At The New York Review of Books, Tim Parks has written a bleak and challenging assessment of the ‘life of a writer’ in the early 21st Century, ‘The Writer’s Job,’ and the consequent ‘state of literature,’ Capital L. John Patrick Pazdziora wrote a group of friends and HogwartsProfessors with his thoughts about Park’s gloomy picture, which note inspired a reflective exchange both on the history of this kind of assessment and what a writer’s life is like at any time among his correspondents. With their permission, I share that exchange below. Please read the Park article, enjoy the conversation, and feel free to contribute to it here in the comment boxes!

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On the eve of Holy Theophany and as the Anglican Communion considers re-writing their baptismal rites (again), what better time to have a discussion about a curious extra-canonical Hogwarts Saga event, namely, Harry Potter’s infant baptism? Ms. Rowling discussed her lead character’s Christening in the Sparks-Anelli Interview, 2005, and I’ve asked our four Hogwarts faculty members on call to share their thoughts to jump start our conversation. It’s a subject that brings in all sorts of issues beside the usual question of how much Christian content there really is in the stories, to include the relative importance of interviews versus the published works, Harry as a Christ figure, and what we can tell about fictional character’s beliefs if they never express them explicitly (as is the rule in the UK).

Please jump right in the conversation to share your comments and corrections!

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