ClancyBoy

Maybe Shakespeare became literature when it got unpopular with the masses.

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mandax

It is literature. Just because people hate it and think it's poorly written and over-praised doesn't mean it's not literature, whether you think it's bad literature or not. It's obviously made an impact, anyway. Look at all of the threads about it, for Christ's sake! So much arguing over nothing. It is what it is, and everyone needs to just accept that.

raven hope

I think we might as well forget about the Harry Potter arguement - I mean, 1 month had passed since the book was released to the public, and by now the arguement is pointless. If you think it's good, then it will be good; if you think is bad, then it will be bad.

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Mike C

I guess the point is moot: After the first book she was in a position where the publisher would have printed her shopping list, and kids would have bought it. It may be that she considers marketability important; it may also be that she believes she's writing for the sake of the story, and marketing isn't what she's about. Either way, she's made a lot of money, made a lot of money for others, injected money into the publishing industry and got a lot of kids (and adults) reading who might not have ever done so otherwise. Effectively, she's created extra paying customers for the rest of us and made it possible for her publishers to take more risks on new writers.

Whichever way you look at it, and however you want to classify what Rowling does, her books have done a lot of good. If you don't like them, don't read them.

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ClancyBoy

Some people say Star Wars ruined movies forever. Studios look so hard for that summer blockbuster that they pay little attention anymore to movies that might have a more limited appeal (and fewer explosions.)

This despite the fact that it encouraged more people to go to the movies.

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Mike C

Star Wars ruined American movies. We still do some good stuff in Europe.

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ClancyBoy

Ah, mayhap Harry Potter will only ruin British literature.

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raven hope

Um, you can't force ppl not to read the book even if they don't like it. And I'm not sure that her books have done a lot of good - rumors says that she wrote the book in the way that ppl like it so that more of her books can be sold and yeah, she can earn more $$$. There's even a rumor that she changed the ending of the last book because many fans said that they don't want Harry to die. Whatever it is, it's just rumors.

And Clancy, Harry Potter doesn't really ruin the British Literature - there are stories that are even worse than HP.

Whether you like the book or not, it's just a book - read it and that's it. If it's good, re-read it; if it's bad, forget it.

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Mike C

No, but I'm struck by the idiocy of people who read the whole series, and still knock it. I decided half-way through the first chapter of the first book it wasn't for me.

As for rumours... they're just fluff, meaningless. You shouldn't judge a book by the speculations as to the writer's motivation, but by the results.

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Dawnstorm

'tis so.

(Aside: I read them; I liked them (except quidditch).)

Gilwing

Is Harry Potter literature? Yes, of course it is. My copy of Dark Knight Returns is a 'kind' of literature. The question is like asking 'Is Harry Potter a book?' or 'Is Harry Potter made from trees?'

I think what we're trying to address is whether or not it is powerful writing that will be spreading its own truth on through the ages? Probably not.

Harry Potter is 'the chosen one' in another telling of the Hero of a Thousand Faces and his journey. He's Luke Skywalker, Peter Parker, and a thousand other heroes you could name. And there isn't anything wrong with that.
Just understand that while we often need this hero (whatever he looks like today) we also need to keep him fresh and change the window dressing from time to time. Thus light-sabers become magic wands and the force becomes spider senses and Uncle Ben becomes Dumbledore who becomes Obi Wan.

If you want to know WHY Harry became so popular go and read the "Why is Harry Potter so popular?" thread. I gave my two cents there along with a lot of others.

I'm mostly interested in what will become the next big thing. What is the heart and setting and window dressing and such that will spark the next fire in the minds of people out there as well as the one writing it? Will it be as big as Harry? Unlikely.

Will IT be literature? Could very well be.

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Edgewise

I am suprised nobody brought this point up...

How many people will be reading Harry Potter in one hundred years?

My guess...

Very few.

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Mermaid on the breakwater

Haha, the way you state that is so funny. Of course there are worse books than "Harry Potter"; there are few which are as good. I read a very wide range of "literature" and I am not somebody who thinks that "Harry Potter" is better than any other story. But what I would say is this, people just say the same crap over and over again. Oh it's not classical literature, oh it's not as beautifully written as many of the other top books written by top authors, blah blah buggery bollocking blah.

At the end of the day, all seven books are brilliant for what they are: A totally convincing fantasy where young students learn how to become wizards and witches. The characters are well drawn and so is Hogwarts. I sometimes wonder whether people have an eye for what literature actually is. It's not the words on the page but the images they conjure, pun most definitely intended.

Mermaid on the breakwater

How many people do you know who still read Shakespeare - outside of education. The point you've just made is the same for any other book and for any writer. Classical literature, I hate to break it to you guys, doesn't get published anymore. The times change.

Edgewise

Ummmmmmmm.......Don Quixote?

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