The Alchemical Harry Potter

 



PUBLICATION NEWS: The Alchemical Harry Potter is now available for purchase from McFarland! (My chapter is in Part III, below.)

From the publisher: 


When Harry Potter first boards the Hogwarts Express, he journeys to a world which Rowling says has alchemy as its “internal logic.” The Philosopher’s Stone, known for its power to transform base metals into gold and to give immortality to its maker, is the subject of the conflict between Harry and Voldemort in the first book of the series. But alchemy is not about money or eternal life, it is much more about the transformations of desire, of power and of people—through love.


Harry’s equally remarkable and ordinary power to love leads to his desire to find but not use the Philosopher’s Stone at the start of the series and his wish to end the destructive power of the Elder Wand at the end. This collection of essays on alchemical symbolism and transformations in Rowling’s series demonstrates how Harry’s work with magical objects, people, and creatures transfigure desire, power, and identity. As Harry’s leaden existence on Privet Drive is transformed in the company of his friends and teachers, the Harry Potter novels have transformed millions of readers, inspiring us to find the gold in our ordinary lives.


Chapters/Authors:


I—The Resurrection Stone and the Transfiguration of Desire


Why I Read Harry Potter Books Again and Again by Sophia Imafuji, age 8

The Literary Alchemy of J.K. Rowling by John Granger

Harry Potter and the Transfiguration of Desire by Anne ­Parker-Perkola

Re-Reading Harry Potter, Re-Creating Ourselves: Harry Potter as Resurrection Stone by Isaac Willis

Out from the Shadows into the Light: Persona and Shadow in Harry Potter by Alicia L. Skipper and Kate Fulton

An Anti-Oedipal Reading of Harry Potter and Alchemy by Robert Tindol


II—The Elder Wand and the Transfiguration of Power


My Harry Potter Journey by Ella Victoria Greer, age 13

The Missing Element: The Alchemy Experiment Inside the Chamber of Secrets by S.P. Şipal

On the Transmutation of Voldemort’s Love of Power into Harry Potter’s Power of Love by Lawrence W. Farris

Auror Magic: An Almost Alchemical Process by Lorrie Kim

Tapping on Just Another Brick in the Wall by Sean Paulsgrove


III—The Cloak of Invisibility and the Transfiguration of Self and Community


And All Was Well by Tamyra Dixon-Rankin

The Snitch, the Stone, and the Sword: Harry Potter the Alchemical Seeker by B.L. Purdom

Alchemy as a Metaphor for Learning by Mary Pyle

Harry Potter and the Root of All Evil by Charles M. Rupert

Soul Making and Soul Splitting: Alchemy of the Soul in Harry Potter by Julie Loveland Swanstrom

Ruddy Stargazers: Centaurs, Philosophers, and a Life Worth Living by Anne J. Mamary


Epilogue: Friendship Hallowed, Pure, and ­Ever-Present


Available in physical form (click HERE) or as an ebook (click HERE).


Enjoy!



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