I first met Dina Schiff Massachi about ten years ago while she was pursuing her M.A. degree in English at UNC Charlotte.  In addition to taking several graduate courses from me, she worked with me on a directed reading project dealing with feminist utopias in American literature. As part of this project, she studied the feminist themes that run through several of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books.  In the years since then, Dina has gone from being one of my graduate students to becoming a professional colleague of mine, but our shared interest in Baum’s Oz series has continued unabated.