LINES OF THE DAY

". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15

". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153

Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Reading Wednesday -- Harry Potter

Walking past Scholastic Inc. on Broadway this morning, it occurred to me that the windows of the Scholastic building have never been without a display of Harry Potter books and merchandise since 1998.  Not once.  Not a single day, in now, almost 20 years.



This thought had come to me before reading this story in the UK Guardian this morning about the the cultural appropriation criticism Rowling is currently receiving from U.S. Native American peoples for her first History of Magic in North America set in the history of the Potter Wizard Universe.




I took a Spanish translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, i.e. Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal, to give to a friend's young son on a prolonged stay in Havana 1999-2000.



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