Meanwhile Back in the Rowling Universe

March 31, 2025 by 3 Comments

It has been two weeks since the publication of Sunrise on the Reaping and almost all posts here at Hogwarts Professor have been about the second prequel novel of Suzanne Collins, her fifth Hunger Games effort.

What has happened in the world of J. K. Rowling, also known as Robert Galbraith, in that time?

Judging from her twitter feed, not very much — except for victory laps and scalp taking in the Trans Wars, as that conflict winds down. Her Gender Critical views, once considered radioactive and the height of bigotry, are now sweeping the Public Square. There has been little to no news about Harry Potter or Cormoran Strike for weeks but there have been tweet after tweet about the remnant resistance to “Reality Based” medicine, especially on the political left, about abuse of women in Islamic countries (not to include ‘Asian’ grooming gangs in the UK), and even a little support for Ukraine in response to the United States telling Zelensky the free ride is over (TDS? Check).

There is good news in this. The best of that good news is Rowling’s claim on 3 March (above) that her activity on Twixter is a very, very small part of her day’s labors, 90% of which is dedicated to writing her novels.

The almost as good news in her communication this month with her 14 million+ followers is that her battle with Gender Theory Extremists has largely been won, in no small part due to her sacrificial efforts of resistance to the nightmare that was “transgenderism” at its peak. Her tweets on this subject are now bold, brassy, and largely unforgiving with respect to those who rode the wave of popular opinion and scientistic propaganda.

One tweet that touched on friends from the Potter franchise who threw her under the Knight Bus in conformity with the TWAW Herd caused a grand kerfuffle: [Read more…]

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News of Possible Potter Television Show: Secret Plans or Just Rita Skeeter Rumors?

January 26, 2021 by 3 Comments

Yesterday, we were absolutely pummeled with notes about The Hollywood Reporter’s “Exclusive” news release regarding meetings withHBO Max for a planned Wizarding World live action project. While the report was extremely vague, only using facts and figures for verifiable points like the amount of money the previous Potter films have made, it set off a flurry of ripples. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Potter Fandom Tagged With: ,

The Passion of Harry Potter, according to Saint John the Evangelist

April 27, 2018 by 4 Comments

Much has been said about the Christian themes, symbolism and allusions in Harry Potter, and indeed much remains to be said. In a previous essay, I explained what Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has to do with Holy Week: the time when Christians commemorate the passion (suffering), death and resurrection of Christ. Here I’d like to add a small but (I think) significant observation to my articulation of the striking parallels between Harry’s self-offering and Christ’s.

In John’s Gospel and in none of the others, Jesus takes a moment, almost immediately before surrendering his spirit to God the Father, to “give” his mother Mary to the disciple whom he loved:

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. (John 19: 26-27)

The text implies that with this act, Jesus completes his mission on earth: “After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished…” (19:28a) Indeed, after acknowledging his thirst to fulfill what had been written in Psalm 69, “he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (19:30b)  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Deathly Hallows Discussion Points, Emily Strand, Traditional Symbolism Tagged With: , , , ,

Attention UK Readers! LondonMoot is coming!

April 5, 2018 by 1 Comment

Get ready, dear readers in the United Kingdom, for the erudite nerdiness of Signum University and the Mythgard Institute to finally come to YOU! Later this month, on April 28, Signum U. (digital disseminators of some of the best and most accessible learning and teaching in imaginative fiction studies anywhere) will host its first London “moot” at the Sir David Davies lecture theater, Torrington Place.

A “moot,” of course, is a meeting of Ents (tree-people) in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings; Signum’s version promises to feature few talking trees, allowing proceedings to be held at a slightly hastier pace. Signum/Mythgard has been hosting such moots around the US for a few years now, with their main gathering, Mythmoot, held annually over a weekend in Leesburg, Virginia.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Beatrice Groves, Emily Strand, Hog Pro Notes, Potter Fandom, Shakespeare, Traditional Symbolism Tagged With: , , ,

Chestnut Hill 2017: Emily’s Conference and Festival Report

October 30, 2017 by 2 Comments

Peri Fisher giving her talk on the power of YA lit to effect social reform.

Catching the heels of Louise’s excellent round-up of the sessions she attended at 2017’s Chestnut Hill College Harry Potter Conference, I submit my own report, dear Hogwarts Professor readers. In addition to the conference, my intrepid friend Katherine Sas and I also attended the Harry Potter Festival in the village of Chestnut Hill, just down the street from the College, the day after the conference, as we have done the past few years. The fest was particularly good this year, for both magical and non-magical reasons. I’ll spell them out here, with photographic evidence of the mischief that was so delightfully managed by Chestnut Hill, PA in 2017. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Emily Strand, Potter Fandom, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,