Hat tip to Christina Semmens, author of ‘Say Yes to Holiness!‘
‘Harry Potter, Death, and the Christian Experience’ Franciscan Friar Casey Cole
August 6, 2020 by Leave a Comment
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Top Ten Pointers to the Trilogy
June 4, 2020 by 6 Comments
It’s been an exciting past week or so here for serious readers, from J.K. Rowling’s new slow-release of The Ickabog to the release of the new Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. We’ve already taken a few looks here at the new prequel, which will doubtless continue to yield further treasures upon repeated readings. If you have not yet checked out The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I hope you will, and that you will join our conversation on its many layers. One of the most interesting features is the way in which the novel uses foreshadowing for events that we, savvy readers of the original trilogy, already know well. Although set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen’s name comes out of the Reaping bowl in the well-manicured hand of Effie Trinket, this novel should only be read by those who have already completed the trilogy. Like the Star Wars prequels, with moments like Obi-Wan Kenobi chiding his friend Anakin Skywalker, “You’re going to be the death of me,” BSS is an experience that only works if the readers know what is coming. This is a useful technique in literature and film. After all, we cannot gasp with horror when Oedipus declares that the murderer of Laius will be exiled and live in misery, unless we are familiar with the myth, so we know he himself is the man he seeks and that he will indeed be ruined and miserable. We cannot mentally headslap people in Titanic when they declare the ship’s invincibility if we do not know that the ship is going down, along with many of its passengers and their hubris.
So here are our first “top ten” moments and themes of The Ballad of Songbirds Snakes that point to and set up the trilogy we already know, some of us quite well. This is just the start to a much longer list, one that I am sure will grow with each reading. [Read more…]
Salazar’s Pit Viper: Another species named after our shared text.
April 20, 2020 by 1 Comment
The trend of naming new species after Harry Potter characters continues. The latest addition to the Slug Club (which, to my knowledge, has no actual slugs in it yet…. hey, slug researchers, why don’t you find a horned one and name it “Horace?”) is Trimeresurus salazar, a new, bright green pit viper recently discovered in India. Zeeshan Mirza led a team of five self-described Potter fans on an expedition that discovered the magical creature in the Pakke Tiger Reserve in July 2019. According to the report in The Indian Express:
They almost named the species ‘Nagini’, after Lord Voldemort’s snake but then later decided to “save it for when, and if, they discover a new cobra species since Nagini was a cobra.”
“Childhood experiences largely stay with you,” said Mirza, “When I was growing up, JK Rowling was a big part of my childhood, and perhaps everyone else who has read the book. Now what better way to honour and thank her than naming the species after one of her characters?”
Eriovixia gryffindori
Interestingly, the discoverer’s hat tip to Mr. Slytherin extends to the fantastic beast’s common name, which they hope will be Salazar’s pit viper, not to be confused with the Basilisk, Salazar’s pet viper. This also brings some balance to the Hogwarts’ founders, since Godric Gryffindor had a Sorting Hat-shaped spider named for him in 2016. I’m waiting for Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw to get their turn.
The snake joins a dinosaur, an extinct lizard, two wasps, two stink bugs, four spiders–the three others are named after Aragog–and an elusive crab in species with Wizarding World-inspired names. You can read about five of these in my earlier posts: here and here. If you want to know about the six others I’ve added to my list since 2017, follow the jump.
Queen City Mischief and Magic Readalong continues: Louise reads Chapter 13 of CoS.
April 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
The Queen City Mischief and Magic Festival is continuing its Harry Potter readalong, and I was asked to do a chapter of Chamber of Secrets. Click to tune in, or go the the QCMM Facebook page to see the whole series.
They are also taking volunteers to read from Prisoner of Azkaban, so if you’ve been dying to read “Cat, Rat, Dog” to the world , now’s your chance. I’d be especially glad to see academics who have contributed to QCMM in the past (I mean you, Lana and John) do a reading. Costumes and props optional.
We have LOVED the different ways you have all been presenting chapters of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” and are currently scheduling readers for “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” If you are interested, please message us [on Facebook] or on Instagram and let us know if you have a chapter or date preference. Other than making sure you include that we have permission from Scholastic and JK Rowling, you may present your chapter in any way you’d like! We can’t wait to experience this continued creativity coming from our fans.
Rowling’s New Twitter Header Means The Faerie Queene is a Strike 5 Theme?
March 22, 2020 by 6 Comments
As many of us are anxiously looking forward to the release of the fifth Cormoran Strike novel, Troubled Blood, this September, the latest change to J.K. Rowling’s Twitter account may have some clues. The novel’s title has several possible origins, including Edmund Spenser’s epic poem The Faerie Queene. With her recently changed Twitter header, which includes an image from a beautifully illustrated 1890s edition of The Faerie Queene, Rowling and her crime-writing alter-ego Robert Galbraith may be laying the groundwork for a Spenser-scaffolding installment in the adventures of the ever-fascinating Strike and Robin Ellacott. Some of us truly hope that is the case.
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