Fun home, the tony awardwinning show based on alison bechdels graphic memoir, combines textured character psychology and nuanced storytelling with the enchantment of a score that can go. Feb 24, 2017 fun home, the tony awardwinning show based on alison bechdels graphic memoir, combines textured character psychology and nuanced storytelling with the enchantment of a score that can go. Alison bechdel is an american illustrator and graphic novel author early life. Internationally renowned cartoonist alison bechdel was the closing keynote speaker at acrl 2019 in cleveland. One day, alison was filling in the caravan with her favorite color, midnight blue. Fun home composer hits back at claims lesbian character.
Originally best known for the longrunning comic strip dykes to watch out for, in 2006 she became a bestselling and critically acclaimed author with her graphic memoir fun home. For readers unfamiliar with her work, it might appear that alison bechdel came out of nowhere to receive critical acclaim for her comic memoir fun home. Bruce had read alison bits of the story from the real version of the book, and alison notes that in one scene the character mr. Fun home is a musical adapted by lisa kron and jeanine tesori from alison bechdel s 2006 graphic memoir of the same name. Alison bechdel reprises beloved dykes to watch out for. Before the tonywinning musicals national tour, a look at. Bechdels coming out as a lesbian is complicated by the revelation that bruce was a closeted homosexual whose extra. Bechdels book covers her life from childhood to adulthood and switches locations frequently. Fun home creator alison bechdel on turning a tragic. Alison bechdel, one of todays most acclaimed living cartoonists, is the author of the serial comic strip dykes to watch out for, as well as the groundbreaking graphic memoir fun home. Instead it led to terrible upset, she tells emma brockes. Writerartist alison bechdels book fun home, a memoir in graphic novel format, was published in 2006 to critical acclaim.
A third of the way through her seminal autobiographical graphic novel, fun home, alison bechdel reveals the reasons for the many literary allusionshenry james, fitzgerald, camus, greek mythologypeppered throughout the book. Alison bechdel grapples with the legacy of her father, a closeted gay man who was the town undertaker. It digresses into such topics as art, music, film and existential philosophy. Alisons story within the book, then, is one of a difficult but ultimately successful growing up, in which alison becomes aware and accepting of who she is. Alison bechdel tickets for the upcoming concert tour are on sale at stubhub. Alison bechdel, born september 10, 1960, lock haven, pennsylvania, u.
Based on alison bechdels bestselling graphic memoir. Originally best known for the long running comic strip. Confessions, comix, and miscellaneous dykes to watch out for. Alison bechdel never imagined that a fullcircle moment would occur when she set out to write her 2006 graphic memoir tracing her coming of age as a. A family tragicomic and the comic strip dykes to watch out for. Lesbian cartoonist alison bechdel countered dads secrecy by being out and open the musical and graphic novel fun home describe bechdels coming out, and her dads closeted homosexuality. Harvard book store is excited to welcome acclaimed memoirist and cartoonist alison bechdel for a discussion of her new memoir, are you my mothera comic drama. Alison bechdel hoped that fun home, her very personal graphic memoir, would heal her familys wounds. Books by alison bechdel all formats kindle edition paperback hardcover sort by. Jun 15, 2017 bechdel s book covers her life from childhood to adulthood and switches locations frequently. The bechdel testwhich highlights gender inequality in the film industrystarted as a joke in macarthur genius alison bechdels selfsyndicated dykes to watch out for.
The bechdel test, proposed by cartoonist alison bechdel in a 1985. Lesbian cartoonist alison bechdel countered dads secrecy. Avery anderson sat down with kate shindle and robert petkoff to talk about the first national tour of fun home. He was a thirdgeneration mortician from beech creek, pennsylvania, a teacher, antique furniture collector, past president of. He was the son of claude and dorothy bechdel bechdel. Alison bechdel, author of the graphic novel fun home, muses on her groundbreaking body of work, her fathers secret life and how it fueled the fun multipletonywinning musical.
The story concerns bechdel s discovery of her own sexuality, her relationship with her gay father, and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life. The character of alison bechdel in fun home from litcharts. I think alison bechdel is one of the most touted celebrity obies because she did something that feels quintessentially oberlin. I employ these allusions, she writes, not only as descriptive devices, but because my parents are most real to me in fictional terms. Acclaimed cartoonist alison bechdel goes on a book tour of north. Cartoonist alison bechdel returned to her newspaper roots this thanksgiving for a little postelection surprise. Alison bechdel appears at the strand with katie roiphe on monday october 15, 2012 at 7. The strip, which ran from 1983 to 2008, was one of the earliest ongoing representations of lesbians in popular culture and has been called as important to new generations of lesbians as landmark novels like rita mae browns rubyfruit jungle 1973 and lisa althers kinflicks 1976 were to an earlier one. Alison bechdel was born in the city of lock haven, pennsylvania, on september 10, 1960.
Graphic novelist alison bechdel, whose fun home about growing up in a funeral home with a closeted gay father, among many other subjects won a. Alison bechdel at a london signing for fun home in 2006. Originally best known for the longrunning comic strip dykes to watch out for, she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir fun home, which was subsequently adapted as a musical and won a tony award for best musical in 2015. The successful feature has been a comicspage staple of several dozen alternative newspapers since the mid1980s, and is regularly collected into book form. Hillary chute interviews alison bechdel critical inquiry.
Aug 17, 2015 lesbian cartoonist alison bechdel countered dads secrecy by being out and open the musical and graphic novel fun home describe bechdel s coming out, and her dads closeted homosexuality. Books by alison bechdel alison bechdel average rating 4. Originally best known for the longrunning comic strip dykes to watch out for, in 2006 she became a bestselling and critically. Superstar alison bechdel will be on tour to promote the paperback edition of her genrebusting memoir fun home this summer. Jul 01, 2017 graphic novelist alison bechdel, whose fun home about growing up in a funeral home with a closeted gay father, among many other subjects won a fistful of tony awards. Alison bechdel tickets alison bechdel concert tickets. On this particular page you will find the solution to alison bechdel memoir made into a hit 2015 broadway musical crossword clue. Now, a second thrilling tale of filial sleuthery, this time about her mother. At the lesbian bar cattyshack, as the crowd for its sunday bbq streamed back.
Alison bechdel publishes new dykes to watch out for. Genevieve hudson is the author of a little in love with everyone fiction advocate, 2018, a book on alison bechdels fun home, and the forthcoming collection of stories pretend we live here future tense books, 2018. Alison bechdel biography, birth date, birth place and pictures. Twentysix years ago, when she was a junior at oberlin college, alison bechdel sat down at the smith corona typewriter in her dorm room and wrote her parents a letter to tell them she was gay. Twenty years later, the walls still talk the new york times. Alison bechdel books list of books by author alison bechdel.
Jun 21, 2017 the national tour of the lisa kronjeanine tesori musical, based on the alison bechdel book, is in hartford through june 25. Confessions, comix, and miscellaneous dykes to watch out for bechdel, alison on. Alison bechdel has 49 books on goodreads with 331993 ratings. Alison bechdel on fun home, her new book and that famous test alison bechdel at a rehearsal for the musical fun home on april 21, 2014 in charleston. Nov 05, 2017 l ast summer, alison bechdel returned to the small pennsylvania town where she grew up population. Alison bechdel was a wellknown name in the gay community for her longrunning comic strip, dykes to watch out for.
Her father, bruce, was a teacher and an owner of a funeral home. How alison bechdel understands her life as fiction. The strip, which ran from 1983 to 2008, was one of the earliest ongoing representations of lesbians in popular culture and has been called as important to new generations of lesbians as landmark novels like rita mae browns rubyfruit jungle 1973 and lisa althers kinflicks 1976 were to an earlier. Fun home, the tony awardwinning show based on alison bechdel s graphic memoir, combines textured character psychology and nuanced storytelling with the enchantment of a score that can go. Aug 31, 2017 on this particular page you will find the solution to alison bechdel memoir made into a hit 2015 broadway musical crossword clue. Fun home creator alison bechdel on turning a tragic childhood into.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Oct 06, 2016 one of the most groundbreaking productions ever to hit broadway, fun home is the winner of five 2015 tony awards including best musical. Cartoonists generally focus on a specific gene pool or cultural type, and the characters in dykes to watch out for are a motley crew of more or less radical. Her writing has been published or is forthcoming in catapult, hobart, tin house online, joyland, vol. A family tragicomic first brought her to new york city on fathers day. The national tour of the lisa kronjeanine tesori musical, based on the alison bechdel book, is in hartford through june 25.
Alison bechdel memoir made into a hit 2015 broadway musical. Buy and sell your alison bechdel concert tickets today. Her mother, helen, was a teacher and former actress. Confessions, comix, and miscellaneous dykes to watch out for is especially fun to read now, knowing all that is though i might hesitate to recommend this to someone entirely unfamilar with bechdel s work or the dynamics and details of dtwof, all of these comics read well on their own without that context.
She never imagined that it would be picked up by the rest of the countryand the worldas a rallying cry for cinematic equality. Oct 11, 2017 alison bechdel s graphic novel turned broadway tony award winning musical fun home is coming to rochester november 1419. Bruce allen bechdel 19361980 find a grave memorial. Alison bechdel tickets alison bechdel concert tickets and. Apr 25, 2016 how a shrewd marketing effort branded alison bechdels graphic memoir, which deals with suicide and sexual identity, as a feelgood musical kalle oskari mattila april 25, 2016. Apr 16, 2015 alison bechdel s bestselling graphic novel memoir about growing up gay with a closeted father doesnt seem like an obvious choice for a musical, but its coming to broadway. Alison bechdel, born september 10, 1960 in lock haven, pennsylvania, united states is an american cartoonist. Alison bechdel hits notes that resemble jeanette winterson at her best. Alison bechdels fun home was a pop culture and literary phenomenon. She illustrated her talk throughout with panels from her graphic novels fun home 2006 and are you my mother. Acclaimed cartoonist alison bechdel goes on a book tour of north america to promote her new graphic memoir, are you my mother.
Alison bechdel has been a careful archivist of her own life and kept a journal since she was ten. Alison bechdel is the author and illustrator of the memoir that is the basis of the tony winning musical fun home. But her devoted fans, who have been following her career for more than two decades, were well aware of her talent as both an artist. The bechdel test, sometimes called the mo movie measure or bechdel rule is a simple test which names the following three criteria. But perhaps, too, her book had a particular appeal for mainstream critics.
Fun home creator alison bechdel on turning a tragic childhood. A family tragicomic in 2006 and its subsequent tony awardwinning musical adaptation in 2009, alison bechdel b. Alison bechdel memoir made into a hit 2015 broadway. Confessions, comix, and miscellaneous dykes to watch out for is especially fun to read now, knowing all that is though i might hesitate to recommend this to someone entirely unfamilar with bechdels work or the dynamics and details of dtwof, all of these comics read well on their own without that context. Much of the novel depicts her attempts to submerge her yearning for real love in the name of propriety. Jul 04, 2006 alison bechdels book tour for fun home. However, bechdel, who has won numerous awards including a macarthur fellowship, has been writing and drawing comics since the early 1980s. The five time tony winning musical based on alison bechdels book of the same title. Alison bechdel is the author of the bestselling memoir fun home. Dykes to watch out for sometimes dtwof was a comic strip by alison bechdel. Alison bechdel the author and protagonist of fun home, alison traces her life from childhood into early adulthood, centering her reflections on the circumstances surrounding her father bruce s death as well as the progression of. The strip is syndicated in fifty alternative newspapers, translated into multiple. It was a primal storytelling experience, and the book is even better.
Alison bechdel s fun home was a pop culture and literary phenomenon. Shepards illustrations for the wind in the willows. In 1986, firebrand books published a collection of the strips to date. In the bechdel home there was a huge coloring book of e. An evening with alison bechdel 1022 town hall seattle. A family tragicomic 2006, a tightly architected investigation into her relationship with her father, an english teacher and morticianas well as a closeted gay manwho died a few months after she herself. This clue was last seen on new york times crossword on august 31 2017 in case the clue doesnt fit. He married helen fontana and they became the parents of a daughter and two sons. Alison bechdels comic strip dykes to watch out for became a.
Nov 27, 2016 the election results inspired iconic comic book artist alison bechdel to check in with the beloved characters of dykes to watch out for. From the moment i began adapting alison bechdels book, i felt a keen responsibility not just to retain the undiluted butchness of the main character, kron, who cowrote the musical with jeanine tesori and is openly gay, explained, but also to give audiences a way to see the same swaggery, sexy power i see when i look at a butch. Lucys unexpected passion for the blunt, lowerclass george emerson, whom she meets in italy during her grand tour, calls her conventional, genteel life into question. L ast summer, alison bechdel returned to the small pennsylvania town where she grew up population. He had a brother paul and sisters jane and eleanor. The test was popularized by alison bechdel s comic dykes to watch out for, in a 1985 strip called the rule. Lesbian cartoonist alison bechdel countered dads secrecy by. This clue was last seen on new york times crossword on august 31 2017 in case the clue doesnt fit or theres something wrong please contact us. Fun home composer hits back at claims lesbian character was. Since 1983 she has been chronicling the lives of various characters in the fictionalized dykes to watch out for strip, one of the preeminent oeuvres in the comics genre, period ms.
Alison bechdel, american cartoonist and graphic novelist who was perhaps best known for the comic strip dykes to watch out for 19832008, which introduced the socalled bechdel test. In this groundbreaking, bestselling graphic memoir, alison bechdel charts her fraught. Alison bechdel american cartoonist and graphic novelist. How a shrewd marketing effort branded alison bechdels graphic memoir, which deals with suicide and sexual identity, as a feelgood musical kalle oskari mattila april 25, 2016. Fun home honors a daughters comingofage story hartford.
Nov 30, 2008 alison bechdel hoped that fun home, her very personal graphic memoir, would heal her familys wounds. I used to have an elaborate fantasy about getting to be jane austens tour guide to the modern world. It was published in the vermont alternative weekly newspaper seven days, which was one of many indie papers to. Its subject is alison bechdels coming of age, with particular emphasis on her relationship to her father, bruce. Fun home characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Due to the huge success of her graphic memoir fun home. The bechdel test, proposed by cartoonist alison bechdel in a 1985 dykes to watch out for strip, evaluates movies based on a threepronged question. What happens when your college sex life is on broadway. Alison bechdel quotes in fun home the fun home quotes below are all either spoken by alison bechdel or refer to alison bechdel.
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