by Louisa Smith
used by permission
Photo of Jack [left] with writer Neil Gaiman
used by permission
Author, scholar, teacher, translator, activist Jack Zipes has
transformed research on fairy tales from the superficial discussions
of suitability and violence to the linguistic roots and socialization
function of the tales. According to Zipes, fairy tales "serve
a meaningful social function not just for compensation but for
revelation: the the worlds projected by the best of our fairy
tales reveal the gaps between truth and falsehood in our immediate
society." After Zipes, no one can view a Disney rendition
with equanimity again.
Now a professor of German at the University of Minnesota, Jack
Zipes has also taught at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee,
the University of Florida, and New York University. He has written
twenty-five books, many of which are accessible to the lay reader
which is in keeping with his reputation as a public scholar. Titles
such as Don't Bet on the Prince and The Trials and Tribulations
of Little Red Ridinghood mask the serious scholarship behind
the books. A PhD in comparative literature from Columbia resulted
from an extended stay in Germany where he went to write a novel
and discovered German which led to a reading knowledge of French,
Italian, and Spanish. Political activism in the late sixties forged
a critical examination of fairy tales and their role in gender
directives. This background also led to the formation of the journal
New German Critique and his acceptance of the editorship
of The Lion and the Unicorn, a critical journal on children's
literature. He has been willing to speak to audiences as diverse
as public school children and scholars of fantasy. He is married
to author Carol Dines, and is the father of an eight year old
daughter. Zipes has brought new life to the term interdisciplinary.
Fortunately, he chose fairy tales as a focus for his scholarship.
A very partial bibiography for Jack Zipes
Arabian nights : the marvels and wonders of the Thousand and one
nights . adapted from Richard F. Burton' s unexpurgated translation
by Jack Zipes. (New York: Signet Classic, 1991).
Beauties, beasts, and enchantment : classic French fairy tales,
translated and with an introduction by Jack Zipes. (NY: New American
Library, 1989).
Breaking the magic spell : radical theories of folk and fairytales
(Austin : U of Texas Pr, 1979).
The Brothers Grimm : from enchanted forests to the modernworld
(NY: Routledge, 1988)
The complete fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm , translated
and with an introduction by Jack Zipes ; illus. by John B. Gruelle.
(NY: Bantam, 1987)
[ed.] Don't bet on the prince : contemporary feminist fairy
tales inNorth America and England ( New York : Methuen, 1986)
[ed.] Fairy tales and fables from Weimar days translated
by Jack Zipes. (Hanover : University Press of New England, 1989)
Fairy tales and the art of subversion : the classical genre
for children and the process of civilization (London : Heinemann
Educational Books, 1983)
[ed.] Stockton, Frank Richard. The fairy tales of Frank Stockton
with an afterword by Jack Zipes. (N.Y., U.S.A. : Signet Classic,
1990)
[ed.] Germans and Jews since the holocaust : the changing situationin
West Germany ed. with Anson Rabinbach (N Y: Holmes & Meier,
1986)
The great refusal. Studies of the romantic hero in German and
American literature. (Bad Homburg, Athenaum-Verl., 1970)
The operated Jew : two tales of anti-semitism translated
with commentary by Jack Zipes. (N Y: Routledge, 1991)
[ed.]Political plays for children : the Grips Theater of Berlin
. ed. and translated by Jack Zipes (St. Louis: Telos Press, 1976).
[ed.] Spells of enchantment : the wondrous fairy tales of Western
culture (N.Y: Viking, 1991)
The trials and tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood :versions
of the tale in sociocultural context/ (South Hadley, MA: Bergin
& Garvey, 1983)
[ed.] Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and
Elves, (NY: Methuen, 1987).
Ed. with Louisa Smith, many issues of The Lion and the Unicorn:
A Critical Journal of Children's Literature , featuring such
topics as "The International scene in children's literature,"
"The Arts in Children's Literature," "Political
Correctness and Cultural Literacy," and "Taking Political
Stock: New Theoretical and Critical Approaches to Anglo-American
Children's Literature in the 1980s."
Also many articles, such as:
"Spreading Myths About Fairy Tales: A Critical Commentary
on Robert Bly's Iron John," in New German Critique: An
Interdisciplinary Journal of German Studies , 55: 3-19, Winter
1992.
"Negating History and Male Fantasies through Psychoanalytical
Criticism," Children's Literature: An International
Journal,vol. 18, 1990
"The Origins of the Fairy Tale for Children: Or, How Script
Was Used to Tame the Beast in Us" in Avery, Gillian (ed.);
Briggs, Julia (ed.). Children and Their Books: A Celebration
of the Work of Iona and Peter Opie. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1989).
"Fairy Tale as Myth/Myth as Fairy Tale," in Gannon,
Susan R. (ed.); Thompson, Ruth Anne (ed.). Cross-Culturalism
in Children's Literature: Selected Papers from the Children's
Literature Association, (New York: Pace Univ., 1988).
"Critical Observations on Recent Psychoanalytical Approaches
to the Tales of the Brothers Grimm," Merveilles et Contes.,
1 (1): 19-30, May 1987.
"The Enchanted Forest of the Brothers Grimm: New Modes of
Approaching the Grimms' Fairy Tales," Germanic Review
, 62 (2): 66-74, Spring 1987
"The Grimms and the German Obsession with Fairy Tales,"
and "Marxists and the Illumination of Folk and Fairy Tales"
in Bottigheimer, Ruth B. (ed. & pref.). Fairy Tales
and Society: Illusion, Allusion, and Paradigm. Philadelphia: U
of Pennsylvania P, 1986
Jack was recently interviewed for the twin cities cable access television show, TV Bookshelf. There may be an online version, in rather poor quality video (but the sound is probably o.k.). I'll be trying to improve the quality of the video over the next few weeks. Try this URL: http://homepage.mac.com/david_lenander/iMovieTheater3.html
and the best fairy-tale site is Kay Vandergrift's site:
http:www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/kay/kayhp2.html
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