The Wizard of Oz in Illinois and Beyond: Decatur Public Library

Decatur historian Mark W. Sorensen will give an illustrated presentation about how L. Frank Baum came to Chicago in 1891 and 125 years ago wrote the children’s Book-of-the-Year, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Thinking it a one-time effort, demands from children across the country convinced him and later “Royal Historians of Oz” to keep writing until there eventually were officially 40 Oz-related books. Sorensen will explain how the first Oz book was quickly turned into a Broadway musical, then a multi-media theatrical tour, then at least four silent films before the fan-favorite 1939 MGM technicolor Wizard of Oz film starring Judy Garland. Baum’s basic story keeps getting reinterpreted as exemplified by more recent productions of The Wiz and Wicked.

Mark Sorensen was named an “Illinois Library Luminary” and has received the Illinois State Historical Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. His article, Illinois and “The Marvelous Land of Oz” was published in the July/August 2024 issue of Illinois Heritage magazine. He landed in Decatur 55 years ago and serves as the Official Macon County Historian.