More MacDonald

September 26, 2007 by 10 Comments

Yesterday I promised some poems from The White Page Poems which was “inspired” by MacDonald’s daily poems The Diary of an Old Soul. Zossima Press also sells the most complete CD version of MacDonald’s unabridged works: Ever Yours, George MacDonald $10 (pictured below – click on the picture to enlarge).

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This CD contains 48 out of 49 unabridged books in both MS Word and PDF format.

Now, for some sample poems – – – the first will be the poem by George MacDonald for a particular day of the year, followed by Betty’s poem for the same day:
[Read more…]

Filed Under: George MacDonald

Shane, the computer wizard

September 26, 2007 by 9 Comments

I was fumbling around trying to figure out how to work this WordPress blog and sent out an SOS for help to upload a picture. I mean, let’s be honest, folks. This Blog is a bit too plain. Lots of words – but no pictures?

Shane from Rochester was amazing – without even telling him who the server is for this website, he figured it out and how to solve the picture problem. Kudos, kudos, kudos!

And now, ladies and germs, I will make a picture appear before your very eyes after saying the magic words: “Abracadabra, alacazam, please and thank-you”:

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This is the latest Zossima Press book (click on picture to enlarge) – and if you want to know more about it, read on . . .

[Read more…]

Filed Under: George MacDonald

John’s speaking schedule this week

September 25, 2007 by 11 Comments

Hi, all. John is busy this week speaking from coast to coast, so I’m filling in temporarily. My name is Bob Trexler – John’s publisher at Zossima Press. John leaves for California tomorrow for two lectures: one at Biola University and another at Pepperdine University. Then, on Sunday, September 30th he will be signing books at the “BIG E” New England State Fair in West Springfield, Massachusettes. He will be there from 3-9 PM in the Connecticut Building.

I’ll add more specifics later – and will try to figure out how to add photographs to the posts. If anybody can explain this to me you can email me at Robert@Zossima.com

Filed Under: Unlocking Harry Potter

Pius Thicknesse = Pope Pius XII, “Hitler’s Pope”?

September 11, 2007 by 52 Comments

Does the takeover of the Ministry of Magic in the first chapters of Deathly Hallows include a passing swipe at the Catholic Church and the Vatican’s supposed complicity with Nazi Germany? I received a letter from a thoughtful reader who thinks this is a possibility. Let’s start with that letter and examine the evidence:

Hello John,

I’ve very much enjoyed following your work, although I’m not a signed-in blogger. A thought if you choose to respond to it. During Vold War II the Minister of Magic is Pius Thicknesse. Pius is a rather unusual name. Try this – Pius XII ” Hitler’s Pope.” Kind of fits – His Thickness(e) Pius XII. Anything linking to the number 12? Pius XII rather “thick” in not fully recognizing Hitler’s evil. I’ve followed the thread here on Deathly Hallows regarding Nazi Echoes but have not yet seen anything on this point.

My very best to you – keep up the excellent work.

Donn Allen

Before receiving this note I had read the name “Pius Thicknesse” as a throw-away swipe at politicians wearing religion on their sleeve and Culture Warriors who get sucked halo-deep into secular politics in the name of piety and do-gooding and holding-the-line against secular humanism.

But Pius may indeed be a specific reference to Pope Pius XII. This Pontiff was the leader of the Roman Catholic Church during WWII and the Cardinal who, before his elevation to the Papacy, negotiated one of the first treaties with Hitler’s Third Reich. Donn Allen’s suggestion merits some consideration, consequently, even if it gives the Catholic Unicorn Hunters and Harry Haters more grist for their mill. Though many of Ms. Rowling’s defenders biggest fans are Roman Catholic, we have little to no evidence that she has Catholic sympathies herself. [Read more…]

Filed Under: C. S. Lewis, Deathly Hallows Discussion Points, Unlocking Harry Potter

John’s Speaking Schedule: The HogPro Speaks!

September 10, 2007 by 21 Comments

Have you heard the song “Online” in which the geeky nerd puffs himself up into a virtual reality hunk on his MySpace page? I suspect folks who come to hear me speak after reading posts at Hogwarts Professor have something like a blind-date nightmare experience when they discover I’m a short man who looks a little too much like a house-elf with a mustache and bow-tie. Maybe one of the reasons people are so kind in saying I am a great speaker after I talk is that I greatly exceeded their expectations that had collapsed when they first saw me at the podium?

If you don’t want to risk that roller-coaster ride, you can hear me speak without the video element at Ancient Faith Radio’s Illumined Heart program. I did an interview there last month with Steve McMeans and two students at Biola University’s Torrey Honors Institute that covered a lot of ground about the status of the Controversy in the Christian community concerning the Potter novels. The folks at Ancient Faith just posted it today as an audio file you can listen to from the Internet. Please give it a listen and post your review here. I haven’t heard it so I look forward to learning from y’all where I misspoke.

If you would like to hear me speak and aren’t afraid of the Dobby Effect, my dates for this month and next include: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Unlocking Harry Potter