Kern, Edmund M. -
Kiely, Aine -
Killiechassie House -
Killinger, John (The Reverend Dr.) -
King, Stephen -
King's Cross Station, London -
Kirk, Connie Ann -
Kirke, Digory -
Kloves, Steven -
Kronzek, Allan Zola & Kronzek, Elizabeth
Kern, Edmund M.
Edmund M. Kern is the author of
The Wisdom of Harry Potter
(Prometheus Books 2003), a lively look at Rowling's
books as a combination of fantastical fun and moral seriousness. Kern argues
that Rowling's writing exhibits a philosophy suggestive of an updated form
of stoicism. He is an Associate Professor of History at Lawrence University
in Appleton, Wisconsin. His research interests include the history of
witchcraft.
Kiely, Aine
Aine Kiely (who hailed from
Cork, Ireland)
was one of JKR's flatmates and good friends from her days in
Porto. Aine and Rowling's other flatmate
and friend, Jill Prewett, are the
subject of the dedication in
PA:
"To Jill Prewett and Aine Kiely,
the Godmothers of Swing."
Swing does not, however,
refer to swing dancing, but rather to the name of a disco in
Porto, where the three women spent many
Saturday nights (SS_JKRB).
Killiechassie House
Home purchased by Rowling and
Dr. Neil Murray.
They were married there on 26 December 2001. The home is located in
Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland.
Killinger, John (The Reverend Dr.)
Author of
God, the Devil and Harry Potter:
A Christian Minister's Defense of the Beloved Novels
(St. Martin's Press 2002), The Reverend Dr. John Killinger is currently
the pastor of the historic Little Stone Church on Mackinac Island, Michigan.
He taught for 15 years at Vanderbilt University and was the Distinguished
Professor of Religion and Culture at Samford University in Birmingham,
Alabama. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church but has served a variety
of denominations during his ministry career. He has written more than fifty
books, and is recognized as one of America's outstanding preachers.
King, Stephen
Horror novelist Stephen King has been outspoken in his praise of Rowling's
work. He wrote a very favorable review of
GF for
The New York Times Book Review in July 2000. He also favorably reviewed
OP in
Entertainment Weekly (11 July 2003), noting of Harry's longevity
prospects: "My best guess is that he will indeed stand time's test
and wind up on a shelf where only the best are kept: I think Harry will
take his place with Alice, Huck, Frodo and Dorothy, and this is one series
not just for the decade, but for the ages."
King's Cross Station, London
Designed as the Great Northern Railway's
London terminus by the architect Lewis Cubitt, the structure was built
in 1851-2. It was erected on the site of a former smallpox and fever hospital.
The train shed is faced with a yellowish brick screen which fronts onto
Euston Road and features a central 120 ft high clock tower in Italianate
style, with 9 ft diameter clock dials. On either side, there are large
arched windows over the fronts of the two big arched train sheds (71 ft
high, 800 ft long). JKR has confirmed, however, that she was thinking of
Euston Station but wrote King's Cross by mistake
(HPM).
Marylebone Station was used for the Hogwarts Express departure scenes in the
Harry Potter films.
Marylebone Station is London's smallest rail station and opened in 1899.
Rowling says about King's Cross:
For me, King's Cross is a very, very romantic place. Probably the most romantic station purely because my parents met here. So that's always been part of my childhood folklore. My dad had just joined the navy; my mum had just joined the Wrens. They were both traveling up to Abroath in Scotland from London and they met on the train pulling out of King's Cross. So I wanted Harry to go to Hogwarts by train. I just love trains; I'm a bit nerdy like that, and obviously therefore it had to be King's Cross. (HPM)
Kirk, Connie Ann
Kirk is the author of a biography
of JKR published by The Greenwood Press as part of their Greenwood Biographies
series (full-length biographies specifically designed for student research).
Kirk is a children's literature scholar who teaches English at Mansfield
University in Pennsylvania and is the editor of The Encyclopedia of
American Children's and Young Adult Literature. Following Rowling’s
example with the schoolbooks in 2002, Kirk made a donation of some of the
proceeds from her Rowling biography to Comic Relief.
Kirke, Digory
Digory Kirke is the title character of The Magician's Nephew by
C.S. Lewis, one of the seven volumes of
The Chronicles of Narnia (a favourite of JKR's). In that series,
Kirke as an adult is Professor Kirke, who like
C.S. Lewis took in several children
evacuated from London during World War II, and is named for one of the
most influential teachers in
C.S. Lewis' life, the tutor to whom
his father sent him after taking him out of boarding school, called
"Kirk" by the Lewis family (short for his surname,
Kirkpatrick). For more details, see
Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by
C.S. Lewis, whose early experiences
in boarding school compare with life under
Umbridge. (In a neat bit of
irony, C.S. Lewis' tutor lived in
Surrey.)
Kloves, Steven
Born in 1960, Steve Kloves was the screenwriter for the first four
Harry Potter films, as
well as the sixth.
He was also the screenwriter for Racing with the Moon and
Wonder Boys. He was the screenwriter and director for
The Fabulous Baker Boys and Flesh and Bone.
Additional biographical details can be found at:
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800063277&cf=biog&intl=us
Kronzek, Allan Zola & Kronzek, Elizabeth
Authors of The Sorcerer's Companion:
A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter
(Broadway Books 2001), Allan Kronzek is a professional magician and
educator who lectures on the history of magic. His daughter Elizabeth
is a writer, editor and historian.
