Let Genius Burn
Louisa May Alcott may be best known for the beloved book Little Women, but her story doesn’t begin or end with her famous novel. On Let Genius Burn, we separate the layers of Louisa’s life to learn more about who she really was--and all the ways her legacy continues to resonate today. We’ll explore the traumatic year of her childhood spent in an experimental utopian community, her service as a Civil War nurse, her final years of wealth and celebrity as a children’s author--and more intimate details and little-known stories of Louisa’s life. Instead of a retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s biography, each episode in the 8-part series examines Louisa's life through a different lens--Louisa as a celebrity, writer, activist, daughter, and more-- highlighting her complexity as a person, woman, and historical figure. Ahead of her time, Louisa railed against the limitations of her gender and fought for women’s suffrage. She craved literary greatness, but was weighed down by the financial needs of her family. Through writing scandalous Gothic thrillers, she found a way to voice her own inner turmoil. In the end, she achieved extraordinary financial success, but creative fulfillment remained elusive.We’ll examine all of this and more on Let Genius Burn. Find more on Instagram and Facebook @letgeniusburn or at letgeniusburn.com.
Let Genius Burn
Louisa in Threads: Conversation with Fruitlands Artist-in-Residence Leslie Schomp
In this episode, we are talking with Leslie Schomp, who served as an artist-in-residence at Fruitlands in 2021. Leslie drew inspiration from Louisa’s diaries to create textile pieces that embodied and expressed Louisa May Alcott’s time there. Her samplers capture the dichotomy of this place: the distance between the restrictive ideals of the community and the vibrant, free spirit of young Louisa.
Leslie Schomp’s open heart captured another layer of Louisa May Alcott that has not yet been fully explored on Let Genius Burn: the tender pre-adolescent she was at Fruitlands, the fear she felt at becoming herself, and how she tried to tame it. These works express the full range of Louisa’s emotional self.
We discuss what it means to be a young girl growing up with ambitions, how we relate to Louisa's particular struggles, and how to capture visual elements while remaining in the ideals of an extreme utopian community.
Leslie received her MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and her BFA from Florida State University. She is a senior lecturer who primarily teaches drawing in the Visual Arts department at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester (Wooster), Massachusetts, where she has taught since 2000. Her work consists of drawings and sculptures created with textiles. Each piece is an investigation into how she sees herself as ”part of” instead of “apart from” nature.
To support Fruitlands Museum, visit thetrustees.org
You can view images of Leslie's artwork on her website: leslieschomp.com