Jill Kolongowski, Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me

Calling all Potterheads! Come spend the evening with us at Page Turner, sipping butterbeer or pumpkin juice OR BOTH while listening to Jill Kolongowski read her book of essays, “Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me.” Have the chance to get your book signed!

Jill Kolongowski is a nonfiction writer and professor living in Northern California. She is the author of a collection of essays called Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me (Ulysses Press, 2017). She received her MFA from Saint Mary’s College of California, and is also the managing editor at YesYes Books. Her essays have won Sundog Lit’s First Annual Contest series and the Diana Woods Memorial Prize in Creative Nonfiction at Lunch Ticket magazine. She is a Hufflepuff who grew up in Michigan.

It would be difficult to overstate the cultural impact of the Harry Potter series. Beyond the normal trappings of a fandom--the clothing lines, the amusement parks, the snacks-- the true reach of Hogwarts goes so deep because the themes have been instrumental in shaping the ideals of a generation.

For many, older millennials especially, it is not unreasonable to say that the Harry Potter series has become the go-to secular source of moral instruction and strength for the rapidly shifting landscape of the post-9/11 world. With its universal themes of good versus evil and love over hatred, the arc of the series is detailed with surprising complexity, complete with a road map for speaking truth to power, forming community in dire circumstances, and, perhaps most improbably, maintaining a sense of wonder.

In her book, Jill Kolongowski, professor of writing and literature, unpacks and explores the lessons found in Harry Potter series, using both her personal experience with the series and her astute facility for textual analysis.