Jack Zipes

Jack Zipes was professor of German and Comparative Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) from 1972 to 1986, and since 2008 has been Professor Emeritus of German and Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota. He left a lasting impact at UWM by introducing bold innovative courses on folk and fairy tales, children’s theater and literature, technology and literature, the reception of fascism in Germany, and drama and protest. He was also active in the Milwaukee area and led youth programs on storytelling and creative dramatics, programs that continue to this day. Academically, he brought international renown to UWM serving as the founding editor of the leading journal of German New German Critique. It was also at UWM that he produced what is now the standard translation into English of the complete fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, familiar to generations of readers, and initiated a world-wide boom in popular and academic interest in fairy tale studies with groundbreaking books on feminist fairy tales, fairy tales and the art of subversion, Victorian fairy tales, and the definitive study of Little Red Riding Hood. At UWM he was a Center for Twentieth Century Studies Fellow and Fulbright grant recipient. He has been called the “father of fairy tale studies.” He is equally influential as a literary scholar and hardly one to rest on his laurels, this year is on a book tour celebrating the 100th anniversary of the publication of the renowned story of Bambi with his new translation and commentary. Since retiring from academe, he has gained renown globally among popular audiences for his work on storytelling, children’s literature, and community engagement.

His numerous books include: Breaking the Magic Spell (1979); The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood(1983); Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion(1983); Don’t Bet on the Prince(1987); The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World(1988); Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children, and the Culture Industry(1997); Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children’s Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter(2001), Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre(2006) and The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre (2012). He has edited The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm (2001), The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales (2000) and The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy Tale Films (2010). Among his lifetime achievement awards are honorary doctorates from the University of Winnipeg, Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom, and the University of Bologna, Italy. He has also received the International Brothers Grimm Award, Storytelling World Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in World Fantasy.