On Harry Potter Fanfic, Bibliography

Part Five: Annotated Bibliography

Angua, “If the Author is Dead, Who’s Updating her Website?” The Leaky Cauldron. <http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/essays/issue9/authordead> Last updated October 2006. 29 October 2011.

An anonymous, fan-written essay preceding book seven that dives into the thorny ramifications of Death of the Author and how J. K. Rowling’s reactions with her fanbase revivify the Author. It covers the outrage and annoyance felt by fans who feel that J.K. Rowling should not be allowed to dictate how her own works are interpreted, as well as the way that Rowling guided readers of her works to the hints she wanted.

Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148: Blackwell, 2004. 1236-1241. Book.

Benjamin’s essay prompts a lot of questions – does mass production mean something different when a thousand fans write a thousand fics that boil down to the exact same story? If proximity is necessary to truly appreciating a work of art, does fanfiction then serve as a way to become closer to the original story? And can it be argued that what film did for photography, fanfiction does for popular literature?

Bond, Ernest L, and Nancy L. Michelson. “Writing Harry’s World: Children Co-authoring Hogwarts.” Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter. Ed. Elizabeth E. Heilman. 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016: Routledge, 2009. 309-328. Book.

This is a good little essay. It covers the sheer scope of creative Harry Potter fandom very effectively; however, it fails to counterbalance that scope with especial depth. Its snippets of included fanfics are nothing special, and it ends up reading more like a list of phenomena than a concerted thesis. Still a good source, though.

Boquet, Tim. “J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter.” Accio Quote! Originally printed in Reader’s Digest, December 2000. Retrieved 14 December 2011. < http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2000/1200-readersdigest-boquet.htm>

Calvino, Italo. If on a winter’s night a traveler. Trans. William Weaver. New York: Everyman’s Library, Alfred A. Knopf, 2007., 1993. Print.

“Hare.” Cirlot, J. E. A Dictionary of Symbols. Trans. Jack Sage. 15 East 40th Street, New York 16, NY. 1962.

Fiske, John. “Television Culture.” Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148: Blackwell, 2004. 1274-1284. Book.

Gass, William H. “The Concept of Character in Fiction.” Essentials of the Theory of Fiction. 3rd Edition. Ed. Michael J. Hoffman and Patrick D. Murphy. London: Duke University Press, 2005. Page 113-120.

Gilbert, Sandra, and Susan Gubar. “The Madwoman in the Attic.” Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148: Blackwell, 2004. 812-825. Book.

Granger, John. Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys For the Serious Reader.” Wayne, Pennsylvania. Zossima Press. 2007. Book.

Granger, John. Harry Potter’s Bookshelf: The Great Books Behind the Hogwarts Adventures. 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. Penguin Group USA. 2009. Book.

John Granger is a Harry Potter scholar whose website, The Hogwarts Professor, is a meeting place for much thorough and thoughtful discussion of Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and many more books. This particular book is very helpful in terms of defining how Potter connects to the wider British literary tradition, and of analyzing it in terms of alchemical literary models. However, Granger’s interpretation of the books can be rather stifling, especially with some nonsensical statements and plain factual errors. A helpful and insightful, but flawed book.

Grossman, Lev. “How Harry Potter Became the Boy Who Lived Forever.” Time Magazine. 7 July 2011. Web. Retrieved 14 December 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2081784,00.html>

Heilman, Elizabeth E., and Trevor Donaldson. “From Sexist to (sort-of) Feminist: Representations of Gender in the Harry Potter Series.” Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter. Ed. Elizabeth E. Heilman. 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016: Routledge, 2009. 139-161. Book.

This essay should have been marvelously helpful to me, and indeed, it is a very thorough listing of the various ways in which women are depicted in the Harry Potter universe. However, this essay is shallow and clearly biased against the Harry Potter books and the female characters within.

Jenkins, Henry. “Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten.” Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers. Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: New York University Press, 2006. Article from 1988. 37-60. Print.

Although dated, still a valuable resource for its statements on fanfiction, especially fanfiction as women’s fiction. Jenkins, like most of my sources, comes down in favor of the new literature, and ends with the almost satisfied assertion that the cultural poaching is already begun.

Koski, Genevieve, and Tasha Robinson. Potter Postscript: 10 great, and not-so-great, things about Harry Potter (Plus: The best scenes). The A.V. Club. Web. Last updated 18 July 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011. <http://www.avclub.com/articles/potter-postscript-10-great-and-10-notsogreat-thing,59019/>

This is far from a work of critical theory, but it is a very astute listing of various high and low points, and an entertaining read, and I happen to agree with the vast majority of its points. 

Lethem, Jonathan. “The ecstasy of influence: a plagiarism.” Harper’s Magazine. (February, 2007) 59-71. Web. Retrieved 13 November 2011. < http://harpers.org/archive/2007/02/0081387>

Be warned: This essay is entirely made up of quotes, observations, and paragraphs from other sources, all cited as well as Lethem could manage. Where I could, I provided the name of the source that he stole from. This is a deeply thought-provoking article that is also a highly enjoyable read, especially when one realizes the con Lethem has been playing.

Smith, Kyra. “The Death of the Reader.”  FerretBrain. <http://www.ferretbrain.com/articles/article-160>, August 14, 2007. Online article.  Retrieved October 18, 2011.

An informal article, whose attitude towards Harry Potter can be summed up as “Vitriol.” This article explains why, in addition to having written a godawful and subversively bourgeois septology, J. K. Rowling is undoing a century of literary criticism by tyrannically imposing her interpretation of her works on her fans. Like all Ferretbrain articles, they make a few rock-solid points, but Smith’s bias infects her writing deeply, and it must be taken with a massive helping of salt.

“Full Record for Sturgeon’s Law n.” Science Fiction Citations. Science Fiction Citations. Last modified 5 August, 2010. Retrieved 4 December, 2011. <http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/328> 

Our reliable source for Sturgeon’s Law, which is that “90 percent of all published material is completely worthless.” This law is very important to keep in mind when searching for any kind of Internet literature, including and especially fanfiction.

Tosenberger, Catherine. “Homosexuality in the Online Hogwarts: Harry Potter Slash Fanfiction.” <http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/childrens_literature/v036/36.1.tosenberger.html> Project Muse 36 (2008): 185-207. Web. 19 October 2011.

 A brilliant article. It does a superior job of covering a range within its specific subcategory (homosexual romance in HP fanfiction) and going into depth about the gaps and needs of fandom that slash fic fulfills.

Turner-Vorbeck, Tammy. “Pottermania: Good, Clean Fun or Cultural Hegemony?” Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter. Ed. Elizabeth E. Heilman. 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016: Routledge, 2009. 330-340. Book.

A very good article which examines Pottermania through the lens of Neo-Marxism and the idea of a constructed childhood. I think that its notes about cultural imagery crafting the “reality” of what childhood and adolescence should look like can be very useful to perhaps make two distinct points: one, fanfiction often uses stock plotlines that are a result of cultural imagery pervading the creative stock; and that fanfiction is an act of taking back Pottermania, as instead of consuming, fanfic writers contribute to the world of Potter. Also, it connected me to the following article.

Waetjen, J., & Gibson, T. “Harry Potter and the commodity fetish: Activating corporate readings in the journey from text to commercial intertext.” Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 4(1), 3-26

Web Sources:

Arabella and Zsenya. The Sugar Quill. Established January 5, 2001. Last updated August 13, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2011. <http://www.sugarquill.net/>

Asia, Jane, and Magoo. The Sugar Quill Glossary. Copyright 2001. Retrieved December 7, 2011. <http://www.sugarquill.net/index.php?action=sqglossary>

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales ~ presented by ELF. The Electronic Literature Foundation (ELF). Copyright 1999-2006. Retrieved 14 December, 2011.

Literary Sources:

Forster, E. M. Aspects of the Novel. New York. Harcourt Brace and Company. 1927. Book.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012: Arthur A. Levine Books. 1997. Book.

             A fascinating read, even after all these years.

---. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012: Arthur A. Levine Books. 1999. Book.

---. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012: Arthur A. Levine Books. 1999. Book.

---. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012: Arthur A. Levine Books. 2000. Book.

---. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012: Arthur A. Levine Books. 2003. Book.

---. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012: Arthur A. Levine Books. 2005. Book.

---. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012: Arthur A. Levine Books. 2007. Book.

---. The Tales of Beedle the Bard. 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012: Arthur A. Levine Books. 2007. Book.

---. J. K. Rowling Official Site. Warner Bros. 2006. Web. Retrieved 9 December 2011. <http://www.jkrowling.com/>

Scamander, Newt [J. K. Rowling]. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012:  Arthur A. Levine Books. 2001. Book.

Web Sources:

Accio Quote! Last updated 5 June 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011. Web. < http://www.accio-quote.org/index.html>

             This is the unimaginably helpful archive that has, quite possibly, the most complete collection of J. K. Rowling quotes and interviews on the web. An invaluable asset in my research.

Fanfiction.Net. Last updated 30 November 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011. Web. <http://www.fanfiction.net/>

The Harry Potter Lexicon. Last updated 7 September 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011. < http://www.hp-lexicon.org/index-2-text.html>

Rowling, J. K. “J. K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript.” The Leaky Cauldron.  <http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/7/30/j-k-rowling-web-chat-transcript> Last updated July 30, 2007, 01:09 PM. Retrieved November 6, 2011.

This is the transcript whence we get the “perhaps” that The Tale of the Three Brothers was inspired by the Pardoner’s Tale.

---. “The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Three.” Accio Quote!  Anelli, Melissa and Emerson Spartz. < http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/0705-tlc_mugglenet-anelli-3.htm> Last updated July 16, 2005. Web. Retrieved 4 December 2011.

The interview, after Prince but before Hallows, where Rowling states that Ginny does not owe Harry a life-debt. Interestingly, Rowling also clearly contradicts her later book in this interview – she says that Grindelwald is dead as of Prince, at least, but in Hallows the fact that he is alive is a significant fact.

professor_mum, “hp_essays: Deathly and Hollow Rant.” Livejournal.  <http://hp-essays.livejournal.com/239017.html>, Published September 16, 2009, Retrieved October 18, 2011.

Professor_mum’s essay is perhaps the online article that comes the closest to summarizing my particular grief with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – that is, the reaction of a fan who, while still affectionate, feels betrayed by the bad writing and bad plotting of the final book. Professor_mum points out that “it was the fans who went over the books with tweezers and a magnifying glass” who felt most keenly the last book’s failure. I will eagerly identify as one of those fans. Sadly, the content is hidden.

Cited Fanfictions and Further Reading:

Arabella. The Sugar Quill. “The Very Secret Diary.” < http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=1026&chapno=1> Last updated November 12, 2002. Retrieved November 1, 2011.

             This book (written during the Three-Year Summer) retells Chamber of Secrets through Ginny Weasley’s diary, wherein she talks to the book’s villain, Tom Riddle, believing him to be her friend. It is profoundly darker than the original works, and brilliantly written. It’s perhaps the perfect example of a supplement to the original septology.

Azure, Violet. The Sugar Quill. “High Spirits: A Hogsmeade Tale.” <http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=1184&chapno=1> Last updated July 27, 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2011.

             The year of Goblet of Fire in the life of Madame Rosmerta, background character who runs the Three Broomsticks pub in the local village. This story, from the point of view of a mature woman, juggling business, pleasure, and the complications of her past, lends several new depths to the world surrounding Hogwarts and beyond. 

Katinka. The Sugar Quill. “Interwoven, or: the Seamstress and the Lovable Stray.” <http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=304&chapno=1>  Last updated June, 2004. Retrieved November 4, 2011. Also available at <http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/katinka/ITSATLS.html>.

Interwoven and its minor sequels (including “Character Development,” listed below) still make up my favorite fanfiction cycle. Katinka’s Hogsmeade is a delightful place to be, and her Abby Loomis is human, imperfect, striving, and lovable.

---. The Sugar Quill. “Character Development.” <http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=1011&chapno=1> Last updated October 28, 2002. Retrieved November 30, 2011. Also available at < http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/katinka/CD01a.html>     

Lindsay, R.S. FictionAlley. “Harry Potter and the Case of the Missing Author.” < http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/r_s_lindsay/HPATCOTMA01a.html> Published July 17, 2002. Retrieved November 1, 2011.

This one-part story is almost entirely divorced from the events of the septology. Harry Potter, age fourteen, seeks out a private eye to investigate (in noir fashion) why J. K. Rowling is taking so long to finish the fifth book. The result is very meta and postmodern, and it is deliberately addressed to fandom as a whole, addressing fandom-specific anxieties, marking the self-reflective culture of fandom. It is also hilarious.

Muggle, Mysterious [Tim M]. The Sugar Quill. “Mind’s Eye, Soul’s Reflection: A Luna Lovegood story.” <http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?chapno=1&storyid=2023> Last updated July 7, 2005. Retrieved October 24, 2011.

            Cited with the permission of the author, Mind’s Eye retells Order of the Phoenix from the point of view of a secondary character, Luna Lovegood. It’s a challenge: the girl is mentally unstable, and Phoenix is the longest book in the series. Furthermore, this author’s interpretation of Luna’s father and mental state is very different from Rowling’s, leaving it up to the readers of both works to decide which version, ultimately, is preferable, and why.

Sauveterre, A. L. de. The Sugar Quill. “Harry Potter and the Society of Orpheus and Bacchus.”<http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=191&chapno=1> Last updated January 21, 2004. Retrieved October 23, 2011. Also available at <http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/a_l_de_sauveterre/HPATSOOAB.html>

This fanfiction has much potential for literary critique. The narrative style is at once similar to the tone of earlier books, and much more lush and witty, including crossovers of other stories and multimedia elements. The plot appears to be an attempt to collect as many clichés of Harry Potter fanfiction as possible without becoming incoherent – yet I am also fairly sure that the plot is being made up as it goes along. The story attempts valiantly to accommodate the release of Book Five, but it ends up stopping abruptly, unfinished, like many fanfictions of lesser value.