Update: The Hog’s Head’s latest PodCast is an interview with me about The Deathly Hallows Lectures. Please tune in and share what you think!
If you live in southern California, I am coming your way next Monday as a Torrey Honors Institute Distinguished Lecturer at Biola University. In my two days there, I’ll be responsible for a talk to the Biola University community, a 3 hour seminar for selected students, a podCast with the Torrey Scriptorium gentlemen, and another talk, this one just for the Torrey students. Only the first talk is open to all comers; please join the community of scholars and friends at Biola that night if you can and introduce yourself afterwards.
I’ll be talking about the “new stuff” from my latest book, The Deathly Hallows Lectures, namely, the meaning of the many eyes in the series finale and the help it gives us in turning what Ms. Rowling has said is “the key” opening up the seven books.
The eyes are the “Triangular Eye” of the Hallows symbol, Dumbledore’s pale blue eye in the mirror shard, the Locket Horcrux eyes, Alastor Moody’s Mad-Eye, and the green eyes of Beatrice, Lily, Harry, and the ASP. The “key”?
Q: There’s this dialogue between Harry and Professor Dumbledore: “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
Ms. Rowling: And Dumbledore says: “Of course it is happening inside your head, but why on earth would that mean that is not real?” That dialogue is the key; I’ve waited seventeen years to use those lines. Yes, that’s right. All this time I’ve worked to be able to write those two phrases; writing Harry entering the forest and Harry having that dialog.(sic)
I argue in Chapter 5 of The Deathly Hallows Lectures that the key is understanding Harry’s question as a false dilemma and the Headmaster’s answer as a pointer to Harry’s identity as the “Seeing Eye” and “sacred I” of his part in the soul triptych symbolism of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I haven’t been as excited about an idea since I recognized the alchemical story-scaffolding Ms. Rowling was using and the “obvious” Christian content.
If you cannot get to La Mirada next Monday to hear me explain this in person and you want to hear more about this before ordering The Deathly Hallows Lectures, available at last with eyeball symbolism chapters, eyeball cover and a capital ‘I’ index, your friend and mine Travis Prinzi will be posting an interview he did with me last week as a Hog’s Head podCast on Saturday. My hope is that this chat will spur you to buy the book. More on all of that next week.
Oops, forgot something! If you want autographed copies of The Deathly Hallows Lecturesor How Harry Cast His Spell (the updated and expanded Looking for God in Harry Potter), write me at john at zossima dot com and I’ll process those orders next week, God willing and travel allowing.
John’s September Speaking Dates and Appearances:
Biola University, Torrey Honors Institute
Monday, 15 September: Public Lecture
Tuesday, 16 September: Torrey Honors Institute Talk
St. Luke’s Orthodox Church
Wednesday, 17 September: C. S. Lewis: Why Christians Read Fiction
Pepperdine University. Seaver College
Thursday, 18 September: Two Classes, Seaver College Lecture
Baylor University, Honors College
Sunday, 21 September: Christian Content of Deathly Hallows
Monday, 22 September: Unlocking Deathly Hallows
Yale University, Saybrook College
Wednesday, 24 September: The Eyes of Harry Potter
The Big E
Thursday, 25 September: Book Signing
Hello John,
I ve just finished “How harry cast his Spell”… and received “The DH Lectures ” friday : “Youpi !” as we say in french.
Thank you again for your work . I was waiting for the books like the poor Harry calling for a “Patronus” in front of Dementors and I’m ready again to follow the silver doe .
Hey HogPro All-Pros…just a heads-up to order your books from Zossima, not Amazon, if you want the Professor’s autographed copy. :-0
Oh yeah,,,live and learn! I just simply hit the link and ordered not thinking… like Harry in Potions class; distracted enough to be dangerous to everyone around me!
Thanks, John, for your kindness.
PJ, glad to have family safe and sound again.
And another reason for you SoCal All-Pros to come to the lecture at St. Luke’s next Wednesday night – the evening’s co-master of ceremonies will be your fellow AllPro Nicholas, aka cigar95. Free admission, plus free refreshments!
Even if it’s not Harry-related, I hear the Professor is pretty good on Lewis as well. See you all.
Safe travels, John. I hope to see you at tomorrow’s talk, but only briefly, as I have to take my wife to the airport.
Nicholas
Blessings, John, on your speaking tour; I hope it and the new book are a great success. About time you get the academic respect you deserve!
If you’ll permit me to mention the following here; I don’t know where else to put it, and every All-Pro should have a chance to see this, if possible.
We returned last week from vacation in the Seattle area and were thrilled to see an exhibit of originals from the St. John’s Illuminated Bible at the Tacoma Art Museum, its only West Coast showing this year (and two days before it ended). This Bible (www.saintjohnsbible.org) is the one with breathtaking hand-done calligraphy and art (some iconographic, some contemporary). Honestly, I felt like taking my shoes off, as if it were holy ground; it’s beauty and meaning moved us to gasps and tears, and it was difficult to tear ourselves away. To see people transfixed by this amazing work (people who may never have read scripture in their lives), to see the originals with three dimensional gold paint, notations and scribbles outside the margins, the labor and love put into this, was not only the high point of our trip, but an experience of a lifetime.
There are only two more exhibits of the originals (several pages of the Gospels, Acts, Pentateuch, Psalms–what we saw) scheduled in the near future: Mobile, AL, Oct.-April; and something in Baltimore, MD (Modern Vision Through Medieval Methods–sounds up your alley, John), Feb.-May. There are some exhibits of (what I hopefully assume are top-quality, embossed) giclee prints elsewhere. Any plain print sold in a museum shop is just flatly ‘eh.’ See the website for further information and photographs.
These are pages even the kitties wouldn’t dare lie on…
Loved, loved, loved your thoughts on the eye imagery on Travis’s latest podcast.
Everyone, be sure to get a copy of The Deathly Hallows Lectures. It’s stunning. Although I haven’t listened to the podcast, I know the book goes much further in depth, and John’s arguements are beautifully laid out. DHL is a scholarly achievement, way beyond what we could have imagined. Brilliant work.
Luscious Badboy and Curious Black are locking eyes at the moment…
Hear Hear!!! I agree whole-heartedly with Arabella; DHL is AMAZING.
When I finished, I had to wait for my eyes to uncross; not unlike those wonderful days of higher learning when the coursework was way over my head but the instructor was incredibly sensitive and made understanding a joy. I truly could not put the book down.
Lots of illuminating cranial moments for me this week, John…thank you! I am now highlighting my way through *How Harry Cast His Spell* and thinking I should buy some sticky-flags or something similar to mark what I think will be frequently-cited pages when I need substantiation for the Harry-doubters in my life 🙂
Well done, Professor