The title of this post may be a bit dramatic, but I will share about the series of unfortunate events that happened around Harry Potter this past week. Last Saturday, my sister-in-law had a Harry Potter-themed birthday party. She decorated her house with wizarding decor – complete with broomsticks, a “Have You Seen This Wizard?” sign, different characters, wands, quills, and golden snitches for giveaways. The table was set with a feast of yummy food...
Warning: Spoilers ahead for classics you should have already read! I didn’t want to write for the blog this week. I’m going through a very difficult situation at work that has me feeling like I’ve been turned inside out. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can’t see through to the outcome. I’m having trouble imagining what awaits me on the other side of this mess. And I hate it. It’s scary and uncomfortable...
This is, oddly enough, an article about writing an article. A former student of mine who now edits the university newspaper asked if I would write an OpEd piece for the upcoming Halloween issue. Touched (but mainly flattered), I accepted immediately, not considering the ramifications of my commitment. I was attempting to make a case for Halloween on a Christian campus notoriously divided on even acknowledging the holiday in the first place. Initially, the spooky...
Did you hear the news? J. K. Rowling wrote a new book! When I heard this I was absolutely thrilled. But there’s just one thing. J. K. Rowling used a pseudonym. Instead of using her famous pen name “J. K. Rowling” for her new detective novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling, the book was written under the false name, Robert Galbraith. Some publishers turned down this “debut” by “Robert Galbraith.” Business Insider writes about how this reveals a lot about...
Two weeks ago I wrote my review of The Casual Vacancy (CV) by J. K. Rowling. On the whole I wasn’t too keen on it and there I explain why. One thing that I didn’t want to do at the time was read other reviews of Rowling’s new book. I wanted to create my own thoughts first. So in the intervening time I’ve had a chance to read around a bit and here is some...
J. K. Rowling has written a new book. Did you notice something in that sentence? Those who know my affection for the Harry Potter series should immediately recognize that my opening sentence ended, not with five exclamation points, but with a period. Sadly, I am not too thrilled about this book. And this is coming from a self-proclaimed ‘Pothead’ (my endearing term for Potter fans). I have always been on the defensive for Rowling, arguing...
Every fan of Harry Potter has envisioned themselves as belonging to one of the four houses of Hogwarts. Ask any fan and they’ll tell you. For myself, I know I am not courageous enough to be Gryffindor and so I’ve always identified with Ravenclaw; not because I am particularly drawn to characters from Ravenclaw — such as Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, or Prof. Flitwick — but because of their emphasis on academics. For a guy...
Last week was the first Conference engaging with the Harry Potter series at a high academic level. We know, hard to believe huh?! Well, yours truly from The Two Cities, John Anthony Dunne and Nathaniel Warne, were among the lucky few selected to give papers at this landmark event. The topics covered at the conference were wonderfully diverse. There were fascinating papers on: Food and British national identity in the series, Hermoine in the HP...
This Thursday and Friday (May 17 and 18) the School of English at the University of St Andrews will be hosting an international conference on Harry Potter called, “A Brand of Fictional Magic: Reading Harry Potter as Literature.” Today I am leaving Las Vegas to return to Scotland for this event. I’ve been excited for this conference since before I was even accepted to study at St Andrews. Initially I just thought I’d attend, but...
2011 has come to a close. It has been a great year and there are a lot of fun things to look forward to in 2012 (who isn’t excited for The Dark Knight Rises or The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?). Here at The Two Cities we are very excited for the introduction of this blog in August 2011 and look forward to the upcoming year. We hope to continue to provide daily posts and greatly want...
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