Hogwarts Professor

No surprises here: from the Telegraph, an article titled “Harry Potter Fails to Cast Spell over Professor Richard Dawkins.” I’ve just flown in from my Midwest tour and I’ll write more when my arms aren’t so tired.

I think we can file Professor Dawkins’ ideas about children’s literature under the “if the Fool does not laugh, it is not the Way” heading.

I leave tomorrow at 4 am for my five day tour of Iowa and Illinois (for itinerary click here). I will be talking about my HogPro friends at every stop and inviting new friends to join us — but I won’t be here to add new posts. Not to mention Halloween blogging friends wanting to know more about How Harry Cast His Spell! [Read more…]

Marcella Delaurentiis, a student reporter for the University of Chicago’s newspaper, The Maroon, sent me a list of questions last night for an article she is writing about my talk there on Halloween. I attach my answers here with the letter in which they are imbedded. Your comments and corrections, of course, are coveted. [Read more…]

I am buried in final preparations for my mini-tour of the Midwest this week and writing Harry Meets Hamlet and Scrooge, a book I say I am writing in this old post, so I won’t be writing any giant pieces on Epigraphs or Elizabeth Goudge until I get back. I found this post in my WordPress dashboard, however, that you might find amusing. It is the post I wrote on the original Hogwarts Professor web site (not a web log) after the Grossman and Spartz-Anelli interviews had been published in the summer we first read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It doesn’t have imbedded links but if you want to look back and have a good laugh at predictions made with confidence that didn’t turn out, this should make your day. Have fun!

CS Lewis as a Goth with Cleavage? C’mon

The Remarkable Joanne Rowling Interviews after Half Blood Prince‘s release

The fanfare surrounding the release of the penultimate Harry Potter adventure, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (HP6), on 16 July may have drowned out the explosive news released in the days following Midnight Madness Parties around the globe. The five interviews given by Joanne Rowling, however, one each to Time magazine and the NBC television morning show, The Today Show, and three others to children fans of the books, have much of fandom reeling and Harry Haters crowing. This isn’t the Joanne Rowling anyone thought they knew except perhaps for those who always knew she wasn’t a “goodie-goodie.” [Read more…]