By: IO

The first few hours of the apocalypse, she thinks, are fine. Across the street, the bones of the barbecue restaurant and the rest of the strip mall still smolder. The wind blows the smell of burning metal and plastic past her nose, wrapping around her curls. Damp ash sticks to her skin. Every couple of gusts brings a whiff of smoked meats, potatoes, and cheese. She is picking out pieces of rib and brisket she ate at lunch from her teeth with a toothpick she found in her pocket. Each piece of pre-masticated dislodged meat sloughs from her gums and bounces against the roof of her mouth before falling back onto her tongue. She holds each morsel there for a moment, reliving the flavor of her last meal and then swallows. 

By K. Osorio-Teamer

Dear J.K. Rowling, 

I hope this letter finds you open minded and willing to broaden your inner eye, so to speak. I have been a fan of Harry Potter since I was 12 when my mom convinced me to watch the first movie on VHS tape. We rented it, so for the next few days, Sorcerer’s Stone was on repeat at my house. I devoured the first four books after that, and was quickly deeply connected to the world and characters, especially because we were close in age. This world helped me escape from a life that felt darker than any magic Voldemort or Umbridge could conjure. I hated every bit of my body and mind. My parents were undoumented and we often felt the weight of the limitations that come with that life. We had a fear of police and immigration, my parents worked long hours at low paying jobs, we had financial struggles, and they lived under a constant state of nostalgia with the fear of never seeing home again. Thankfully, I could apparate to Hogwarts anytime my parent’s regret and rage bubbled over. Harry’s hard life as an outsider made me feel understood – I wasn’t the only one living a hard life. When my parents passed away, there was some comfort in orphan Harry’s life after losing his parents. He made connections with other people who soon became his chosen family. This story gave me hope and made me feel safe. 

For most of my life, I was part of the crazed fandom. I read all the books, saw all the movies, bought all the companion books/coloring books, visited Wizarding World of Harry Potter (twice), wore HP jewelry, wore HP clothes, dressed as a character for many Halloweens, hosted 3 or 4 Potter Parties, and the list goes on. I even tried to name my daughter a name from the books, but my husband vetoed that. Even if she wasn’t going to be named Luna or Bellatrix, I planned for my daughter to have the ultimate Harry Potter experience with constant but not overbearing exposure to the series with movies and illustrated books. Eventually, everything would culminate to a Hogwarts letter on her 11th birthday and a trip to the theme park. I’m telling you, I was hooked on this shit. 

And then you got on Twitter. 

I’m actually grateful that you started destroying the story. Your retroactive progressive cannon and transphobic tweets opened my eyes to the holes in the original story. The lack of racial or religious diversity! You mean to tell me there was only one black kid in Harry’s year? Only Dean freaking Thomas? The only thing worse than erasing all traces of the lgbtq+ community from the originals, is claiming Dumbledore is gay after the books and movies have come out. Then yall twisted the knife with the Fantastic Beasts series! We get to see a shockingly young Dumbledore (wizard ages make no sense) and his so-called love, Grindelwald. At no point was their relationship openly discussed and creators claimed the fans already knew so why mention it. Either you can’t tell a story or you’re purposely trying to keep that gay plotpoint out of the official canon. Aside from doubling down on the lgbtq+ erasure, you also reinforced your racism and lack of diversity with the new series. The protagonists are all white and you finally introduced some poc in the sequel, but at a terrible cost. Claudia Kim, an asian woman, played Nagini, a witch who was cursed to become a snake permanently and would eventually become a white man’s pet. Need I say more?

YES.

Zoey Kravitz played Leta Lestrange, a character who was stripped down to her childhood trauma as a mixed race child born of rape and dies in service of the Scamander brothers. Oh, what about the other character of color? You know, because you can really only have 2 to 3. Yusuf Kama was only out for revenge that was coincidentally rooted in childhood trauma due to his mother being raped. Will you look at that. 

I’m grateful that you were ignorant enough to tweet these things and release these new movies because now I see the big picture. Yes, these stories touched me deeply and helped me cope with my life and that will never change, but I can’t keep supporting a creator who is so blind to her own hypocrisy. You wrote a story where people were persecuted for their genetics, being born in a certain group, or looking a certain way, and your hero fought against those prejudices. Yet in the muggle world, you stand as another Death Eater looking to spread ignorance and hate. 

I’m done supporting your new movies or buying new editions of your books and other merchandise. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I saw a Harry Potter movie or picked up my books and that’s unheard for me. It just doesn’t feel the same anymore. Hogwarts isn’t home and that’s on you, JK. 

For now, I’m exploring stories of magic and wonder from other authors like Tomi Adeyemi, Nnedi Okorafor, Daniel José Older, and Rebecca Roanhorse. 

Sincerely, 

K. Osorio-Teamer, reformed HP fan

I have decided that I don’t want to attend conventions for the foreseeable future, and it has nothing to do with the Coronavirus. Last year I felt myself growing bored with the convention pattern, to many people, all the panels you want to attend happening simultaneously, and blocks of time with nothing of interest. For years now I’ve attended several conventions a year having a great time meeting authors, hanging out with friends, con friends (people you only see at conventions), and networking. Though I had a good time at my first con of this year despite cancellations on the schedule along with guest speakers and panelist, it did not make up for the hassle that is travel and the convention patterns. The other part of this is the panels themselves, even when they are interesting with dynamic panelists what they aren’t doing is inspiring my writing. I don’t leave a panel wanting to find a place to write. Do I leave a panel with things to ponder, yes? Panels are not a waste of time by any stretch of the imagination, they just don’t inspire me to write. That’s me. Someone else may walk out of a panel or stay glued to their seat writing ideas for a new story or notes on a current one. That hasn’t been my “story”. 

What I’m thinking is that it’s time to switch over from conventions and conferences to retreats. 

I’m aware that retreats have their own set of challenges, and I’m ready to find out for myself what those are. Wish me luck!

Tony W.