Long time friend of this blog Steve Vander Ark talks with me and Keith Hawk about the all-new Harry Potter Lexicon and a lot of the Copyright Law Suit saga you haven’t heard before. Check out the conversation — and be sure to check in at the new Lexicon for the dream Harry Potter reference site!
MuggleNet Academia: The Return of the Harry Potter Lexicon (Steve Vander Ark)
December 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Shared Text: Islamicist Terror and ‘The Voldemort Effect’ on Lateline
December 1, 2015 by 2 Comments
At 5:40 in the talking heads discussion below, please note the reference to “the Voldemort Effect,” the inability of Western liberals and the US President specifically to name jihadist terror as evil or even to accept it as existing. Whatever your politics, there’s no denying that Harry Potter is the only YA title mentioned in this challenging discussion between a public atheist and a Muslim committed to secular values.
Shared Text: The Cauldron of Spoilers — and Repent, America!
November 9, 2015 by 2 Comments
Colbert may joke about Headmasters coming out of the Narniad closet but some folks don’t think this is funny. They’re still out there!
News: Rowling Speaks on ‘Career of Evil’ Planning and Scaffolding at NPR
November 2, 2015 by 2 Comments
This just in from ChrisC:
Just found two interesting links related to Career of Evil —
One is a series of interviews Ms. Rowling has given to NPR. She seems to have given three consecutive chats, and each one I’ve listened to seem interesting. Some of what she says may lend support to some of the ideas regarding Rowling’s themes for the Strike series:
http://www.npr.org/templates/
Also, of final interest is this article for the Chicago Tribune that places Ms. Rowling in a long line of Women Mystery Writers:
All in all, there’s a lot to chew on, here.
[Note her comments about the “larger story arc” and the planning — “I worked exceptionally hard on the scaffolding,” comments which begin about 7:50 in the interview. Much more to say on this! John]
Doxacon 2015: John Talks in DC about the Ring Structure of Harry Potter on Saturday 14 November – See You There?
November 1, 2015 by 2 Comments
What a month! I’ve been to Youngstown, Chestnut Hill, and Phoenix in October and November features trips to Jonesboro, Arkansas, and to the District of Columbia. I’ve been looking forward to the DC date for almost a year because it is the Doxacon Conference, a gathering of traditional Christians to talk about the ins and outs, the fronts and backs of popular literature. Read all about it here and in the flyer below. This is the last week of registration for the conference which is Friday and Saturday, 13-14 November. I hope to see you there!
Two quick comments:
(1) Yes, the photo on the flyer is indeed an old picture! It was taken by Tyndale, believe it or not, in 2004 for the release of Looking for God in Harry Potter. Lest you be shocked when you see what I really look like, here is a snapshot taken by a friend a few days ago.
(2) The flyer doesn’t say what I’m talking about (see the website!). The title of the talk is Harry Potter’s Magic Ring: The Traditional and Biblical Story Scaffolding of the Hogwarts Saga and of Every Book in the Series. In an hour, I’ll try to introduce the idea of chiasmus or ring-writing as we have it in Scripture and Western literary tradition, explain parallelism in Harry Potter, and then try to answer the big question, namely, ‘So What?’
I’ll also be moderating a panel ‘On Discernment.’ I think I was asked to do this on the principle that the moderator should be the person least knowledgeable with respect to the subject and most in need of an education about same. The panel is a wow group and I am delighted to have (and not a little embarrassed about) my front row seat to their discussions.
Again — I’m looking forward to seeing you there! It promises to be a blast.
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