Burlington Writer Shares Literary Pilgrimages at Harvard

Paul Larson recently delivered a presentation at the Philosophy Building at Harvard University. The lecture took place during a course on Academic Writing and Critical Reading. Dr. Elisabeth Sharp McKetta teaches the class and uses fairy tales as primary texts for her students. She invited Larson to speak to her group about his personal trips to sites associated with literature, film, and live performances.

Larson titled his talk "Pilgrimage: Touching the Real Deal in a Fantasy World." He designed the session as an interactive, multimedia experience. The presentation traced the writings of Lewis Carroll, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen. Larson explored actual locations where these authors lived and identified places that inspired specific elements in their stories.

He cited a specific example from Andersen's tale "The Tinder Box." In that story, a dog has eyes described as "large as the Round Tower." Larson identified this as the Round Tower in Copenhagen, Denmark. He noted that it is one of the world's oldest standing astronomical observatories and that he had climbed the structure himself. His travels also included venturing into the forest where Hansel and Gretel lose their way in the opera by Engelbert Humperdinck.

Larson visited a castle tea house that inspired an illustrator's 1906 depiction of Rapunzel's tower. He emphasized that his research before each trip helped him avoid locations where tourists are told there are connections to famous tales that are not historically accurate. He focused on private places that are difficult or nearly impossible for general tourists to enter.

He described the elation he feels when accessing private rooms where the Grimm Brothers and Lewis Carroll lived and wrote. His research efforts have led to local recognition in some areas. A newspaper reporter in Visby, Sweden, wrote a two-page article about Larson's visit to their city.

Architects working on renovations for a Yorkshire hotel that Lewis Carroll frequently visited told Larson they "took my suggestion." They incorporated Lewis Carroll themed artwork and informative plaques about the author's stays into the hotel lobby.