Children's Literary Salon - Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children's Literature

An illustrated talk, focusing on Johnson and Krauss in the 1950s, the period in which they reinvent the modern picture book, and the FBI places them under surveillance.  Working with legendary Harper editor Ursula Nordstrom, Johnson publishes Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955), and Krauss begins her decade-long collaboration with Maurice Sendak, creating the groundbreaking A Hole Is to Dig (1952), A Very Special House (1953) and six others.  And FBI builds a file on Johnson, opening his mail, monitoring his bank account, and noting the names of people who visited or phoned.  Drawing from the biography (forthcoming September 2012) that shares its title with this talk, Nel offers a story of art, publishing, politics, and the power of the imagination.