World of Poetry Not Immune to Potter-Mania

One of the reasons I have enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series has been Rowling's consistent use of poems in the first six books: the Sorting Hat's songs, Harry's exploding valentine, the riddle of the Sphinx, and "Weasley is Our King" are just a few examples of how she has been able to incorporate poetic form into her writing.

And why not? Doesn't poetry contain magical properties? Isn't it the supreme expression of the incantations lurking within the realm of the human soul? Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but I've always thought of poetry as something spellbinding and other-worldly.

I appreciate and admire Rowling's use of it because, by doing so, she has introduced a new generation of readers to poetry; and she has also reminded those of us who need reminding, myself included, that poems don't have to be esoteric or wholly academic to be entertaining and memorable.

The poems found in the books are all formal, meaning they follow a definite rhyme scheme, usually A-B-A-B, C-D-C-D, and so on. I wanted to know whether the poems written about the books followed the same kind of pattern, and to what extent the world of poetry has been affected by Potter-mania.

I was pleasantly surprised by both the volume and variety of what I found online: from odes written by content producers on Associated Content to haikus pieced together with dialogue from the books, and from a wide range of subjects, including everything from poems that idolize Harry to ones that celebrate Voldemort's wickedness.

I even found an online bookstore that sponsored a poetry writing contest! AbeBooks.com accepted submissions from "Potter poets" and posted some of their favorite pieces on the website. There are all sorts of poems listed: ones from mothers who got hooked on the series reading the books to their children, ones written in the voice of J.K. Rowling as she sat in the coffee shop writing the books, an ode to Draco Malfoy, and even a few on the subject of Quidditch. The site is being updated daily, so almost every time you visit, you can expect to find new poems posted.