Professor Harry Potter

Two Ball State University professors use Harry Potter quotes and connections in their classes.
With that in mind, Vasicko added, quoting Harry Potter to start a lesson becomes a perfect hook to grab students’ interest.

Tidbits found in the Newsweek pics

If you look at the picture of Cuaron and Emma Watson, you can see the Time Turner's gold chain around Emma's neck. Also, the Daily Prophet page that Rupert has in front of him in the Leaky Cauldron pic has a two-word headline, the second word being "Egypt." I can't make out the first (thoughContinued...

Ovid, Dante, Milton, Shelley, Kafka, Dostoevsky...

A lit professor looks at the 'epic stew' that is Harry Potter:
"Looting" these great authors, Rowling enters their company and takes with her all the 9- to 90-year-olds who devour her books. Older readers enjoy in them a glimpse of the scaffolding beneath her mind, while younger readersContinued...

Hi-Res Newsweek Pics

Remember the Newsweek pics? We've got them for you in hi-res, without the captions and headlines splashed across them.

Cuaron and Emma
Gambon as Dumbledore
Hermione and Harry
Cuaron, Rupert and Daniel (in The Leaky Cauldron?)
Daniel and Cuaron on the Hogwarts Express
In the Shrieking Shack
The Trio

Move Over A.S. Byatt, Bloom is Back

Sylvia sent us this article from The Atlantic Online in which literary critic Harold Bloom again spouts off about Harry Potter, calling it "rubbish". A quote:

I went round to the Yale bookstore and purchased an inexpensive paperback copy of the first volume. I could not believe what was in front of me.Continued...

Latin in HP

A short article from Fredricksburg, Virginia's Free Lance-Star on the use of Latin in the Potter series.
Editor's Note: Probably nothing here new for TLC readers who regularly comb the Lexicon, but possibly something you didn't know if you're a newer fan.

Thanks to Geoffrey for the link!

'Phoenix' a Success

From the Tampa Tribune, a short review plus commentary from readers, including fifth-grader Austin Sigl, who finished the book the Tuesday following its Saturday release:
``I would've finished sooner, but my mom made me put it down and go play.''

Thanks to AJaKe for the link.

'The New J.K. Rowling'

A children's author reveals what it's like to be hailed as 'the New J.K. Rowling' - even for a short time:
Apart from a simple-minded desire to be your own self rather than a new anyone else, the question remains: why would anyone want a New JK Rowling? The old one works perfectly well. I'm not sure anotherContinued...

Book Burning

A church in Greenville, Michigan organized a Harry Potter book burning.
Thanks to Becky for the link.

HP, SW, & LotR

From Reason Online:
When the current generation of American children looks back on the first decade of the 21st century, it is possible that the three names it will most readily recall will be not Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and George W. Bush but Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, and Luke (or Anakin) Skywalker.

Disney Potter Ride in 2006

Thanks Beth, for pointing out that a Disney site says there will be a Potter attraction at Epcot sometime in 2006, as the rumors have suggested. This should still be treated as a rumor, though, until there is official confirmation.

POTTER STINKS

Paul Sheehan of the Sydney Morning Herald appreciates what J.K. Rowling has done for children's literature, but he really wishes she'd tell Harry to take a bath.

Myth and Meaning in Harry Potter

Psychology professor Don Morgenson is the latest to try to understand the draw of Harry, in an article that compares the series to Lord of the Rings:
Frodo's Middle-earth, much like our own world, is not filled with unalloyed joy. It is, however, a world with meaning, even if that meaning may appear cruel andContinued...

'Imagination Drives Potter Stories'

An English professor offers his thoughts on what Harry's about, and the issues that make "many Christian parents distrust the Potter series.":
As only the child at heart can enter Lewis's Narnia, Hogwarts is invisible to outsiders. Looking at this magnificent 1,000-year-old castle, a Muggle, oneContinued...

More on Movie Direction in EW

Entertainment Weekly has a short bit about Mike Newell being considered as director for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with this from Azkaban director Alfonzo Cuaron:
"It was always only Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for me. I never thought [seriously] about continuing." Though he was approachedContinued...