s

By Robin Bates | Published: May 22, 2013

The Oklahoma tornado recalls literature’s most famous tornado in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

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