Critics never quite knew what to make of Edward Gorey (1925-2000), the author and illustrator whose darkly droll tales have influenced TimBurton, Lemony Snicket, Alison Bechdel, and Guillermo del Toro. In this illustrated lecture, cultural critic Mark Dery, author of Little, Brown and Company’s “Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey,” explores the obscure influences haunting Gorey’s work.

Learn about some of Dery’s research on Gorey:
https://ransom.center/mark-dery

Discover the seminal role he played, along with authors like Maurice Sendak and Dr. Seuss, in the popularization of a deeper, darker children’s literature capable of addressing what Gorey called “the miseries of childhood.”

Free and open to the public.

Please be aware that the Ransom Center’s Charles Nelson Prothro Theater seats 125. Line forms upon arrival of the first patron, and doors open 30 minutes in advance.