Metaphor, Imagined Worlds, and Writing

My good friend Shayla Mollohan, poet-presider over the IWW's Poetry list, sent me a link opening a window on the magical world of one Mr. Potter, known as Harry to his friends.

A confession: I have read only one or two pages of the first tome in the Harry Potter saga. I don't get it.

Here's the paragraph offering an insight to what I -- and other well-meaning readers like me -- might be unable to acknowledge.

" ... there is a certain kind of fantasy story that seems to be able to reach beyond the edges of the normal fandom. It seems to be able to cross the boundaries and appeal so strongly to people that they sometimes don't even notice that they're enjoying fantasy ... The people who don't like Harry Potter seem to be the ones who haven't tried it yet. It's universally appealing, like pie and Anderson Cooper. That means, of course, that Harry has something to teach those of us who want to write, create, air or sell sci-fi/fantasy television shows."

That I don't like Harry Potter is no reflection on anyone but me or anything but my taste in writing.

The article is from The New Republic, and it's available on-line.

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A wise person will also take the time to read one of Shaye's poems -- Enough -- while at the computer. Click here to find on her Web site as reprinted from Whatever Remembers Us: An Anthology of Alabama Poets, Negative Capability Press, 2007.