Mental Health Notes

Harry Potter Saved Rowling’s Sanity

by Alicia Sparks, NAMI Affiliation Leader on April 15th, 2008

According to a recent Salon.com article, J.K. Rowling told a U.S. District Court judge that the Harry Potter books “saved [her] sanity” (Rowling: Potter Reference Book Is Theft).

From the article:

In sometimes emotional testimony, Rowling recalled starting work on the first book in 1991 when she was 25 and so destitute that she sometimes had to choose between buying typewriter ribbon and food. She said the Harry Potter characters helped her escape from the hard work of raising a child on welfare.

“It was a place into which I liked to vanish, and it was a discipline that was very important in keeping me sane,” she said.

I can understand that. As a writer, my writing often saves my sanity. (Too, it often contributes to my insanity, but, I digress.)

I don’t know what to make of this Steven Vander Ark/J.K. Rowling case - this Harry Potter/Harry Potter Lexicon mess.

On one hand, I’m not an expert in copyright laws. If Vander Ark and RDR Books present this as reference material, I’m inclined to take it at face value and see nothing wrong with it. On the other hand, Harry Potter belongs to Rowling, and if she feels the print publication of the Harry Potter Lexicon infringes upon her rights, well, there has to be something to that.

I hope this case soon comes to an end that pleases both parties. The rabid Harry Potter fan in me is very distressed to see one of her favorite authors going through an “ordeal [that] is draining her of her will to write.”

The awesome image above is owned by Patrick Haney and is being used according to these Creative Commons attributions.

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