Tolkien Transactions XIV
Troels Forchhammer
This has, at least in my perspective, been a quiet month, which has
suited me quite well. At a personal level, my work situation is now
more sorted out, so that I know what tasks remain for me in Nokia
and when I will be fired (end of April 2012). This hopefully means
that I, when I come back from holiday in the middle of July, can
address the remaining tasks with new energy.
Enough of this private stuff -- this is my collection of the most
interesting Tolkien-related things from the internet in June 2011.
All my usual disclaimers naturally apply as well as any implication
of any responsibility on my part ;)
Obviously I am ignoring a lot of stuff here -- in particular the
stream of news relating to antipodean film project. Though this
stream has been steadily growing as the work progresses (or not), I
really do not find such news very interesting -- I couldn't care
less about who is chosen to play some part, nor about what changes
Jackson is going to introduce to make the work conform to his own
vision of what a film has to contain. I look forward to watching his
_Hobbit_ films in the cinema, but I find the perpetual stream of
trivia that fills the news rather annoying.
Have a nice summer!
= = = = News = = = =
Ethan Gilsdorf, Wednesday, 1 June 2011, "Tolkien hippie stickers
resurface"
<http://www.ethangilsdorf.com/ethanfreak-blog/2011/6/1/tolkien-hippie-stickers-resurface.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/3btovnl>
Ethan Gilsdorf (author of _Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic
Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other
Dwellers of Imaginary Realms_) evidently attended the 3rd.
Conference on Middle-earth (see the March issue) where he got to
speak with Ed Meskys, one-time president of the Tolkien Society of
America, from whom he got some old _The Lord of the Rings_ stickers
that are both terrible and wonderful -- I'd hate to see them as
illustrations of the book, but viewed like this they have a definite
charm (at least for one who is old enough to remember the end of the
era that produced them).
There is also a short mention here:
Ethan Gilsdorf, _Wired.com_, Monday, 6 June 2011, "Groovy Lord of
the Rings Stickers Unearthed"
<http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/06/groovy-lord-of-the-rings-stickers-unearthed/>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/3jnxv9c>
Josh Vogt, _ Examiner_, Thursday, 2 June 2011, "The Hobbit fans
reenact Tolkien's Battle of Five Armies"
<http://www.examiner.com/tolkien-in-national/the-hobbit-fans-reenact-tolkien-s-battle-of-five-armies>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/4xwrj5a>
If you wish to experience the Battle of Five Armies in full detail,
but are hesitant to expose yourself to the vision of Mr Jackson,
this might be the solution -- watch out for details on next year's
reenactment.
Another article on the same event:
Jan Flemr, _abc-cbn news.com_, Monday, 6 June 2011, "Have at ye!
Goblins battle elves in Tolkien reenactment"
<http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/06/06/11/have-ye-goblins-battle-elves-tolkien-reenactment>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/6dsx7hq>
Steve Morrison via _Discover Magazine_, Thursday, 2 June 2011, "The
nameless things that gnaw the world -- found!"
<http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/06/01/meet-mephisto-the-worm-that-rules-the-underworld/>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/3moh8y3>
Thanks to Steve for pointing this out in the Tolkien Newsgroups (the
link is to the original article rather than to his post). Though
possibly not exactly what Tolkien had in mind, imagining these
things in 10 feet versions inhabiting the lowest levels of Moria
will surely produce the effect he was aiming for.
JF, Thursday, 16 June 2011, "Proofing, indexing"
<http://lingwe.blogspot.com/2011/06/proofing-indexing.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/5w3a375>
A brief update on the progress on Jason's upcoming book on source
criticism in a Tolkien context. As is noted often, including in the
comments, a good index is one of the best investments of time for a
scholarly book. Tolkien enthusiasts will know how much _The Letters
of J.R.R. Tolkien_ was enhanced by the expanded index by Wayne
Hammond and Christina Scull.
Helly, the Fail blog, Friday, 17 June 2011, "LOTR FAIL"
<http://failblog.org/2011/06/17/epic-fail-photos-lotr-fail/>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/3hzwfbu>
Definitely in the humorous end, this shows why one shouldn't always
go for the cheapest manufacturer for one's merchandise.
H&S, Thursday, 23 June 2011, "Art of The Hobbit Progress"
<http://wayneandchristina.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/art-of-the-hobbit-progress/>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/635j2hd>
Another progress report on a piece of upcoming Tolkien scholarship.
This time the news is that the outside design for the book has
finished, and a nice picture illustrates this blog entry.
= = = = Essays and Scholarship = = = =
DB, Wednesday, 1 June 2011, "Race in Earthsea"
<http://calimac.livejournal.com/529509.html>
Not really Tolkien, but related to a question that often comes up in
a Tolkien connection, and since I was introduced to Ursula Le Quin's
_Earthsea_ novels by other Tolkien enthusiasts, I thought this
analysis by David Bratman belongs here. It might be interesting to
do the same for Tolkien's work, though I suspect that there would be
far more references there -- the physical characteristics of peoples
do have a greater place in Tolkien's world than in Le Guin's.
BC, Saturday, 4 June 2011, "TCBS -- Inklings -- Notion Club"
<http://notionclubpapers.blogspot.com/2011/06/tcbs-inklings-notion-club.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/6frxtum>
There has been a lot of focus on the Inklings, who they were and
what the social aspect of the club meant to them and their work, but
outside of John Garth's _Tolkien and the Great War_ (absolutely
brilliant book!) there has been little focus on the TCBS, Tea Club
and Barrovian Society. I am sure that there is much more to say
about the TCBS as a formative social context for young Ronald
Tolkien, in particular on how this group helped shape Tolkien's
artistic aspirations and interests, but possibly also on other
aspects of his life. Bruce Charlton here suggests one line of
research that connects the dots all the way to Tolkien's fictional
representation of the Inklings, which is the title of Bruce's blog.
The emphasis here is on the last days of the TCBS when they decided
that they could change the world, how this decision shaped Tolkien's
artistic work, and how this aspect was not a deliberate part of the
later real and fictional clubs, nor an aim that was shared by all
the members of the real club.
TF, Tuesday, 7 June 2011, "Fans and Scholars?"
<http://parmarkenta.blogspot.com/2011/06/fans-and-scholars.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/434hlyf>
Spurred by my comments on _The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún_, I take
up a debate we had in RABT & AFT some time ago. In particular I
comment on the interdependence of the story-external and the
story-internal views.
DAA, Friday, 10 June 2011, "Roundup: TS8, More Stybiorn news, etc.
etc."
<http://tolkienandfantasy.blogspot.com/2011/06/roundup-ts8-more-stybiorn-news-etc-etc.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/3wwb9es>
Douglas A. Anderson shares some news on _Tolkien Studies_ vol. 8
(mine arrived on the 22nd), and some other book news. It lands in
this section due to the research into blurbs comparing the present
book to Tolkien and in particular to _The Lord of the Rings_. The
earliest examples listed in the blog piece and the comments date
from 1965 -- 1967. Some of the examples listed are hilarious --
particularly the attempt to sell a book as "an erotic Tolkien".
BC, Saturday, 11 june 2011, "How Tolkien could/ should have
published The Silmarillion"
<http://notionclubpapers.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-tolkien-could-should-have-published.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/4x6u35h>
Basically Bruce Charlton is suggesting that Tolkien should have
published his disparate material more or less 'as is':
as a compendium of various modes of writing, varying in
finish and completeness and of various fictional provenance
-- held together by some kind of editorial apparatus.
This approach to Tolkien's legendarium is akin to the discussion by
Gergely Nagy in 'The Great Chain of Reading' in _Tolkien the
Medievalist_ by Jane Chance (ed.), but ultimately I don't think that
Tolkien saw things that way -- this way of looking at the great
collection of material as versions of the same myth is, I believe,
alien to Tolkien's own thinking. I strongly believe that he saw each
new version as the _only_ valid version (the exception being the
period when he was considering both a 'round world' and a 'flat
world' version of the _Ainulindalë_). The evidence, as I read it,
points to Tolkien desiring the tales he wrote to be consistently
'true' within his sub-created world, and that the evolution and
everchanging versions of the tales represent the changes and
evolution in his conception of what was 'true' rather than
experiments in different narrative perspectives, different forms,
etc.
Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall, and Edmund Weiner, Thursday, 16
June 2011, "The Revision of Ruel-bone in the OED"
<http://www.lotrplaza.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=241541&PID=7400796&title=the-revision-of-ruelbone-in-the-oed#7400796>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/6xu24bc>
From the authors of _The Ring of Words_ comes a contribution to the
LotR Plaza's Scholars' forum that investigates the newest revision
of the word 'ruel-bone' in the OED and of course its Tolkien
connections.
= = = = Reviews and Announcements = = = =
PC, Thursday, 2 June 2011, "The Art of The Hobbit by Wayne Hammond
and Christina Scull"
<http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/998-The_Art_of_The_Hobbit.php>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/6keryys>
A piece by Pieter Collier on the upcoming book by Wayne Hammond and
Christina Scull, _The Art of The Hobbit_.
TF, Thursday, 2 June 2011, "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún"
<http://parmarkenta.blogspot.com/2011/06/legend-of-sigurd-and-gudrun.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/5relo7v>
Not a review as such, but a few thoughts and comments upon finishing
_The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún_ -- in particular I comment on some
of the desires that fuelled Tolkien's effort.
JDR, Friday, 3 June 2011, "As Catholic As The Day Is Long"
<http://sacnoths.blogspot.com/2011/06/as-catholic-as-day-is-long.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/6782pls>
A review of a TV documentary by Joseph Pearce on Tolkien as a
Catholic author (originally made for a Catholic station). While
commending the biographical details, I think the position of the
review is best summed in the statements that
By overstating his case, Pearce has weakened it. I think
it's one of those times when, having picked up a hammer,
everything starts to look like a nail.
Though this is certainly not unheard of in other lines of academic
criticism of Tolkien's work, it has always struck me as being
particularly annoying when the perspective is a religion that is
shared between Tolkien and the critic (or by some other author and
the scholar / critic) -- it seems to me that there is a tendency to
not only see the whole world as made of nails, but to also start
preaching the singular value of hammers . . .
Rateliff has a particularly well-worded comment, saying that
Tolkien was a complex man. To seize upon one aspect of his
life -- his medievalism, his faith, his love of trees, his
language-creation, his status as a writer of fantasy or a
survivor of the Great War or a mid-century writer, his
compulsion to write even without hope of publication, his
belonging to the Inklings or being a friend of Lewis's --
and insist it's the only one that's important is to
seriously distort the picture.
Well said! Thank you!
H&S, Tuesday, 7 June 2011, "Go, Little Book"
<http://wayneandchristina.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/go-little-book/>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/6d3ghhp>
A bit of news from Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull on their
upcoming book, _The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien_. They have
finished work on the book, and give a sample from the introduction.
HarperCollins has very conveniently set the (tentative) publication
date to my 45th birthday -- guess what's on the wish list ;-)
Larry Swain, _Mythprint_, Monday, 13 June 2011, "Languages, Myths
and History"
<http://www.mythsoc.org/reviews/languages-myths-and-history/>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/5r4ogmv>
This review originally appeared in _Mythprint_ 48:3 (#344) in March
2011.
A review of the book _Languages, Myths and History: An Introduction
to the Linguistic and Literary Background of J.R.R. Tolkien's
Fiction_ by Elizabeth Solopova. All in all a positive review ending
with a recommendation of the book 'even for the experienced Tolkien
fan and scholar.'
JDR, Thursday, 16 June 2011, "The Return of the Emu"
<http://sacnoths.blogspot.com/2011/06/return-of-emu.html>
In Danish, when trying to warn that appearances can be deceptive, we
advise people not to judge the hound by the hairs ("sku ikke hunden
på hårene"), while in English people are warned not to judge the
book by its cover. When, however, the cover is all that is currently
available, a reviewer may see how much can be learned and deduced
from the cover. Such is the exercise that John Rateliff here engages
in with the cover of the book _J. R. R. Tolkien_, a biography by
Alexandra and John Wallner aimed for young children (the reading
level is given as 'Ages 4 -- 8'). Though certainly entertaining, I
think Rateliff is perhaps taking his analysis one or two steps
further than the current evidence can really support, though I would
certainly not be surprised to find that he is correct. Also
interesting is the comment by David Bratman about Tolkien's
birthplace.
Mike Foster, Monday, 27 June 2011, "Tolkien Studies VII"
<http://www.mythsoc.org/reviews/tolkien-studies-7/>
This review originally appeared in _Mythprint_ 48:3 (#344) in March
2011.
The nature of _Tolkien Studies_ is such that a review is as much a
resume as a review, but by various hints, I can easily see that Mike
Foster has a higher opinion of some of the essays than I have (my
review has appeared in _Mallorn_ #51), but that is the nature of any
collection. However, we obviously do agree on the praise of
Flieger's transcription and commentary on Tolkien's Kalevala work
and of Garth's paper on Tolkien's relationship with Robert Q. Gilson
and his family -- work which Garth follow up upon in volume 8.
= = = = Other Stuff = = = =
JDR, Wednesday, 1 June 2011, "Lewis Loved Being Read To . . ."
<http://sacnoths.blogspot.com/2011/06/lewis-loved-being-read-to.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/5vk28la>
A confluence of various bits makes John Rateliff suggest that Lewis
had problems reading Tolkien's handwriting, and that this is the
explanation for some known statements from Lewis and Tolkien. It is
not without problems, as Rateliff himself acknowledges, and will
require more in the way of evidence, but it's nonetheless an
interesting idea.
BC, Thursday, 2 June 2011, "The Question of Pengolod - Superb
Numenorean Fanfiction"
<http://notionclubpapers.blogspot.com/2011/06/question-of-pengolod-superb-numenorean.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/6h8wjkr>
As regular readers of this will know, I have grown very fond of
Bruce Charlton's blog. Though I don't necessarily agree with
everything he says, I generally find his bloggings interesting and
thought-provoking: even when I don't agree Bruce Charlton's pieces
usually help me understand my own reading of Tolkien's work better,
and that is surely worth a lot.
Therefore, though I am personally not interested in fanfiction at
all (which may also help explain some of the negative aspects of my
evaluation of the various adaptations of Tolkien's work), I cannot
help but feel that a fan-fiction story that Bruce Charlton praises
certainly deserves to be known more widely.
BC, Sunday, 12 June 2011, "Is reward more dangerous than
punishment?"
<http://notionclubpapers.blogspot.com/2011/06/is-reward-more-dangerous-than.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/6z7hrh5>
For lack of a better description, I will categorize this as
showcasing how some of Tolkien's comments re. Númenor can be applied
to the modern world . . .. It touches on the applicability of
Middle-earth to the world we know, and though I don't particularly
agree with the sentiments described, I wonder if, and how far,
Tolkien might have agreed.
JDR, Wednesday, 15 June 2011, "Getting Very Near the End"
<http://sacnoths.blogspot.com/2011/06/getting-very-near-end.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/666s23e>
The sad story that the British author, Sir Terry Pratchett, is very
close to succumbing finally to his Alzheimer's disease. Despite, or
perhaps precisely because, writing books that are very different
from Tolkien's, I have always been very fond of Pratchett's books,
in particular his Disworld novels. The loss of his lively and witty
imagination will be felt.
JDR, Thursday, 16 June 2011, "Pratchett's Homage to Tolkien"
<http://sacnoths.blogspot.com/2011/06/pratchetts-homage-to-tolkien.html>
<http://preview.tinyurl.com/6j3sfj7>
Following up on the above, John Rateliff has posted a quotation from
Pratchett showing the author's awareness of his debt to Tolkien.
= = = = Rewarding Discussions = = = =
"Owen Barfield" (mythsoc Yahoo group)
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mythsoc/message/22359>
A very interesting discussion on the Mythopoeic Society list at
Yahoo Groups focusing on Owen Barfield and particularly on how to
interpret the relationship between Barfield's work and Tolkien's
(i.e. not the relationship between the two men per se). The advice
to go read _Poetic Diction_ is probably sound, but my understanding,
based on the comments I've read, is that it is not a very accessible
work -- perhaps one day when the kids have moved out and I have tons
of time ;-)
= = = = Web Sites = = = =
The Tolkien Usenet Groups' Web-site Project
<http://users.silenceisdefeat.net/~aft-rabt/>
The AFT/RABT web-site project includes a full overview of the
Chapter of the Week discussions as well as collections of links.
The Tolkien Society
<http://www.tolkiensociety.org/>
The UK-based Tolkien Society. The Tolkien Society publishes the
bulletin _Amon Hen_ and the journal _Mallorn_ and organises various
events, of which e.g. the annual seminar focusing on some aspect of
Tolkien's work, the annual Oxonmoot as well as less frequent events
such as the one-week 'The Return of the Ring' conference taking
place in Loughborough in 2012.
The Mythopoeic Society
<http://www.mythsoc.org/>
The Mythopoeic Society is based in the US and focuses on the works
of the Inklings in general and Williams, Lewis and Tolkien in
particular. At some point it merged with the Tolkien Society of
America and is often seen as a sister-organisation of the Tolkien
Society. The Mythopoeic Society publishes the bulletin _Mythprint_
and the journal _Mythlore_ where the contents generally has a more
academic/scholarly stamp than in _Mallorn_ but on the other hand
includes more non-Tolkienian articles. There is also the _Mythic
Circle_ that contains 'original short fiction, poetry, and artwork'
celebrating the work of Tolkien, Lewis and Williams. The society
also has its own publishing house, the Mythopoeic Press, which
publishes books promoting the society's interests. The Mythopoeic
Society also hosts events such as the annual Mythcon.
= = = = Sources = = = =
John D. Rateliff (JDR) -- "Sacnoth's Scriptorium"
<http://sacnoths.blogspot.com>
Jason Fisher (JF) -- "Lingwë -- Musings of a Fish"
<http://lingwe.blogspot.com>
Michael Drout (MD) -- "Wormtalk and Slugspeak"
<http://wormtalk.blogspot.com/>
Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull (H&S) -- "Too Many Books and
Never Enough"
<http://wayneandchristina.wordpress.com/>
Pieter Collier (PC) -- "The Tolkien Library"
<http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/>
Douglas A. Anderson (DAA) et Al. -- "Wormwoodiana"
<http://wormwoodiana.blogspot.com>
Corey Olsen (CO), "The Tolkien Professor"
<http://www.tolkienprofessor.com>
David Bratman (DB), "Calimac"
<http://calimac.livejournal.com/>
Larry Swain (LS), "The Ruminate"
<http://theruminate.blogspot.com>
'Wellinghall', "Musings of an Aging Fan"
<http://wellinghall.livejournal.com>
Various, 'The Northeast Tolkien Society' (NETS), "Heren Istarion"
<http://herenistarionnets.blogspot.com>
Bruce Charlton (BC), "Tolkien's The Notion Club Papers"
<http://notionclubpapers.blogspot.com/>
Andrew Higgins (AH), "Wotan's Musings"
<http://wotanselvishmusings.blogspot.com>
Various, The Mythopoeic Society
<http://www.mythsoc.org>
Troels Forchhammer (TF), "Parmar-kenta"
<http://parmarkenta.blogspot.com>
_Mythprint_ -- 'The Monthly Bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society'
<http://www.mythsoc.org>
_Amon Hen_ -- the Bulletin of the Tolkien Society
<http://www.tolkiensociety.org/>
- and others
--
Troels Forchhammer <troelsfo(a)googlewave.com>
Valid e-mail is <troelsfo(a)gmail.com>
Please put [AFT], [RABT] or 'Tolkien' in subject.
If quantum mechanics hasn't profoundly shocked you, you
haven't understood it yet.
- Niels Bohr (1885-1962)