The Cartographic Poetry of Lucia Maria PerilloAdele J. Haft, Hunter College: CUNYTo celebrate its upcoming volumes on Renaissance cartography (3.1-2), The History of Cartography Project commissioned Lucia Perillo (1958―) to compose “The Carta Marina (1539),” based on the sea-monster-infested chart of the Swedish mapmaker/historian Olaus Magnus (2000). Earlier, the MacArthur Fellow had published “The Oldest Map with the Name America” (1997–1998), which refers to two rare maps by Martin Waldseemüller (1507, 1516) and to the title of a 1903 edition of his maps. Perillo’s eight-part sequence―alternating between the German cartographer’s endeavors to map “America” and her own attempts to piece together the fragments of what a “weird kid” did to “a little girl” in the woods near her childhood home―became the title piece of her award-winning 1999 collection. My paper examines Perillo’s meditations on these icons of Renaissance cartography and their relation not only to modern science and popular culture, but to her life as a naturalist/academic stricken with MS.
Cartography in Children's LiteratureVictoria Johnson, USAIDBeloved books like The Phantom Tollbooth, The Hobbit and The Princess Bride all feature engaging maps that serve as gateways to imaginary lands. "Here," say these maps, "leave your cares behind. You’re in this other world now." From the Hundred-Acre Wood to the Land of Oz, maps have enchanted young readers and enhanced their reading experience. In this presentation, I will cover a selection of maps found in classic and popular children's literature, delve into their origin, design process, and impact on the story, then compare each map to examples of real-world cartography (I will also cover a few unofficial/fan-created maps for books and series like The Hunger Games).
http://www.theawl.com/2012/02/maps-of-fictional-placesIl était une fois: Mapping Balzac's Paris (10 minute talk)
Jennifer Reinke, John R. Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota-Twin CitiesParis was the cultural capital of the 19th century. Popular French novelist Honoré de Balzac wrote a compilation of short literary works entitled The Human Comedy, using realism and ethically ambivalent characters to depict the complexities and capricious state of Parisian society during the Bourbon Restoration period of 1814-1830. Balzac’s characters often shared a romantic notion of the capital and yearned to join high society. As a means to be part of the elite, they relocate from impoverished to exuberant city quarters in efforts to conform to aristocratic norms and flaunt their newly obtained statuses. The objective of this project was to map the movements of the transient lifestyles of Balzac’s main characters in three novels: Eugène Rastignac in Father Goriot, Lucien de Rebempré in Lost Illusions: A Distinguished Provincial at Paris, and Raphaël de Valentin in The Magic Skin, which reflect the author’s personal struggles and experiences surviving tumultuous Paris.
