Glenn Lucke, author and proprietor of Common Grounds Online, interviewed me about Harry Potter & Imagination. Part 1 is up today. Here are Glenn’s very kind words about Harry Potter & Imagination:

For those who love all things Potter, in my estimation Prinzi’s work is the best book I’ve read on the subject. Prinzi not only brings a wealth of learning about literature, and particularly fantasy literature, to bear on the J.K. Rowling’s Potter oerve, but he also thinks interdependently. He avoids merely splicing quotes and others’ insights, but rather he engages other writers and Rowling from his own point of view. The questions Prinzi asks in HP & Imagination kept me riveted, and he writes in a style that is a delight to read.

If you want to read Potter at new levels of depth and see Rowling’s adroit use of venerable traditions in fantasy writing and her simultaneous creation of new forms, let Prinzi be your guide. He not only enriched my reading and understanding of the Harry Potter series, but also he  nudged me into considering how these great themes could impact my own life more deeply.

Order the book here!

Read my answer to Glenn’s first interview question here!

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Pub Patron “Mr. Pond” has a great blog, if you didn’t already know: The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond. Last week, we had a great phone conversation which he’s written up into three parts. I hope you enjoy it, and do subscribe to Mr. Pond’s blog if you haven’t already!

• talking Potter, part 1
• talking Potter, part 2
• talking Potter, part 3

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On Tap: Introduction to Harry Potter & Imagination. News and commentary. Frivolity. Your comments, questions, and declarations of heresy are welcome.

Visit The Hog’s Head at Farpoint Media! Leave reviews of the show here (which I’d greatly appreciate), and make sure you check out Farpoint’s other great offerings. I’ll begin featuring short promos of other Farpoint shows in coming PubCasts.

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For me, two very important events happened yesterday and today.  Yesterday, November 22, 1963, C.S. Lewis died, his death being overshadowed by the assasination of John F. Kennedy.  Aldous Huxley also died that day too.  Lewis is well known for his Chronicles of Narnia books and also for his Christian apologetical works, even giving a series of radio lectures during World War II which would later form the book Mere Christianity.  Among many works, Lewis also wrote science fiction, The Space Trilogy, and also, what I consider to be his best work, Till We Have Faces, a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche.

The second event happened on November 23, 1963.  Doctor Who debuted on BBC Television.  A science fiction show following the time travels of the eccentric and enigmatic Doctor, it has been recognized as the longest running science fiction television show in the world and also the most successful.  It ran originally from 1963 to 1989.  The series was regenerated in 2005 and has continued until present, although no full series was run in 2009.  David Tennant, who played Barty Crouch Jr. in Goblet of Fire, was a fan of Doctor Who in his youth.  Tennant eventually played The Doctor from 2005 through 2010.  The show had an almost cult status in Great Britain and led to a shared experience called “behind the sofa,” in reference to hiding behind the sofa during the scary parts of the show and peeking out to see if they were over.

Connecting all this to Harry Potter, it’s well known that JK Rowling has expressed admiration of The Chronicles of Narnia and of Lewis’ work in general until she started to distance herself from comparisons to him and her work in recent years, for whatever reasons.  However, both share strong literary roots.  Lewis, like Rowling, loved Edith Nesbit and Jane Austen.  Lewis supposedly said of Austen’s works that they had two faults, both of which were damnable, they were too few and too short.  For more on the connections between Lewis and Rowling, there is an excellent book I’ve heard of, by some obscure but brilliant writer, called Harry Potter and Imagination.   As an aside, I think if Lewis had the chance to read the Potter books, he would’ve been delighted!  J.R.R. Tolkien, perhaps not so much…

As for connections between Doctor Who and Harry Potter, I’ve not heard of many, besides the mild connection between Tennant’s role as Crouch Jr. and The Doctor.  Doing a bit of brief research, I came across some stories suggesting that Rowling might have been contacted about writing a story for the revived series but could not since she was still working on Potter.  I also saw one story that claimed there was to be a Doctor episode about Rowling but that Tennant shot it down as being too silly even for Doctor Who.  If you’d like to check some of these stories out, just google “Rowling Doctor Who.” Rowling is of an age that she could have watched Doctor Who in her youth.  I’ve never seen any references, though, of her mentioning the show.  Does anyone here know?

Feel free to share your thoughts on C.S. Lewis and on The Doctor.

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PubCast #65 is still half-recorded, primarily because I’ve switched up what I want to do with the second half of it.  As soon as Dave and I have a few free minutes this week, we’re going to record a brief discussion on Watchmen, which will comprise the second half of PubCast #65.

I mentioned in a recent post that there were now seven 5-star reviews of Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds. The most recent ones are below the break.  I wanted to give a special thank you to the 7 reviewers so far, and also remind all and sundry who have read the book that Amazon.com reviews are greatly appreciated.  They don’t need to be lengthy.

Read the two most recent reviews:

A learning experience for the most devoted fan, March 4, 2009

By	C. Ferguson (Ottawa, On Canada) – See all my reviews

As an avid Harry Potter fan, I was interested to know what more I could learn on the series that I felt I didn’t already know. HA! Travis’ work on Harry Potter and the fairy tale got me thinking in ways I never thought I would about a boy wizard. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of our favourite series. Travis’ book is beautifully written and thought provoking, inspiring further discussion and even more questions.

Even for the Muggles among us…, March 8, 2009

By	Mark B. Nikirk – See all my reviews

First I would like to make it plain that I am not a Potterphile. I enjoyed the books immensely, but when the end of the series came I put them away on the shelf. So why did I read this book? I am familiar with Travis Prinzi’s other excellent work: essays, humor, and online presence, and wanted to read his opinion on Rowling’s series. He did not disappoint.

Mr Prinzi makes the wizarding world accessible to even those with a passing interest in Harry Potter. He fully applies the techniques of literary critique and reveals the multifaceted world that Rowling builds her stories on. Explained in detail, but not exhaustively, Travis draws parallels from Harry’s universe that can help us understand our own.

As I said before, I am not an ardent fan of Harry Potter, but Prinzi’s brilliant book has revealed nuance and color where I didn’t know it existed. I’m now planning on rereading the series, if only to enjoy the things I missed before.

Buy the book here!

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I’ve managed to make my way back into the college classroom – only this time, I don’t have to be present, turn in assignments, or take tests.  Richard Priggie, professor at Augustana College, has selected my book, Harry Potter and Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds, as well as John Granger’s book, The Deathly Hallows Lectures, as required texts for his undoubtedly fascinating class, “The Postmodern World of Harry Potter.”  I’ll be speaking to the class via some form of live audio or video chat, and Mr. Granger will be traveling to the campus to guest lecture in person.

I’m guessing many reading this would enjoy taking that class.  How about offering it a contribution?  Prof Priggie is in need of additional suggestions for topics to be selected by students for a major paper.
The following is the rubric for the paper:
1.It must be a controversial issue, that is, an issue in the Potter books about which reasonable commentators could disagree and/or have disagreed.
2.Because students must identify at least six “conversation partners,” the issue must be one that has been written about or talked about in an online conversation such as thehogshead.org or hogwartsprofessor.com.
3.The issue must be substantial enough that it merits treatment in 8-10 double-spaced pages.
4.Students must be able to address places in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows where the controversy they choose is raised.

And here is the list of topics at present.  Try to follow this format of dichotomous statements in your suggestions. Any ideas you can add to this list will be greatly appreciated!

1. “Although Harry grows up a bit, he is essentially a static character…His heroism seems to depend on chance and inheritance.” (Ostry)/ Harry “is put through a refining process” in which he was “torn down and rebuilt into the hero the Wizarding World really needed.” (Prinzi)
2. JK Rowling breaks no new ground in her treatment of racism; her books are “conservative tomes for conservative times.” (Armitstead, Zipes, Ostry)/ The novels present a sophisticated understanding of the dynamics of racism and are instructive in showing alternatives to racism.
3. Women in the Potter books are generally weaker or more minor characters/JK Rowling is a feminist writer.
4. Severus Snape is a hero/ Severus Snape is not a hero.
5. Voldemort is evil/ Voldemort is Harry’s “shadow” which Harry must own and turn toward the good.
6. The books intend no moral lessons/ Nevertheless, morals are drawn.
7. The books are anti-Christian/ They are “the church’s greatest missed opportunity…”
8. It is impossible to understand the novels apart from understanding postmodernism/None of the major themes in the books is essentially postmodern.
9. Harry’s story is a powerful demonstration of the importance of choice or free will in shaping our lives/Harry’s story demonstrates the influence of fate upon the course of our lives. Or, another way of saying the same thing…
10. Harry is “The Chosen One.”/ Harry is “One who has Chosen.”
11. Working for “the greater good” of others is a prideful aim./Working for “the greater good of others” is a productive aim.
12. “The subject of the Harry Potter series is power.” (Acocella)/ “This series is about death more than anything else.” (Prinzi)
13. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry is a model educational institution/ Kids don’t learn anything in Hogwarts classe
14. Books are powerful, transformative, and dangerous/You can’t learn anything from books.

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Four 5-star reviews have been written for Harry Potter & Imagination at Amazon.com so far.  I really appreciate these!

If you’ve read the book, I’d love to see your honest review at Amazon.com!  It only takes a couple minutes to write; there’s no need to write anything lengthy (unless you want to, and it’d be welcome), and it lets me know what you think, for which I am very thankful.

I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

In the meantime, here’s an excerpt from Brent’s review:

As someone who has heard and read Travis’ thoughts on the series before the release of this book, this isn’t much of a surprise, but the depth of the book still amazed me. [...] While I admit I did not agree completely with every conclusion reached in the book, it argues in a well-researched manner that strongly supports its thesis. As the Harry Potter franchise loses the stigma attached to it as popular culture, educators and academics will use Harry Potter and Imagination as an important reference text for all future analysis of the series and will hopefully result in all of us imagining better.

Order the book!

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Christmas and fairy tales; the magic of wonder; an excerpt from Harry Potter & Imagination

You can subscribe to the Hog’s Head PubCast through iTunes, or Odeo.  Nice reviews are greatly appreciated!

Pub Menu

• Andrew Peterson: Behold the Lamb of God
• Tony Woodlief: “OK, Virginia, There’s No Santa Claus. But There Is God.”
• Order Harry Potter & Imagination
• Christmas at Hogwarts
• Hogwarts Radio

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With apologies to those who purchased the book from Amazon.com in the last few days, I’m happy to announce that Harry Potter & Imagination has been discounted from its $17.99 list price and is now available for $16.19! (I didn’t know Amazon planned to do this.)

Another 5-star review, this one from the guy we know around here as “Black Angus”:

Travis Prinzi’s book ‘Harry Potter and Imagination’ helped me to understand some of the great themes Rowling addresses. It’s a clear and thoughtful exploration of Rowling’s views on evil, death, love, forgiveness, gender and race (among many other things) that make the books such a powerful contribution to our culture.

I recommend this book if you want to think more about deeply about the ideas that gripped you and why they resonated with you. Prinzi’s book is a tribute to Rowling’s genius in that he has used her work to provide much to think about on many different issues in literature and culture.

Thanks for your kind words!

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