by Dave
Check out this news article from the Chicago Sun-Times. For a charity event, several major UK authors were asked to write something on a card to be auctioned to raise money to help those with dyslexia:
Rowling used both sides of her card to hand-write a prequel to her seven-book Harry Potter saga.
Rowling’s “prequel” is only about 800 words. Good? Bad? Canon? Fluff? Before you dismiss it, keep in mind that Rowling’s other charity books, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, have been considered important in scholarly work on the series.
Joivre on 
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Bad, Dave! Bad!
Trying to get us started on this whole author/work/reader/canon thing again!
Other than that, I’m lackadaisical on the whole matter. For one, something useful in scholarly work is not necessarily canonical. And two, there’s the possibility that we, meaning we who don’t win the auction, will never get to see the 800 words she wrote. Why would a collector pay hundreds of thousands of pounds for something just to then immediately share it with a bunch of other people for free? Plus, there might be a stipulation like with the Tales of Beedle the Bard that only snippets or a synopsis of the work could be shared.
Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing what she wrote.
according to leaky, the whole thing will be posted online on June 11
Personally, I’m excited.
I think ned’s right — my understanding is that the thing will be made available to the public. How that will happen, I don’t know.
revgeorge…hehehehe…MUWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Hey, we’re a critical site that likes to arg — I mean discuss — these kinds of things! I just think this is important because we’re all going to lap this thing up and read backwards, forwards, and any other way we can, even if it’s nothing more than random binary code.
It’s apparently a Marauder’s story about James & Sirius, which happens 3 years prior to Harry’s birth. Jo’s site notes that you can buy a facsimile in August of all the authors’ stuff.
Jo’s says she feels a bit like a relapsing addict, eh. But it’s not a prequel prequel, just something for worthy charities. She can stop at any time.
She just cannot help herself. I cannot blame her though. It is a world that is attractive to more people than her.
She’s going to writing Harry-related stuff for the rest of her life, methinks.
I’ll keep reading it but surely it won’t be good for her.
Check out her site
http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/news_view.cfm?id=106
I was just reading up on Tolkien and the Hobbit. Seems Tolkien initially made some minor revisions. But then started to make major revisions because he had started planning what would ultimately become LOTR and wanted to retrofit the tone of The Hobbit to the more serious tone of the new work. From Wikipedia:
‘In the first edition of The Hobbit, Gollum willingly bets his magic ring on the outcome of the riddle-game, and he and Bilbo part amicably.[20] In order to reflect the new concept of the ring and its corrupting abilities, in the second edition edits Tolkien made Gollum more aggressive towards Bilbo and distraught at losing the ring. The encounter ends with Gollum’s blood-curdling curse, “Thief! Thief, Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!”, foreshadowing the nature of the character in The Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien sent this revised version of the chapter “Riddles in the Dark” to Unwin as an example of the kinds of changes needed to bring the book into conformance with The Lord of the Rings, but he heard nothing back for years. When he was sent galley proofs of a new edition, Tolkien was surprised to find the sample text incorporated.[19] In The Lord of the Rings, the original version of the riddle-game is explained as a “lie” made up by Bilbo, whereas the revised version contains the “true” account.[21] The revised text became the second edition, published in 1951 in both the UK and the USA.[12]
After an unauthorized paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings appeared from Ace Books in 1965, Houghton Mifflin and Ballantine requested Tolkien to refresh the text of The Hobbit in order to renew US copyright.[22] This text became the 1966 third edition. Tolkien took the chance to align the narrative even more closely to The Lord of the Rings and to developments in his still unpublished Quenta Silmarillion as it stood at that time.[23] These small edits included, for example, changing the phrase elves that are now called Gnomes from the first[24] and second[25] editions on page 63, to High Elves of the West, my kin in the third edition.[26]. Tolkien had used “gnome” in his earlier writing to refer to the second kindred of the High Elves — the Noldor (or “Deep Elves”) — thinking “gnome”, derived from the Greek gnosis (knowledge), was a good name for the wisest of the elves. However, because of its common denotation of a garden gnome, Tolkien ultimately abandoned the term.
In order to fit the tone of The Hobbit better to its sequel, Tolkien began a new version in 1966, removing the narrative asides. He abandoned the new revision at chapter three after he received criticism that it “just wasn’t The Hobbit”, implying it had lost much of its light-hearted tone and quick pace.[27]‘
There are three editions. Gnomes become Elves, Goblins become Orcs, Gollum changes, becoming more aggressive and filled with hatred, and a magic ring becomes the One Ring.
Don’t be holding JKR up to a higher standard of canonical integrity than the Lord of the Rings, all you
purists out there.
I’m not that much of a purist. I just refuse to accept the belief that every word that proceeds from the mouth of Jo is automatically canon.
Points well-taken, reyhan. And I think I’ve read that Lewis intended a massive revision of the entire Narnia series, though he never got to it.
And after all, it’s not like we wouldn’t have plenty of copies of the originals to compare a revision to.
PS Apparently not everyone back in Tolkien’s day was willing to accept, either, everything that flowed from his pen.
“He abandoned the new revision at chapter three after he received criticism that it “just wasn’t The Hobbit”, implying it had lost much of its light-hearted tone and quick pace.[27]’”
We should be glad, those of us who are enamoured of all things Potter, that we live at this moment in history, that we share our moment with the author, and can realistically look forward, from moment to moment, to new things Potter flowing from her pen.
How infinitely more dreary to live at a time when the author is dead and gone, and all is said and done, and there is nothing more to look forward to, except for the endless analysis and the neverending quest for the final, definitive interpretation of Harry Potter.
That is what I think.
I think you’re mischaracterizing my position on the matter & my own personal feelings. I’m not in the “Jo, Shut Up” camp; never have been. I read everything she puts out. Can’t help myself. But that being said, I still don’t accept everything she says as the Gospel truth. We’ve gone over this ground before as to why, but I certainly don’t begrudge living in such a time with such opportunities. Sheesh!
reyhan,
We had a bit of a discussion about Tolkien revising his work here and following: http://thehogshead.org/2008/04/08/new-poll-which-secondary-character-would-you-like-rowling-to-write-about-most/#comment-332882
I reckon she’ll revise all the books. It would rain money for years to come! And we, all, would keep buying.
Think of all the discussion about which was better, the revised version or the original. It’d be the life-line for all the HP websites too!
revgeorge,
I haven’t read a comment that you seem to be resonding to. What’s up?
Yeah, revgeorge, I interpreted reyhan as making a more general statement, not one specifically aimed at you….I could be misreading, but I agree with reyhan’s comment in full, and I don’t think you have to have a certain position on the revisions or Rowling’s commentary to agree.
Reyhan’s right – this is really a fascinating time we’re living in, because conversation about a wildly popular (and very good) series is happening in real time, and we’re as much a part of creating it as we are followers and participants.
revgeorge, Travis and Matthew are right: I wasn’t aiming my comment at you specifically or at all. I looked beyond the specific debate and was thinking more globally.
There is a school of thought that argues that the author, in this case JKR, having writ, should move on, and leave the interpretation to the readers. There is a related school that argues that she shouldn’t make changes to the original canon, that it should stand as writ. Proponents of this school argue that it’s very hard to interpret the canon if the author keeps making changes to it. Changes to the original canon can come in various forms: revisions are one, and extra-canonical revelations (such as that concerning Dumbledore’s sexual orientation) are another. And it really gets complicated when extra-canonical revelations overlap with interpretations.
I think that we all take different positions on these variables: revisions, extra-canonical revelations, and the author’s right to exegesis. So one can be pro for all three, or pro for some, or con for all.
Personally, I am fascinated by all three, and welcome them.
But my point wasn’t about the particular position one takes on these, but on the fact the conversation, as Travis calls it, is in real-time. The study of English literature has been denigrated by some as the study of the works of DWM (dead white males). I don’t fully agree with that position, but HP is about as removed from the DWM phenomenon as you can get.
Which is totally cool.
And I think that we agree on that.
I don’t disagree with Reyhan’s comments, per se. I just took it as personal because I’m pretty much on the side of the more strict constructionist position regarding books & their authors & I thought it was a comment against those who didn’t automatically accept everything an author did in revision of their work.
I apologize for taking it the wrong way.
No, we do agree on that. Like I said, I listen to & read pretty much anything Jo puts out. So, it is fascinating to get all this in real time as was noted.
And I have been known to enjoy, in movies at least, a revision of an original work. It’s only happened once or twice. But I do like the director’s cut of Blade Runner better than the original & the reimaged Battlestar Galactica was pretty good, until they got all psychedelic. So, there’s a slim chance I might like any revisions Jo might make, so long as they stay true to the original story & enhance it.
So, again I’m sorry I took offense without cause.
revgeorge,
It wasn’t personal. Sorry if it came across that way. That’s what happens, sometimes, when I get carried away by an idea.
Here’s a new idea: if we could have avatars, you and I could be those Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
First dibs on Red Rocker.
Reyhan, what makes you think this?
Not to start another “discussion”, but I’m not entirely sold on this! Travis and I have discussed a related issue over email, but Harry is a white male adventure hero who gets the girl and beats the bad guy(s) in the end. And most of the genre conventions Rowling borrows from tend to perpetuate male dominated power structures almost by default. Whether murder mysteries or adventure stories, they tend to be action oriented with male protagonists at their center — and Rowling certainly hasn’t broken from this all that radically…
…except that Harry’s masculine tendancy toward action is what often lands him in trouble…
For the record, I think Rowling’s intentions and public statements are sympathetic to progressive attitudes regarding gender, and I think Lily is a potential trump card for Rowling. After all, Harry can accomplish none of the things he does without Lily’s sacrifice. If there is one major feminist reading of the series that needs to be pursued, it concerns motherhood and Rowling’s depictions of motherhood, especially in comparison to the teaching styles of the male teachers.
Such scholarship might exist, but I haven’t found it if it does.
Weary from the latest bout in the virtual boxing ring, Red Rocker lifts his head as he hears a familiar cry.
He takes a sniff. Yes, yes, it is the smell of contoversy. And who’s that circling around?
Hmm. Another worthy oponent.
But Red Rocker is tired. And more importantly, has commitments which are scandalously overdue. Red Rocker lowers his head.
Another day, perhaps.
“We’ll meet again, Spiderman!!!”
By which time reyhan may have learned to spell “controversy” and “opponent”.
Good news for reyhan and anyone else who’s interested: we can do avatars on this blog. I’ll be installing the plugin for it later tonight. It the meantime, you can upload your own avatar here. It takes about 24 hours to get approved, and the avatar follows your email address – which means that whenever your comment using that address, the avatar will appear on any blog that has the “gravatar” plugin installed. Which will be this one in just a couple hours.
Oh, and thanks to Matthew and to RevJATB for the help figuring out avatars.
Looking forward to it.
Thanks Travis, Matthew and RevJATB.
As I said, yay gravatar ! Thanks Travis for doing that