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Walt among the wizards
(5)Excerpted rom Of the Terrible Doubt of Appearances
OF the terrible doubt of appearances,
Of the uncertainty after all—that we may be deluded,
That may-be reliance and hope are but speculations after all,
That may-be identity beyond the grave is a beautiful fable only,…
—To me, these, and the like of these, are curiously answer’d by my lovers, my dear friends;
When he whom I love travels with me, or sits a long while holding me by the hand,
When the subtle air, the impalpable, the sense that words and reason hold not, surround us and pervade us,
Then I am charged with untold and untellable wisdom —I am silent—I require nothing further,— Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass (1867 edition)
JK Rowling says this is her favorite poem. She has chosen it
to be included in an anthology to raise money for the charity War Child. Fellow contributors to Kids’ Night In 3 include Morris Gleitzman, Joanna Lumley, Garth Nix and Freya North.
Editors of the book aver that Rowling’s name is sure to insure sales. As no doubt, it will. And that is a good thing.
For me, I’ll admit that I excerpted the poem to be as provocative as possible. Still I must wonder whether the Vatican will give this anthology its seal of approval. Apparently they find the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sufficiently dualistic. No more cries of Satanism (although that raises the question, isn’t Satanism dualistic?):
The newspaper said the film, which opens Wednesday, was the best adaptation yet of the J.K. Rowling series about the adventures of the bespectacled child wizard Harry Potter and his Hogwarts chums as they battle Harry’s nemesis, the evil sorcerer Voldemort.
While criticizing Rowling for omitting any explicit “reference to the transcendent” in her books, L’Osservatore said the latest installment nevertheless makes clear that good should overcome evil “and that sometimes this requires costs and sacrifice.”
Hat tip to Poetry Hut Blog.
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5 Responses to “Walt among the wizards”
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I find the Vatican’s appraisal of this latest Potter installment to be both amusing, and rather puzzling, given that the film, and presumably the book, ends on a distinctively sour note. The Big Bad and his cronies not only achieve what is arguably their biggest victory thus far, but they leave our heroes in shambles, with Harry himself vowing to throw over all other concerns in pursuit of a potentially impossible goal. Even if you go by the idea that the Hero will win out in the end, it’s hardly a clear-cut victory for the forces of Good.
As for the poem, I find that particularly interesting, given the past criticism that Rowling has received from various religious enclaves. Perhaps this is her way of thumbing her nose back at them, just a little bit. Especially considering that the voice that Whitman was using refers to their lover as “he”. Maybe she sees it as something she can use in support of her infamously gay headmaster? Either way, I have to say that I quite approve of her choice, and regardless of whether she intends anything more with it, it does nudge her up a little more in terms of the respect I hold for her.
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Shalom Sherry,
I say the movie on Wednesday. I was underwhelmed.
B’shalom,
Jeff
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sherry July 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Hey Jeff — Was it acting? Story? Have you seen the other films? Did this one compare poorly.
I am completely innocent of the Harry Potter series. My son saw this one and said it was “okay.”
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“While criticizing Rowling for omitting any explicit “reference to the transcendent” in her books,”
Jeez, not everything has to be C. S. Lewis, guys.
” L’Osservatore said the latest installment nevertheless makes clear that good should overcome evil “and that sometimes this requires costs and sacrifice.””
… Except that, in this chapter of the story, Harry makes plenty of sacrifices; friends of his get killed, he gets hurt, and he drops out of school; not to mention all the sacrificing the other characters on his side do; and in the end he has a slim suggestion of the one vulnerability that Voldemort has.
No more to be seen is the playful tone of the earlier books, with the carriages that move by themselves and the whimsical sweets and things of that nature.
And I don’t know why in this case Voldemort is suddenly Evil enough to garner the Vatican’s approval. He’s always been a murderous narcissist; heck, he killed the first person to die in this series, two books before Half-Blood Prince.
I think there are better childrens’ series out there, and I am not sure the Vatican has seen the same movie America got, unless the film went really far afield from the text ….
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Sherry has also received an Artist Enrichment grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women.
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