J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter
book series, delivered her Commencement Address, “The Fringe Benefits of
Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Annual Meeting of
the Harvard Alumni Association in June 2008. Here is the text of her speech - very touching..
Part 1 of 4
Part 1 of 4
President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board
of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all,
graduates.
The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has
Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and
nausea I have endured at the thought of giving this commencement address
have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do
is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and convince myself that
I am at the world’s largest Gryffindor reunion.
Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I
thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The
commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher
Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me
enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t
remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me
to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to
abandon promising careers in business, the law or politics for the giddy
delights of becoming a gay wizard.
You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’
joke, I’ve come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals:
the first step to self improvement.
Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say
to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own
graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years
that have expired between that day and this.
I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are
gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to
talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the
threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the
crucial importance of imagination.
These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.
(contd...)
No comments:
Post a Comment
I would love to hear from you! I read each and every comment, and will get back ASAP.