the harry potter syndrome

Erwin Wurm, Dreamer, one arm, 2024, aluminum and paint, copyright Erwin Wurm / adagp, Paris, 2024, courtesy of Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, photo Markus Gradwohl

essay

by EMANUELE COCCIA

artwork by ERWIN WURM

Italian philosopher Emanuele Coccia’s unique approach to philosophy combines ecology and metaphysics with everyday life. His latest book,La Vita Delle Forme, Filosofia Del Reincanto, cowritten with Alessandro Michele, will be published in english next year.

Legend has it that the idea for Harry Potter came to the author during a train trip to Manchester in 1990. The manuscript, completed in 1995, received 12 rejections before it was accepted. From June 26, 1997, the day the first volume was released in Britain, to the present, the series has been translated into 80 languages and has had a worldwide success unparalleled by any other teen or young adult novel.

Beyond its literary merits, Harry…