An Open Letter to J.K. Rowling
The ‘J’ is up for sale! Maybe an ‘R’ would do you better, or an ‘H’ (it is available), or a ‘P.’ Why not take them all! How generous you could be! I’ve chosen you, J.K. Rowling, for the first solicitation.
This is a writer without writing to writer with. You, the writer who has by-passed the typical writer’s doldrums, of ‘making ends meet’; a writer shot-up to celebrity, glamoured and made-over; a writer mythologized by countless children and adults alike; a writer all the same. A writer who started, like many writers do, with nothing. Is it you who has given life to Harry Potter or is it Harry Potter who has given new life to you? This visceral relationship has now been let go, seventeen years and seven books later. What remains is a vibrant empire, Harry Potter for one and all! destined for progeny, what a wild stretch it will be!
Why have I chosen you, J.K. Rowling, to be first? I believe there to be some common ground that all writers stand on: the sweat that drips from the medium, the communion of words as they pass along the pages, swiftly unraveling under fingers swiftly typing. I believe that all artists stand on some kind of common ground. But an artist that is rich? Just luck? Or an intelligent use of what we know of plot and characters? You are the Bob Dylan of the 1990’s to 2000’s; someone, subconsciously predicting the needs of the time. There was no way to tell, until Harry was so hungrily ravaged and devoured.
The truth be told, before writing and doing some research for this piece, I was in doubt of there being any blood on your pages, or that you had struggled at all, with any of the phantoms, that are inevitable to the creation of good literature. Maybe it’s all those lights and flashing cameras which tend to sever the human away from the image. There is a certain repugnance that rises with fame, especially gained in the realm of creation. A dry-mouth feeling of art being exploited. But the one who has written the work would never go back on it. Why even begin, if one is only going to throw it in the trash?
The only difference between those with money and those without, besides the dollar signs extending beyond their names, is only what that money can buy. We would like your purchase to rest assured ; would like to spread the wealth; would like to share this mythic common ground. J.K. Rowling, would you like to buy a ‘J’?
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