Misplaced Pages

#880119

51-733: Hoban was born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania , just outside Philadelphia , to Jewish immigrants from Ostrog (now in Ukraine ). His father, Abram T. Hoban, was the advertising manager of the Yiddish-language Jewish Daily Forward and the director of The Drama Guild of the Labor Institute of the Workmen's Circle of Philadelphia. His father died when Russell was 11, and Russell was thereafter raised by his mother, Jeanette Dimmerman. He

102-541: A badger in the first book, Bedtime for Frances (Harper, 1960), and Lillian Hoban retained that image as the illustrator of five sequels and a poetry collection, published from 1964 to 1972. The U.S. national library reports holding about three dozen books written by Hoban and published from 1959 to 1972, including about two dozen illustrated by Lillian Hoban. One was illustrated by their son Brom Hoban: The Sea-thing Child (1972). A dark philosophical tale for older children, The Mouse and His Child , appeared in 1967 and

153-505: A picture book written by Hoban, illustrated by Quentin Blake , and published by Jonathan Cape , shared the annual Whitbread Award for Children's Books. Riddley Walker , a novel published by Cape in 1980, won the 1982 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel , juried recognition of the year's best SF novel published in English, and the "Best International Novel" prize at

204-480: A beer garden, and local events like scavenger hunts or food drives. Every September Lansdale is home to Bike Night, where thousands of motorcyclists gather. The Rock Den was a music store that hosted weekly open mic nights and shows. It was located in the former Stuart’s music building that has been home to a music store since the 1940s. Another popular local venue was the Underground at Round Guys. In 2022,

255-609: A book employing concepts borrowed from " The Gift of the Magi ", called Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas , which further reached fans through a 1977 television special originally created for HBO by the Jim Henson Company . The book was illustrated by Lillian Hoban, whose drawn renditions of these characters were faithfully replicated by the Muppet creators. The story tells of a poor otter mother and son who do what they must to try to provide

306-528: A documentary "Lansdale, Then, Now and Forever" was released about the local music scene. Directed by Jason Zoblin. Classic Game Junkie opened an arcade in 2022. As of 2010 there were 46.25 miles (74.43 km) of public roads in Lansdale, of which 3.29 miles (5.29 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 42.96 miles (69.14 km) were maintained by

357-481: A new "official" Russell Hoban website, www.russellhoban.org , was built and launched by volunteers from the community, with the approval of the author's family. In 1984, Hoban collaborated with the Impact Theatre Co-operative on a performance entitled The Carrier Frequency . Hoban supplied the text for the piece, which was staged and performed by Impact. In 1999, The Carrier Frequency was restaged by

408-400: A new staging of Hoban's novel The Mouse and His Child as part of its winter 2012–13 season. Hoban is often described as a fantasy writer, and only two of his novels, Turtle Diary and The Bat Tattoo , are entirely devoid of supernatural elements. However, the fantasy elements are usually presented as only moderately surprising developments in an otherwise realistic contemporary story, which

459-457: A new version of Jim's Lion , published in 2014, which changed the format from a traditional picture book to a combination of text chapters and comics. After his death, Hoban's papers were archived by writer Paul Cooper, and in 2016 the archive was acquired by the Beinecke Library at Yale University . In May 1998, Dave Awl , a writer/performer with the experimental Chicago theatre troupe

510-442: A special Christmas to one another, taking a route neither of them expected. His novel Turtle Diary (1975) was turned into a film version released in 1985, with a screenplay by Harold Pinter . Hoban had four children with his first wife, Lillian Aberman Hoban . Their daughter Phoebe Hoban is a journalist and biographer who specializes in art. The couple divorced in 1975, and in the same year he married Gundula Ahl, who worked in

561-472: A weapon of the ancient world. The novel's characters live a harsh life in a small area which is presently the English county of Kent , and know little of the world outside of "Inland" (England). Their level of civilization is similar to England's prehistoric Iron Age , although they do not produce their own iron but salvage it from ancient machinery. Church and state have combined into one secretive institution, whose mythology, based on misinterpreted stories of

SECTION 10

#1732851292881

612-609: Is North Penn High School in Towamencin Township . The borough is also home to Mater Dei Catholic School of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia . It was formerly home to St. Stanislaus School. In January 2012, the archdiocese announced that St. Rose of Lima School in North Wales would be merging with St. Stanislaus, with students attending classes in Lansdale at St. Stanislaus. The newly combined school

663-769: Is magic realism . Exceptions include Kleinzeit , a comic fantasy whose characters include Death , Hospital , and Underground ; Riddley Walker , a science-fiction novel whose futuristic setting is primitive and post-apocalyptic; Pilgermann , a historical novel about the Crusades ; and Fremder , a more conventional science-fiction novel. There is frequent repetition of images and themes in different contexts. For instance, many of Hoban's works refer to lions , Orpheus , Eurydice , Persephone , Vermeer , severed heads , heart disease , flickering , Odilon Redon , and King Kong . How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen (1974),

714-440: Is Hoban's best-known adult novel and a drastic departure from his other work, although he continued to explore some of the same themes in other settings. Hoban began work on the novel in 1974, inspired by the medieval wall painting of the legend of Saint Eustace at Canterbury Cathedral . Roughly two thousand years after a nuclear war has devastated civilization, Riddley, the young narrator, stumbles upon efforts to recreate

765-527: Is located to the west of the borough in Towamencin Township and connects to PA 63. Lansdale is served by SEPTA Regional Rail 's Lansdale/Doylestown Line via Lansdale station in downtown, the Pennbrook station in the southern part of the borough, and the 9th Street station in the northern part of the borough, with service to Center City Philadelphia and Doylestown along with intermediate points. Three SEPTA Suburban Division bus routes serve Lansdale:

816-510: Is provided by PECO Energy Company. The North Penn Water Authority provides water to Lansdale and some surrounding areas. Sewer service in Lansdale is provided by the borough, which operates a wastewater treatment facility. Trash and recycling collection in Lansdale is provided by contracts with private haulers, although the borough has plans for a single hauler serving all residents. Jefferson Health–Abington operates Jefferson Lansdale Hospital, which serves Lansdale and surrounding areas in

867-591: The House season 7 episode "Changes" (May 2, 2011) was set in Lansdale. Riddley Walker Riddley Walker is a science fiction novel by American writer Russell Hoban , first published in 1980 . It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel in 1982, as well as an Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award in 1983. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1981. It

918-600: The National Register of Historic Places . Lansdale is home to a Kugel ball , which is a 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) dark grey granite sphere supported by a very thin film of water pumped from beneath its base. The Kugel Ball is located in Railroad Plaza, adjacent to the SEPTA Lansdale/Doylestown Line train station in downtown Lansdale. The plaza consists of a bricked patio with benches centered on

969-565: The Neo-Futurists , launched the first comprehensive Russell Hoban reference website, The Head of Orpheus, to which Russell Hoban regularly contributed news and information up until his death. In the fall of 1999, Awl founded a Hoban-themed online community called The Kraken (named after one of the characters in Hoban's 1987 novel The Medusa Frequency ), which grew into an international network of Russell Hoban fans. In 2002 an annual fan activity dubbed

1020-800: The Route 94 connects the southern part of Lansdale with the Montgomery Mall and Chestnut Hill , the Route 96 connects Lansdale with the Norristown Transportation Center in Norristown , and the Route 132 connects the borough with the Montgomery Mall and Telford . Lansdale is the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad , a short-line freight railroad . The Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad operates

1071-629: The U.S. Census Bureau , the borough has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km ), all land. It has a hot-summer humid continental climate ( Dfa ) and the hardiness zone is 7a. The average monthly temperature ranges from 30.2 °F in January to 74.7 °F in July. The average annual absolute minimum temperature is -0.4 °F. As of the 2010 census, the borough was 75.9% White, 5.9% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 13.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian, and 2.7% were two or more races. 4.4% of

SECTION 20

#1732851292881

1122-609: The US National Portrait Gallery . [1] The note "About the Artist" in the Macmillan Classics Edition of Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (second printing 1965), which Hoban illustrated, notes that he worked in advertising for Batten Barton Durstine & Osborn and that he later became the art director of J. Walter Thompson : "Heavy machinery later became subjects for his paintings, and this led him into

1173-471: The 1983 Australian SF Convention ( Ditmar Award ). Pilgermann was one finalist a year later when no best international novel was named. Lansdale, Pennsylvania Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania , United States. It is a densely-populated commuter town , with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail 's Lansdale/Doylestown Line . In

1224-708: The Flies , and A Canticle for Leibowitz ", and "what is unique in Hoban's haunting vision of the future is his language" which is described as being similar to the Nadsat slang spoken in Anthony Burgess ' A Clockwork Orange . The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists stated that, "The force and beauty and awfulness of Hoban's creation is shattering," and praised the author's use of a crude "Chaucerian English". John Mullan of The Guardian also praised Hoban's decision to narrate

1275-598: The Jenkins family. At the peak of its growth, the Jenkins homestead occupied approximately 120 acres of land. The construction of the North Pennsylvania Railroad (later absorbed into the Reading Railroad) during the 1850s contributed to rapid growth and expansion in Lansdale. Employment opportunities generated by the railroad brought settlers, housing, and local businesses to the area. By 1872, Lansdale Borough

1326-586: The Kugel Ball and closes at 11:00 pm. An annual 5k race is held in June, accordingly named the Kugel Ball race, which starts and ends at the actual Kugel Ball in Railroad Plaza. The Lansdale Borough Hometown Heroes Banner Program is a living tribute created for the community to recognize and honor Lansdale Veterans who are serving or are veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. According to

1377-594: The Lansdale Yard in the borough and provides freight rail service out of Lansdale to several points in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia on SEPTA-owned lines. The railroad interchanges with CSX Transportation in Lansdale. Lansdale Electric, owned by the borough, provides electricity to most of Lansdale, with portions of the borough receiving electricity from PECO Energy Company , a subsidiary of Exelon . The borough's electric department purchases its electricity from American Municipal Power. Natural gas in Lansdale

1428-632: The North Penn Valley. Jefferson Lansdale Hospital has 140 beds and over 700 employees, including over 300 physicians. Services offered at the hospital include an emergency room , Orthopedic and Spine Institute, Pain Center, Sleep Center, and Wound Care Center. The hospital, which was previously known as North Penn Hospital and later as Central Montgomery Medical Center, was acquired by Abington Memorial Hospital from Universal Health Services in October 2008, with

1479-665: The Slickman A4 Quotation Event (SA4QE) (named after its founder, Diana Slickman, also a member of the Neo-Futurists) began, in which Hoban enthusiasts celebrate his birthday by writing down favourite quotes from his books (invariably on sheets of yellow A4 paper, a recurring Hoban motif) and leaving them in public places. By 2004, the event had occurred three times; as of February 2011 it has since taken place each year, seeing over 350 quotes distributed around 46 towns and cities throughout 14 countries. In 2005 fans from across

1530-565: The aid of Russell Hoban. Artistic Director Connor Hopkins created the puppet theater play, with performances September 29 through October 16, 2011, at Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin, Texas, U.S. The production employed tabletop puppetry inspired by the Bunraku tradition and enjoyed popular and critical success. In 2012, the Royal Shakespeare Company announced that it would be premiering

1581-546: The borough. The main east–west street in Lansdale is Main Street ( Pennsylvania Route 63 ), which runs northwest–southeast. The main north–south street is Broad Street, which runs southwest–northeast. Pennsylvania Route 363 begins at PA 63 on the western edge of Lansdale and heads southwest on Valley Forge Road. The Lansdale interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension ( Interstate 476 )

Russell Hoban - Misplaced Pages Continue

1632-598: The children's book field with the writing and illustrating of What Does It Do and How Does It Work? and The Atomic Submarine ." That note also points out that in 1964, at the time the book's illustrations were copyrighted, Hoban was teaching drawing at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, collaborating with his first wife on their fifth children's book, and living in Connecticut . Hoban wrote exclusively for children for

1683-468: The fashionable London bookshop Truslove and Hanson . With Ahl he had three children, one of whom is the composer Wieland Hoban , to whom Riddley Walker is dedicated. Wieland Hoban set one of his father's texts to music in his piece Night Roads (1998–99). Hoban's sister, Tana Hoban (1917–2006), was a photographer and children's author; he also had another sister, Freeda Hoban Ellis (1919–2002). The last of Hoban's novels published during his lifetime

1734-702: The main campus in Center Valley or online. Lansdale is served by the daily print newspaper The Reporter , owned by the Digital First Media and with a circulation of 16,364 throughout Lansdale, Hatfield, Souderton and Harleysville. As well as the online news sites North Penn Now and Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch. WNPV (1440 AM) was a radio station broadcasting a news/talk/sports format, whose air date began October 17, 1960 and ended April 30, 2020. The station sold off its land, studio and broadcast towers to North Penn School District in July 2020. Its license

1785-532: The name changed from Central Montgomery Medical Center to its present name. An episode of the Fox television series Fringe , which aired on September 24, 2009, was set in Lansdale. The scenes that took place in Lansdale were filmed in British Columbia , and the town was depicted as a rural area consisting primarily of corn fields and not as the densely populated suburban town that it actually is. The beginning of

1836-543: The next decade, and came to be known best for the series of seven picture books that feature Frances, a temperamental badger girl whose escapades were based partly on the experiences of his four children, Phoebe, Brom, Esmé and Julia, and their friends. Frances did not eat her egg. She sang a little song to it. She sang the song very softly: "I do not like the way you slide, I do not like your soft inside, I do not like you lots of ways, And I could do for many days Without eggs." Garth Williams depicted Frances as

1887-516: The novel in a devolved form of English: "The struggle with Riddley's language is what makes reading the book so absorbing, so completely possessing." Library Journal wrote that the book holds "a unique and beloved place among the few after- Armageddon classics". It was included in David Pringle 's book Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels . In 1994, American literary critic Harold Bloom included Riddley Walker in his list of works comprising

1938-436: The novel's dialect as an "extraordinary risk" and noted that the language "naturalises the shattered world" of the novel, absorbing and engaging readers. Author Peter Schwenger called the language "quasi-illiterate, largely phonetic," arguing that it "slows us to the pace of an oral culture." Some features include: Peter Ruppert noted that Hoban's novel draws on "such well-known dystopias as A Clockwork Orange , Lord of

1989-470: The population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. Lansdale has a city manager form of government with a mayor and a nine-member borough council. On June 4, 2008, local chiropractor G. Andrew Szekely was appointed by council resolution to serve the remaining 18 months of the term of Mayor Michael DiNunzio. Szekely won a full four-year term in November 2009. The current mayor of Lansdale is Garry Herbert, who

2040-739: The theater company Stan's Cafe . In February 1986, a theatrical version of Hoban's novel Riddley Walker (adapted by Hoban himself) premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester . Its US premiere was at the Chocolate Bayou Theatre , in April 1987, directed by Greg Roach. In November 2007, Hoban's adaptation of Riddley Walker was produced (for the third time) by the Red Kettle Theatre Company , in Waterford , Ireland, and

2091-407: The war and an old Catholic saint (Eustace), is enacted in puppet shows. One of the most notable features of the book is its unique dialect: an imagined future version of the English language. This language blends puns, phonetic spelling, and colloquialisms, and is influenced by the dialects of East Kent as Hoban heard them before 1980, where the book is set. Professor of English John Mullan praised

Russell Hoban - Misplaced Pages Continue

2142-502: The world celebrated Hoban's work in London at the first international convention for the author, The Russell Hoban Some-Poasyum (a pun on symposium from Riddley Walker ). A booklet was published by the organisers to commemorate the event featuring tributes to Hoban from a variety of contributors including actor and politician Glenda Jackson , novelist David Mitchell , composer Harrison Birtwistle and screenwriter Andrew Davies . In 2012

2193-503: The year 1900, 2,754 people lived here; in 1910, 3,551; and in 1940, 9,316 people were inhabitants of Lansdale. The population was 18,773 at the 2020 census. Lansdale is the center of the North Penn Valley , a region which includes the surrounding townships and boroughs. It is located 27 miles (43 km) southeast of Allentown and 21 miles (34 km) north of Philadelphia . The earliest known settlers in Lansdale were members of

2244-634: Was Angelica Lost and Found (October 2010), in which the hippogriff from Girolamo da Carpi 's Ruggiero Saving Angelica breaks free from the 16th-century painting to search for Angelica in 21st-century San Francisco . Hoban died on 13 December 2011. He had once ruefully observed that death would be a good career move: "People will say, 'Yes, Hoban, he seems an interesting writer, let's look at him again'." Two new Hoban books were published posthumously by Walker Books in 2012: Soonchild , illustrated by Alexis Deacon, and Rosie's Magic Horse , illustrated by Quentin Blake . Deacon also provided artwork for

2295-667: Was Hoban's first full-length novel. It was later made into an animated film in 1977 by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson . In 1969, the Hobans and their children travelled to London , intending to stay only a short time. The marriage dissolved and, while the rest of the family returned to the United States, Hoban remained in London for the rest of his life. All of Hoban's adult novels except for Riddley Walker , Pilgermann , Angelica Lost and Found (October 2010) and Fremder are set either wholly or partly in contemporary London. In 1971, Hoban wrote

2346-542: Was donated to Four Rivers Community Broadcasting. North Penn Television is a television station owned by the North Penn School district that broadcasts the North Penn School District Board of School Directors meetings, along with various events around the school district such as sports games and concerts. Lansdale hosts a first friday during the warmer months, it includes live music, food trucks,

2397-991: Was named for Russell Conwell . After briefly attending Temple University , he enlisted in the Army at age 18 and served in the Philippines and Italy as a radio operator during World War II, earning a bronze star . During his military service he married Lillian Aberman , who later became a writer and illustrator herself. They had four children before divorcing in 1975. After leaving military service, Hoban worked as an illustrator , painting several covers for TIME , Sports Illustrated , and The Saturday Evening Post , and as an advertising copywriter —occupations which several of his characters later shared—before he wrote and illustrated his first children's book, What Does It Do and How Does It Work?: Power Shovel, Dump Truck, and Other Heavy Machines , published by Harper in 1959. His 1962 Time cover portrait of Joan Baez now hangs in

2448-512: Was officially incorporated and named after Phillip Lansdale Fox , chief surveyor of the North Penn Railroad . By the naming conventions of the time, it should have been called Jenkintown, since the land immediately surrounding the train station was owned by the Jenkins family, but there was already a town by that name along the rail line. The Jenkins Homestead and Lansdale Silk Hosiery Compy-Interstate Hosiery Mills, Inc. are listed on

2499-531: Was renamed from St. Stanislaus to Mater Dei, Latin for "Mother of God." Calvary Baptist School is a pre-K-12th grade Christian school. Lansdale area private high schools include Lansdale Catholic High School and Dock Mennonite Academy . Dock is in Towamencin Township. The DeSales University Lansdale Area Campus was an institute of higher education , with a campus specifically designed for adult students. The campus closed in 2019, with classes moved to

2550-637: Was reviewed favorably in the Irish Times . In March 1989 a stage adaptation of Kleinzeit was presented by the Tower Theatre Company , directed by Peta Barker, who had adapted the novel. One performance was seen by Russell Hoban who wrote a critique of the play, written on yellow paper, which is a major theme of the novel. In 2011, the Trouble Puppet Theater Company produced an adaptation of Riddley Walker , with permission from and

2601-763: Was voted into office in January, 2018. The borough is part of the Fourth Congressional District (represented by Rep. Madeleine Dean ), Pennsylvania's 53rd Representative District (represented by Rep. Steve Malagari ) and the 12th State Senate District (represented by Sen. Maria Collett ). The community is a part of the North Penn School District . K-6 public elementary schools in Lansdale include Gwynedd Square Elementary, Knapp Elementary, Oak Park Elementary, Inglewood Elementary, Walton Farm Elementary, and York Avenue Elementary. Penndale Middle School serves grades 7–9. The area public high school

SECTION 50

#1732851292881
#880119