Deathly Hallows Harry = “Pilgrim Soldier”?

November 29, 2009 by 5 Comments

So Daniel Radcliffe thinks. Check out this Leaky Cauldron video taken at the Half-Blood Prince movie release (the comment comes at 6:50).

No, I don’t think a young movie actor’s idea of what Deathly Hallows means is in any sense authoritative but I’d need to be the bigger goof than I am not to know that Mr. Radcliffe’s interpretation will very much influence the way that many readers will understand the series finale. Movies have that ability to re-shape what we have experienced ourselves in text, like it or not.

So what do you think Mr. Radcliffe means by describing Harry as a “Pilgrim Soldier” and Harry’s situation as “the last days of a dying Roman Emperor”? (H/T to Jeremy for the TLC clip and quotation!)

Filed Under: Movie Thoughts

‘Ten Myths About Writing for Kids’

November 28, 2009 by 2 Comments

These two pieces by Eugie Foster (here and here) which together spell out the Ten Myths about Writing for Kids confirmed my thinking about Joanne Rowling and Stephenie Meyer in two respects: (1) neither set out to write for children and (2) thinking of them as ‘kid lit’ authors is so far off base as to seem bizarre. None of the myths the estimable Ms. Foster discusses could possibly have been on Ms. Rowling’s or Mrs. Meyer’s mind when they set out. Here is the list of ten myths; check out the articles linked above for the excellent discussion — [Read more…]

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes, Unlocking Harry Potter

Haven’t We Been Here Before?

November 27, 2009 by 3 Comments

Headlines last week read “Vatican Condemns Twilight.” If that sounds familiar to Potter readers, it is the echo of the virtual reality experience we had in 2005 when Star Chamber Catholics in Canada created the “Pope Condemns Harry Potter” controversy on the eve of Order of the Phoenix‘ publication.

That was pretty silly, because the Pope didn’t do anything of the sort. This report turns out to be the real deal. I’ve written about it over at Forks High School Professor and mention it here for these reasons: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes

Guest Post: Thoughts on Snape and Horcruxes

November 26, 2009 by 27 Comments

Friends at Scribbulus sent me this exchange, which, to use the language of the Pontifical Council on Culture about Twilight, certainly borders on the “excessively esoteric.” The dialogue, however, stretches the conversation about Horcruxes in a direction I wouldn’t have taken and thought you might find interesting. I especially enjoyed the aside about Severus Snape. For your comments and corrections, then, a dialogue between ‘Rotfang’ and ‘Caltheus:’ [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Anybody Know This Guy?

November 23, 2009 by 1 Comment

Speaker Relates Harry Potter to Contemporary Issues

(H/T to David G!)

Filed Under: Uncategorized