Welcome back to Blogmas 2025, my annual series of holiday-themed blog posts that runs every day through Christmas. This year, I've enlisted the help of AI to generate daily writing prompts, which has led to some interesting creative challenges and unexpected topics. Today's prompt for December 19th asks a deeply personal question: If you could … Continue reading Where Magic Still Lives: Choosing My Fictional Christmas
L. Frank Baum
More Than Yellow Brick Roads
When L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, readers saw a delightful children's fantasy about a Kansas farm girl who finds herself in a magical land. What they didn't realize was that Baum had created one of the most sophisticated commentaries on American society ever disguised as a fairy tale. Through … Continue reading More Than Yellow Brick Roads
The Tik-Tok Man: An Early Example of Artificial Intelligence in Literature
In an age when artificial intelligence dominates technological discourse, it's illuminating to look back at early literary representations of thinking machines. Long before the term "robot" entered our lexicon and decades before Isaac Asimov formulated his famous Three Laws of Robotics, L. Frank Baum introduced readers to a remarkable mechanical being in his Oz series … Continue reading The Tik-Tok Man: An Early Example of Artificial Intelligence in Literature
Good Bye Yellow Brick Road
When L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, he could hardly have imagined that his "modernized fairy tale" would become one of the most analyzed works of American literature. While Baum consistently maintained that he wrote simply "to please children," the rich tapestry of symbolism and allegory woven throughout his narrative … Continue reading Good Bye Yellow Brick Road
Disability and Difference in Oz: A Journey Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
When L. Frank Baum penned The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, little did he know he was creating a world that would captivate readers for generations. The Land of Oz, with its colorful characters and fantastical landscapes, has become a cultural touchstone. But beneath the emerald sheen and silver shoes lies a more nuanced … Continue reading Disability and Difference in Oz: A Journey Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
The Confusing Middle 