The week before Edward Gorey died I happened to see an exhibit of his work at SF's cartoon museum. I've been fascinated with his drawings since I began watching PBS's Mystery! with my mom back in the early 80s. (I also have very fond memories of us practicing yoga together along with PBS when I was a toddler. Well, she practiced while I mostly did headstands.) I don't remember when I realized he wasn't actually British, but perhaps an anglophile like me. Anyway, the Morning News links to this interview with Gorey at PBS.org. Apparently he "devoured" Dracula at the tender age of five and, of course, it scared him to death. Funny how when we're feeling our most immortal we're so easily terrified by our own imagination. An excerpt from the interview: Which MYSTERY! series seems to fit most neatly into the world of Edward Gorey?
Any of the period ones do to some extent. I suppose the Agatha Christie stuff they've done is vaguely like some of my period drawings. I very much like the Tommy and Tuppence ones, the Partners in Crime. I quite admire Joan Hickson, but she's just a little too dark for Miss Marple. I'm old enough to love Margaret Rutherford's Miss Marple, even though I know perfectly well she wasn't Christie's idea of Miss Marple.
--Kim
I love Edward Gorey, too! He's like a precursor to Tim Burton (I just watched Johnny Depp do Willy Wonka over the weekend -- freaky!). Speaking of freaky, Gorey did this children's book called "The Bug Book" which is one of the most random things ever. I remember when I used to work at the local library as a teen, I laughingly pointed it out to the children's librarian who was horrified and subsequently removed it from the shelf. -- Amy
ReplyDeleteI'm a big Gorey fan as well. He's missed.
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