A recent It’s LIT PBS episode discussed how graphic novels are in fact . . . novels. In the myriad examples of the fantastic literature available in graphic form, the video features grad and faculty Tillie Walden ’16 and Vermont Cartoonist Laureate with Spinning and advisor Alison Bechdel with Fun Home. It’s LIT is a video essay series hosted by Lindsay Ellis and Princess Weekes where they explore figures, genres, and books that shaped the literary world.
Tillie is best known for her Eisner-award winning memoir Spinning, about coming of age in an all-girl high school while on the figure skating team. On a Sun Beam, a science fiction story of love and grief, originally published as a webcomic, was released through First Second. Her most recent comic, Are You Listening, is a magical realism tale of self-discovery and healing from trauma and came out this fall, also from First Second.
In addition to her comic Dykes to Watch Out For, Bechdel is the creator of Fun Home and Are You My Mother?. Fun Home was nominated for the Eisner Awards for Best Reality-Based Work (which it won) and Best Graphic Album. In 2013, Fun Home was adapted as a musical, which went on to win Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. In 2014, Alison was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant.
Tags: Alison Bechdel, Fun Home, Graphic Novels, It's LIT, Princess Weekes, Spinning, Tillie Walden
