We all have magical powers
We call those magical powers ‘writing.’ The magic is within the written word.
What author doesn’t wish they had written a phenomenon like Harry Potter?
The financial success would certainly be sweet, mostly because what it buys for you is the financial freedom to have a literary life, one where you can shut everything else out and simply write to your heart’s content. I daresay most authors will tell you they do not envy Ms. Rowling’s fame, for such things get too intrusive.
However the phenomenon is more than the financial freedom; it is the accomplishment of having Harry Potter become a household name, one that creates conversations and sends the mind on fanciful journeys of imagination. The phenomenon all authors surely yearn for, is that their words have had an impact; it is knowing that what you have written can so positively inspire.
As I sheepishly admitted to David Zinger in another conversation here, “I’m the odd duck who has never read a single Harry Potter book or seen any of the films,” and therefore, the character names and plot twists are pretty unfamiliar to me. Yet here I am, writing about it.
I have watched the entire circus that surrounds each book release with fascination, for that ‘circus’ is such a study in what drives human interest, and I can’t help but wonder about the “wisdom of crowds” in one moment and the story of lemmings in the next. It tells us so much about how people will choose to spend their time, convenience be damned, and why they want what they want. It makes us wonder why people aren’t as driven to work on real life itself, versus besieging Rowling with letters pleading she never allows the fantasy to end.
LONDON — Outside Waterstone's book shop in tourist-filled Piccadilly Circus, a woman in her 20s slept soundly on the sidewalk, her witch's hat covering her tired eyes.
A young girl dressed as a Victorian nurse chewed on candy and chatted with others eagerly waiting outside the store. And at the front of the growing line, a 16-year-old from the Netherlands held a sign addressed to spectators: "Only $2 for staring," it said.
A woman from Michigan and her two daughters were camped farther down the line. They booked a hotel across the street to make sure they would not miss the bookstore party.
"I love the waiting and anticipating, of guessing what is going to occur," said Margie McCloy. "Sharing this with my girls is what is most magical to me."
"I'll miss the spectacle," interrupted Chellie Carr, McCloy's youngest daughter. "No Harry Potter fan will ever experience this after this book."
The great irony here is that personally, I still have very little desire to read a Harry Potter book. I’m sure I would if one were given to me, however the book dollars I spend go to a wide array of other choices that will always trump fantasy. Yet I can tell you without any doubt whatsoever that my story would be different if my own children were younger in 1997 when the first Harry Potter book was published, for they were then past the age of contentedly sitting and allowing me to read to them. Like me, they were making other choices in bookstores. However they were not beyond other fascinations … remember furbies? I have one of those stories of what I went through to get my daughter a pure white one, and my son a pure black one during one frantic Christmas season …
I agree with the sentiment in this editorial in The Herald Bulletin, and I also cheer for what J.K. Rowling has achieved, however I also know the editor is wrong;
Whether you are a fan of the best-selling series in book history, a lover of the spine-tingling movie adventures or a die-hard Potter hater, it doesn’t matter. What J.K. Rowling has done for reading is something we may never see again in our lifetime. Her creation of Harry, Hermione, Ron and all the magical creatures in between have recreated a powerful lust for books.
Rowling may just have magical powers herself.
Look at how many people she has brought together. Kids have in-depth conversations about Potter books with adults. And adults talk back. Brothers and sisters bond over the adventures. Grandparents find something in common with their grandkids.
Type in “Harry Potter” on the Web. Thousands upon thousands of sites pop up: blogs, bookstores, Web sites. It’s like we are all in this giant Potter book club together.
Where will people be tonight and Saturday? At bookstores and at libraries, celebrating. The characters will come to life with costume contests and trivia games. Then, when the book is distributed, fans will stay up all night and read. The thirst for knowledge is exhilarating.
Kids will be hunkered down under the covers with flashlights all night tonight, and parents won’t mind a bit. Chances are the adults are secretly reading in their rooms, too.
Thank you, Rowling, for your gift — for getting us to turn off our video games, computers and TVs and read again.
This is the part I know to be wrong: What J.K. Rowling has done for reading is something we may never see again in our lifetime.
To all you writers out there, keep reading and keep writing. Rowling’s magic can continue to happen, for we all have those very same magical powers.
~Rosa Say
Click on photos for credits.
From the Joyful Jubilant Learning Archives:
Must-read blog for writers: Confident Writing by Joanna Young
As one who has read (and re-read) the Harry Potter series, it is a good story. It is not the best in the world even though the popularity may seem to make it so. I would put the Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien) and His Dark Materials trilogy (Pullman) clearly ahead of Harry.
I like what Dan Ward said about the depiction of evil. While some church folks bemoan the advocacy of "magic", evil is depicted for what it is, evil. This compared to Star Wars where Darth Vadar has a glamorous image, and folks wear his costume at Halloween. Where there Wormtail or Lord Voldemort costumes at Halloween? I don't recall hearing about that.
Read more of what Dan said here:
http://projectbluelynx.blogspot.com/2007/07/harry-potter-vs-star-wars.html
Posted by: Steve Sherlock | July 21, 2007 at 05:22 PM