Comment

Comment by Sylvia Schoeningh-Taylor on April 26, 2012 at 8:31am

J.K.Rowling über die  transformierende Kraft  des Scheiterns! Sehr ermächtigend!

Comment by Ginger McKnight-Chavers on April 7, 2011 at 10:42am

As someone who sat in one of those chairs over 20 years ago (in pouring rain which immediately wreaked havoc upon and wrecked the hours I spent on my hairdo - unlike my classmate, our current First Lady, whose hair, and poise, remained perfect), I secretly envied the students who benefitted from the advice from such a wonderful author and individual.  At the same time, while watching this online, I felt so proud that the most well-known author in British history (even beyond The Bard himself) is a woman of such compassion who still has her feet so securely grounded in the soil.  For others who  have lamented the lack of diversity in the crowd, I do too, though what we really should lament is that my graduate alma mater is far more diverse than the overwhelming majority of institutions of higher learning in this country.  Harvard grads of color are very  active in kicking Harvard in the shins and the ass for its failings, so we rally everyone to focus on our nation's state universities and other, more accessible institutions of higher learning to remedy their failings as well, as these are the most prolific gateways out of poverty for most of our citizens.  In the meantime, I focus on how extraordinarily grounded and balanced Ms. Rowling remains, despite her success and influence, and I find her to be an extraordinary role model, particularly for our girls.  I am so proud of her and inspired by her at the same time.

Comment by Lauren Marie Fleming on April 2, 2011 at 2:36pm

This was an inspirational and hilarious speech, but I can't help but be depressed at the multitude of old white men in the audience and the lack of diversity.

Comment by T A_A I on February 24, 2011 at 11:23pm

I love British humor. Great speech.

Comment by Renate Stendhal on February 2, 2011 at 2:10pm

Lovely to hear and see this again, Kamy. She has a wonderful sense of humor, British humor. Which is also so present in all the snappy word inventions and language games of Harry Potter's adventures. Very inspiring!