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Pope's exorcist calls Harry Potter the 'devil'    
Additional controversy seems to be popping up once again in reference to the "Harry Potter" books and the Vatican. This time, chief exorcist, Rev. Gabriele Amorth states that fictional character Harry Potter is the "king of darkness, the devil" in an interview with Vatican Radio last week.
Source: CBC via YubaNet via Moreover
Posted by Geri on Sep 5, 2006 at 8:29 PM

School board cements 'Potter' position    
A challenge to remove all of JK Rowling's Harry Potter books from the library shelves of Gwinnett Public Schools in Georgia has failed. The school board there voted Thursday to keep the books available. It was the final action for a petition that began in November and culminated at an April clash in which nearly 100 people attended to voice their opinions.
Source: Gwinnett Daily Post via Yahoo! News
Posted by Cheeser on May 12, 2006 at 3:52 AM

"Is quidditch the worst fake sport ever?"    
In an odd column complaining about football commentary in the UK, the author asks the question "Is quidditch the worst fake sport ever?" While watching the latest "Harry Potter" movie, the author questions the rules of the game; its popularity in the wizarding world and sportsmanship.
Source: The Guardian
Posted by Geri on Apr 26, 2006 at 10:32 PM

'Harry Potter' and the Pope    
It would seem that letters that the current Pope wrote back in 2003 have surfaced condemning the "Harry Potter" books. The letters from Pope Benedict XVI were written to German author Gabriele Kuby, who has written a book called "Harry Potter - Good or Evil." The Pope stated in his letters: ""It is good that you enlighten people about "Harry Potter," because these are subtle seductions which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly." But todays Vatican radio address counters that comments from the Vatican and the Pope where misinterpreted.
Source: Various
Posted by Geri on Jul 14, 2005 at 7:13 PM

Remembering the great Byatt debate  
On the final day of 2003, Slate published a small recap of events started by literary critic A.S. Byatt's scathing July review of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." In what Salon called a "goblet of bile," Byatt opined that JK Rowling's enormously popular series was written for "people whose imaginative lives are confined to TV cartoons." Her comments touched off a lively and very heated counteroffensive in the HP community.
Source: HPANA
Posted by Cheeser on Jan 13, 2004 at 4:12 PM

Potter backlash in Germany growing  
With the release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in Germany this weekend, the chorus of critics is gaining resonance. The Harry Potter series may be an unprecedented publishing phenomenon, but its magic doesn't work for everyone.
Source: Deutsche Welle via Wizard News
Posted by Geri on Nov 8, 2003 at 12:24 PM

Reaction to Potter critics    
Michael Duff has penned a very funny article about his reaction to the frequent criticism of the Harry Potter series. He divides the critics into three separate groups, based on their rants against the novels: "the religious right," "the extreme left," and worst of all, "the cynical hipsters."
Source: Texas Tech University Daily via Wizard News
Posted by James on Oct 7, 2003 at 8:58 PM

Bloom's a twerp, says Neil Gaiman  
Neil Gaiman, author of such books as "Neverwhere" and "American Gods", retaliates against Harold Bloom's criticisms of Rowling, Steven King, and others.
Source: NeilGaiman.com via The Leaky Cauldron
Posted by rissa on Sep 23, 2003 at 1:42 PM

Professor's 'Potter' guide looks at Harry's moral conundrums    
Edmund M. Kern, associate professor of history at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, updates us on the release of his new book, "The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choices."
Source: HPfGU
Posted by Cheeser on Sep 2, 2003 at 3:16 PM

'The Gathering' celebrates 10 years of magic  
Fans of Magic: The Gathering, a card-based strategy game that turns 10 years old this month, say it rivals the intellectual challenge of chess. Parents initially cried "witch", but most magic-is-Satan flack these days is focused on a boy wizard of about 15.
Source: The Mercury News
Posted by Cheeser on Aug 28, 2003 at 3:07 AM

'Phoenix' a 'rollicking good tale'  
Ann Colford draws together noted critical reviews of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that range from positive to negative, and in her own words, relates with the former.
Source: Pacific Islander via Wizard News
Posted by James on Aug 24, 2003 at 12:57 PM

'Americanization' of Potter a disservice  
Kimberly Noles admonishes the publishers of the American Harry Potter novels for their aversion to many British words and phrases found in JK Rowling's original draft. In this scolding tone, she also defends her argument, claiming that readers in the States are intelligent enough to uncover meanings of the more tricky dialogue, and that the words help children gain interest in culture.
Source: U-Wire via Wizard News
Posted by James on Aug 21, 2003 at 1:04 AM

Harry gets yet another poor review  
Harry Potter gets yet another review by Craig Stern, who has had enough of the boy wizard to handle.
Source: Daily Trojan via MuggleNet
Posted by Jessica Lares on Aug 18, 2003 at 10:52 AM

A tale of two wizards  
Columnist Stephen Price questions the fairytale inspirations J.K. Rowling may have drawn on to create Harry Potter, and makes a few jabs along the same lines as A S Byatt. He makes the argument that Rowling might have lifted ideas from Neil Gaiman's literary boy wizard Tim Hunter from "Books of Magic."
Source: Sunday Business Post via The Leaky Cauldron
Posted by Jessica Lares on Aug 11, 2003 at 10:08 AM

Bloom continues trampling Potter novels  
Harold Bloom has added a short, negative comment to his furious disdain of the Harry Potter series. His first editorial was featured in the Opinion pages of The New York Times, and for this deed the newspaper received hundreds of submissions opposing his point of view, as well as practically overnight notoriety among Harry Potter fans worldwide. This new remark is just as nasty as his former.
Source: The Atlantic via The Leaky Cauldron
Posted by James on Aug 5, 2003 at 9:16 PM

Potter fails to bewitch Scots writer  
One of Scotland's leading writers, Ali Smith, has reignited the debate over the merits of JK Rowling's Harry Potter books by dismissing them as a "bad imitation of Enid Blyton."
Source: The Times
Posted by Geri on Jul 25, 2003 at 9:44 AM

Opinion: "...A S Byatt is right."  
Felicity Kendal reasons that the Harry Potter series, unlike true classic books which "[are] more than a smash hit" and "have something to do with inspiration and a great deal more to do with some inexplicable magic that places one word before another to create a rhythm", are nothing more than a drop in the cauldron of underdeveloped literature.
Source: The Daily Telegraph via iharrypotter.net
Posted by James on Jul 19, 2003 at 1:18 AM

Retorts aimed at A.S. Byatt  
As most Potter fans should know, author A.S. Byatt has published a scathing review of the Harry Potter series, stating in one of her more memorable quotes that the Harry Potter series are for people with "limited imagination." True to style, Potter fans have flooded BBC with retorts aimed directly at Ms. Byatt's opinion.
Source: BBC via iharrypotter.net
Posted by James on Jul 16, 2003 at 11:20 PM

Harry Potter 'a temporary crowd-pleaser'  
That's how Philip Hensher refers to the latest Potter book, which he describes as Rowling's "signal service to literature" - not that she actually writes literature, mind you. A S Byatt would probably be proud of this review.
Source: The Spectator via The Leaky Cauldron
Posted by grae on Jul 14, 2003 at 12:33 PM

The changing face of children's literature  
Nowadays books are still made out of the same old stuff - a bundle of paper bound at the spine, and the only difference is what's printed inside. So why aren't today's children responding in the same way to the fictions that lit their parents' imaginations when they were young?
Source: Sunday Herald via Godric's Hollow
Posted by grae on Jul 14, 2003 at 11:16 AM