Harry Potter and the Deathly Howells

Dr Richard Howells was live on Sky News this morning being interviewed about the Harry Potter phenomenon.

He argued that there had been a hugely successful commercial synergy between the books, films and merchandising. JK Rowling’s strengths were in plot rather than character, dialogue or description. She was like Dan Brown for the younger generation: not necessarily Dostoyevsky, but someone who really knew how to make you want to start the next chapter…

Whatever her literary strengths and weaknesses, she had had an entirely positive effect in encouraging young people to read.

And no, he doesn’t know how it ends!

Get your vibratos out

For five years Streetwise Opera has been working with homeless and ex-homeless people in London, involving them in singing workshops and full-scale staged productions. They’ve enjoyed great reviews from the national and international press, and have been involved in a number of festivals and events such as the recent Sing London programme.

Current CCI student Paul Vialard has been working with Streetwise as an intern for the past few months. He tipped us off about a forthcoming production, Orlando Gough’s Critical Mass, at the Almeida Opera Festival on July 21st and 22nd.

“An event not to be missed!” Paul tells us. You read it here first.

2012

An topical issue in the UK cultural sector at the moment is whether lottery money should be diverted from the arts to fund the Olympics in 2012. For those against, there’s an online petition you can sign here.

Goodbye, Dr Battista

We’re saying adieu and indeed farewell this month to Kathy Battista, known to many former MA CCI students as the course tutor for Tate Modern: Inside Today’s Museum. Kathy’s leaving the Smoke and moving to the Big Apple this summer, having been appointed as as Director of the MA Contemporary Art programme at Sotheby’s Institute, New York.

Kathy gave us some valedictory words: “I’ve taught at many institutions and the CCI team is among the most organised and amenable that I’ve worked with. I’ll greatly miss being part of the faculty and I hope that we can continue to collaborate in the future.”

We definitely echo that – and meanwhile, Kathy, on behalf of your former students as well as staff at King’s, Lost in CCI would like to congratulate you on your new job, and thank your for all your inspiring and dedicated teaching on the CCI programme. Good luck and have a great time in NY!

George Melly

The news that larger-than-life singer George Melly has died will come as sad news to jazz fans. But it’s worth pointing out that in addition to his distinctly flamboyant persona as a performer, he was also a very well-respected writer on the arts and popular culture.

For years, I’ve been recommending his Revolt Into Style -originally published in 1970. Here, he argues that in pop music, whatever movement starts as cultural revolt usually ends up as a mere style statement. It’s a very persuasive point of view, with all sorts of implications for popular culture (and subculture) as a whole.

So, while we read the tributes and the articles celebrating his drinking, singing, dress-sense, fly fishing and even his sex life, let’s also raise a glass (if we may) to his serious work as a scholar. The two don’t have to be separate.

Dr Richard Howells