Someone (a big shot book editor doing a review in a major U.S. paper, no less) once said that J. K. Rowling was not a writer; she was a storyteller. I beg to disagree. Granted that she may have been just a storyteller when she wrote the first Harry Potter book, she is much, much more today. She is both a gifted writer and a gifted storyteller. While a good storyteller merely writes events in their correct sequence, a better story teller writes events in their correct sequence in an enticing manner. But a gifted writer and storyteller will not only write events in their correct sequence in an exciting manner but will also imbue the story with personal touches that add depth and substance into the plainness of the words. That is what sets the excellent apart from the mediocre. And J. K. Rowling is by no means mediocre.
This might turn into a battle of words, or rather, a battle of semantics, but I just have to react to your definitions of storyteller and writer. I'm not sure what the 'big shot book editor' meant by calling J.K. Rowling a storyteller, but to me, that is higher praise than being called a writer.
"A writer only makes the pen weep. A storyteller makes a woman shed tears." This is one of the lines in a play I was in a few months back, and it has stuck with me since. I guess this is part of the reason I'm reacting now... but let's go to something more basic. What, in my opinion, is a writer? What is a storyteller?
A writer is basically somebody who writes for a living - somebody whose job it is to commit words to paper. A storyteller is somebody who can weave different ideas and events together into... I don't know... something magical. Ok... a writer knows how to put words together; a storyteller knows how to move people. Hmm... didn't I just paraphrase the line I just quoted earlier? Oh well...
I guess that's a sign I'm rambling already. I can't seem to get my own words together; and on that note, I will end this.
I'm not trying to refute anything you said here. In fact, I myself love reading the Harry Potter books, and I believe that J. K. Rowling is a fantastic... umm... my pickiness with words is going to do me in someday. I believe that J. K. Rowling is a fantastic author. She has a way of luring her audience into her stories and making them forget just how long her books are.
There. Oh, and on another note, Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite in the series. I've only read Order once though, so that might change if I get a chance to read it again. For now though... ok, enough rambling.
Be one of the first to watch CLYTEMNESTRA, Kultura's 10th year season-ender and, incidentally, also its 10th major theatrical production. The first show will be this Saturday, February 26, at 8 p.m., Dizon Auditorium, UA&P.
Written in Filipino by UA&P alumnus and Palanca award winner Christian R. Vallez, and directed by Tinette Villanueva, CLYTEMNESTRA is a retelling of Aeschylus "Oresteia." Set after the Trojan War, the play recounts how Clytemnestra murdered the victorious Agamemnon as he arrives home and how Orestes, their son, murders Clytemnestra to avenge his father.
CAST:
Frankie Pascua, RJ Torres, Carlo Jimenez, JR Magboo, Jose Miciano, Alessa de Rivera, Elaine Tan, Shara Jacinto, Eds Agapito, Wanwan Rapisora, Angel Santos, Tricia Fermin, Powie Espineli, Katt Manso, JJ Rimando, Jardy Adolfo, John Montoya, Roni Balbieran
PLAYDATES:
February 26 (Sat.), March 1 (Tue.), March 3 (Thu.), March 5 (Sat.), March 9 (Wed.), March 10 (Thu.), March 11 (Fri.), March 12 (Sat.)
ALL SHOWS BEGIN AT 8:00 PM.
VENUE:
Celestino Dizon Auditorium
University of Asia and the Pacific
Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
* You may avail of FREE PARKING along Pearl Drive, or use UA&P's pay parking lot along Escriva Drive (formerly Amber).
Free admission for UA&P students, faculty and staff. Tickets for non-UA&P guests are sold at Php 150 each.
For inquiries, please contact Ms. Marie Puyat at
637-0912 loc. 380, 0922-4959340, or
mpuyat@uap.edu.ph.