Fiction that shapes the physical world

VINCENT TEETSOV

Words on the printed page can alter the bricks and mortar that we are surrounded by. Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King’s Cross Railway Station in London is proof of this concept.

On a typical day, several dozen tourists line up in an orderly queue to put on a scarf and pretend to push a trolley like Harry Potter, through the brick wall divide that separates the muggle universe and the steam train to Hogwarts. It’s a sliver of literature we can actually touch because it captured many people’s imaginations.

In Estonia, consider Pokumaa (“Poku Land”) in the small town of Urvaste, nestled between Võru county and Põlva county. This theme park was opened in 2008, two years after the passing of Edgar Valter, the author of Pokuraamat (“The Poku Book”) and its two sequels, on which the park is based.

(Full story available via link below)

Photo: reisikirjad.gotravel.ee