As part of the opening festivities for the Lilly Library’s spring exhibition The Whole World in a Book: Celebrating Madeline Kripke's Dictionary Collection, we are thrilled to welcome acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Stefan Fatsis to the Lilly Library. He will be joined by IU Provost Professor of English Michael Adams for a discussion about his recent book Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary, about the history and fascinating subculture of the dictionary and the Kripke collection.

The discussion will be followed by a book signing and reception. This event is free to attend.

About the exhibition

Madeline Kripke was a dictionary obsessive, and over a decades-long career, amassed an astounding collection of over 20,000 linguistic books and ephemera. After the beloved “dame of dictionaries” died in 2020, the Lilly Library was honored to acquire Kripke’s collection. The Whole World in a Book gives the public the chance to explore the rich history of lexicography from its beginnings to the quirky niche dictionaries of the last century.