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Florida's Harry Potter weathers Pottermania
Sometimes it is a hassle being Harry Potter. Especially when you are a 78-year-old man who happens to share the name of the famous, fictional boy wizard.
Each time a new Harry Potter book or movie comes out, Florida resident Harry Potter gets phone calls from children, interview requests from TV networks and autograph requests.
"The kids want to know if I'm Harry Potter," he said with a chuckle. "I tell them I've been Harry Potter for darn near 80 years!"
The real Harry Potter said he has not had time to read any of the J K Rowling books or see the hit movies. But the retired US Defense Department employee gets his fun out of Pottermania.
"When Harry talks to the kids, they'll ask about the owl and he'll say, 'Oh, he came by and brought the mail,'" said his wife, Jan. "Then, when they're done, the mothers come on and say thank you for talking to the kids. He gets a big kick out of it."
But meeting a real Harry Potter can be a little puzzling for the kids.
"They look at you, give you the once-over," he said, laughing. "They can't relate the one in the book to the one they see here. I guess I could buy me a pair of Harry Potter glasses." (Posted on August 7, 2007)
Book fair dwindles in Zimbabwe
The once world-renowned Zimbabwe International Book Fair wound up with a whimper on August 4, with its only foreign exhibitor - the embassy of Iran - packing away many of its Islamic books and political brochures into cardboard boxes.
The three-day fair, which had 84 exhibitors made up mostly of local publishers, booksellers, church groups and aid and human rights organisations, is a shadow of its former self.
In previous year, following the inaugural fair in 1984, Harare attracted hundreds of agents, publishers and literary figures from Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia and within Africa itself.
Deals and contracts were signed in a festive carnival atmosphere. But now Zimbabwe is isolated from the international community and there is little incentive for foreign publishers to attend the fair as few Zimbabweans can afford to buy books.
There were no violent incidents at the fair- unlike previous years, when violent scuffles occurred over controversial exhibits.
In the past, ruling party militants trashed a display of human and sexual rights literature by gays and lesbians after longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe banned the display, describing same-sex partners as "lower than pigs and dogs."
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), took a stand at this year's fair but displayed only a banner in place of a book stand. Just 500 people passed through the gates in the central Harare park on the first day the fair opened to the public, compared with thousands in previous years.
Zimbabwe, in its worst economic crisis since independence in 1980, is facing acute shortages of gas, food and most basic commodities.
Official inflation is given at 4,500 per cent, the highest in the world. Scores of businesses have closed down and state health and education services are short of supplies, with up to 10 children sharing one textbook.(Posted on August 5, 2007)
NBT to publish short stories, poetry
The National Book Trust (NBT) will bring out a collection of Indian short stories and poetry since 1947 in 22 languages this year.
As the NBT observes the 50th year of its establishment this year, it will also publish dramas in eight different languages.
The stories and poems by eminent writers in different languages will find place in the collection.
The stories and dramas will showcase the literary trends in these genres and languages since independence.(Posted on July 31, 2007)
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