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March 25, 2002 ‘HARRY POTTER IN IDAHO’ EXPLORED IN CENTER’S NEWSLETTER “Magic” ink that is invisible until exposed to sunlight reveals a secret message in the newsletter “Harry Potter in Idaho,” published in April by the Idaho Center for the Book at Boise State University. The so-called “HooDooVooDooJuJu” issue of ICB’s semi-annual newsletter offers a whimsical, tongue-in-cheek look at reactions around the Gem State to J.K. Rowling’s mega-selling books about the boy wizard Harry Potter. In what may be a literary first, the newsletter also uses a thermochromic printing process to superimpose a message over the two-page publication that appears only after it is exposed to direct sunlight. “We believe we may be the first publication to use this type of ink,” said ICB director and Boise State English professor Tom Trusky. “The ‘secret message’ is in keeping with the Harry Potter theme and adds a twist we think our readers will enjoy after they’ve read the newsletter’s contents.” The ICB newsletter explores the Potter phenomenon from a variety of perspectives, ranging from a reprinted Twin Falls newspaper article that quotes fundamentalist Christians about the evils of witchcraft, to a snapshot of a Potter caricature flying around a Coeur d’Alene library, to a report about a Harry Potter tour of England offered by a Boise travel agency. The newsletter also includes an article by Boise State student Christi Nogle, who penned the “secret message” and first used it on a T-shirt she designed for Trusky’s Book Arts class. Nogle writes that she came up with a message for her T-shirt after learning that a British first edition of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is now worth $24,000, and also from her experience of seeing the movie. “I was concerned that it [the message] might seem ‘anti-book’ rather than ‘pro-book,’” Nogle writes. “But I think that since it clearly presents the big money that’s being made from Harry Potter, it will be read as an attack on this particular book’s mass appeal rather than an attack on books in general.” The newsletter was printed by Joslyn & Morris Printers of Boise with inks from Chromatic Technologies Inc. The newsletter background, a photo of Harry Potter-emblazoned fabric, is courtesy of The Cotton Club of Boise. The ICB newsletter is free upon request in Idaho and $10 for annual out-of-state subscriptions. Send requests or contributions to Idaho Center for the Book, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho 83725. The Idaho Center for the Book is affiliated with the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1993 to encourage and promote an interest in reading, writing, making, disseminating and collecting books. The ICB also seeks to preserve and publicize the bibliophilic heritage of the Gem State, and is involved in a number of projects including “Booker’s Dozen,” a biennial statewide traveling exhibition of 14 artists and eccentric books by Idahoans. For more information about the ICB, go to www.lili.org/icb. Contact: Media Contact:
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