A quick note

[cnoocy]

I've been participating some in the discussions of authorial intent occasioned by J. K. Rowling's statements this weekend. In one of my comments on the subject, I came up with what I think is a useful turn of phrase that jadelennox told me was worth blogging:

"The creator told me it works this way" is no more a valid excuse for bad literary analysis than it is for bad science.

Comments

[colorwheel.livejournal.com]

wow. i was just in the middle of a post about "you shouldn't claim knowledge about the field of children's lit any more casually or easily than you should claim knowledge about the field of chemistry.

"there are many ways to learn about these fields -- school, reading, friends, etc -- but children's lit isn't any easier to absorb by cultural osmosis than chemistry is."

so, eh, i won't post it, i'll just leave it here.

[cnoocy]

You should still post it. It's a different point.

[colorwheel.livejournal.com]

it is a different point. i just thought it matched nicely with yours.