Welcome to The Great Hall of Poets, our regular monthly feature showcasing the talent of Middle-earth fans. Each month we will feature a small selection of the poems submitted, but we hope you will read all of the poems that we have received here in our Great Hall of Poets.
So come and join us by the hearth and enjoy!
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
‘Radagast the Brown’
by D. McG
I have no time for Elvish folk with their starstruck Elven ways. Their monuments to their ancient lands And fading glory days.
Nor do I care too much for Dwarves
And their love for digging deep.
Seeking treasures far underground
And the secrets that they keep.
Men and Orcs seem much alike With their appetite for destruction. Hunting, farming, grabbing land Causing such a ruction!
Give me the company of the lovers of life.
No conflicts, no agenda to please.
Like the deer cavorting in open fields
Or the birds that sing in the trees.
Natures harvest provides the feast
Fruits so sweet and ripe
Along with the power to connect all things
Smoked within my pipe!
~~ * ~~
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
When our friends from within the Tolkien Community heard we’re having a special birthday they sent us these lovely messages as part of our celebrations. So Happy 20th Anniversary TORn! Here’s to many many more!
Kia Ora TORn,
Happy 20th Anniversary, well done on making this wonderful achievement! We have been involved with TORn through one of your founding members Erica Challis, from New Zealand since 2002. We have enjoyed the fantastic Premier movie parties that Red Carpet Tours has provided and TORn attended, along with the stars from the films. Looking forward to future calibrations and hopefully a great Lotr TV series for all the fans. Congratulations again on 20 years! Best regards, Julie James and the team at Red Carpet Tours.
Happy 20th Birthday to TheOneRing.net from The Brisbane Tolkien Fellowship. We hope you continue to have another successful 20 years at least sharing the news of all things Middle-earth.
TORn 20th Anniversary Message from Gamling, Bruce Hopkins
Dear Friends at TheOneRing,
Congratulations on reaching the ripe old age of 20 ; ) Thank you for all the support and love you’ve given us all.
When I took the job of playing Ori in The Hobbit, I didn’t think I’d collect so many chums. Like the cast, you too are part of my extended dysfunctional Tolkien family!
Have a great celebration – drink, be merry… and avoid the green food! See you all soon. Adam x
A big happy 20th anniversary to TheOneRing.net ! All this time you have been delivering to us critical and wonderful news regarding the world of JRR Tolkien, from the books to the films to the Collectibles and everything in between. May 20 more years be forthcoming!
Cheers, Jerry Vanderstelt
Our good friend Donato Giancola also has given us a mathom to offer to you all! For the next ten days, you can get 50% (!!) off on all of Donato’s incredible art prints. Just use the coupon code TORN at checkout. Take a look at the wonderful prints on sale, here. Thanks so much, Donato!
I can’t believe it’s been 20 years already – it’s been an amazing community to have been a part of, and all good wishes to everyone involved, from everyone at Welly-moot!
Jack Machiela Welly-moot.com
We will be adding more messages to this post as and when we receive them, so do check back! Thanks to everyone who has sent greetings and anniversary messages!
When TheOneRing.net marked its 10th anniversary in 2009, we celebrated in style. We had such a good time, we decided to celebrate every year on April 26, the date when TORn was established.
June 1st, 6:00 p.m. Gaythorne Bowls and Sporting Club, Brisbane, Queensland.
Join
Hobbits and Friends at Brisbane’s biggest and best Hobbit Party – “An Evening in
Middle-earth” hosted by The Brisbane Tolkien Fellowship.
This
will be the most memorable night of entertainment, humour, music, dancing and
fine foods for all your family and friends.
On
arrival at the venue enter into a decorated banquet hall of Middle-earth. Each
table will be decorated as a Middle-earth location. You and your party can
pre-nominate which table to sit at. Choose from one of the realms of Hobbits,
Elves, Dwarves, Men or Orcs.
During
the Evening have your photo taken at Bag End with Hobbits, Wizards, Dwarves and
Elves.
Smaug’s
Treasure Hoard will be on display, complete with a large Dragon Cake surrounded
by treasures which will later in the Evening be shared with all
guests.
Leanne
our Hobbit Chef will prepare a wonderful buffet meal, including many dishes
especially cooked for a traditional Hobbit Feast. Leanne adds, “all you can
eat”.
Our
night’s music includes Middle-earth favourites, Hobbit music and dance music
after dinner and formalities.
This
is a Charity Event in support of The Pyjama Foundation, with donated prizes from
companies and individual donors from here and overseas. There will be raffles,
door prizes, numerous spot prizes, and costume prizes. During the night those in
costumes will be invited to parade before guests and a number of prizes will be
awarded to the finest and best costumes on display.
All
children 12 and under in attendance will receive a small gift from The Hobbit
Sack.
And like that, it was over. March Madness is put to bed for another year; all that remains for us to do is announce our Grand Champion 2019.
We started back on March 19, with 64 locations facing off in four brackets: The Shire, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Each round saw some fairly close fights, and some strange pairings (Lonely Mountain vs Misty Mountains! Bag End taking on Hobbiton!). In the very first round, what some say are Tolkien’s ‘two towers’ (Barad-dur and Isengard) faced off. The only battle which matched one found in the Professor’s books was in Round 2, when Fangorn Forest marched to Isengard. Alas, my personal favourite (the Green Dragon, naturally!) fell in Round 3.
Of our two finalists, both started off with pretty easy journeys through the rounds. Early on, Numenor gave Gondolin the biggest challenge, but even they could only take 40% against the elvish city. In the fourth round, however, Gondolin faced tougher competition, and just narrowly defeated the other very strong contender from the Silmarillion bracket, Valinor. And in the Final Four, Gondolin again had a hard time of it, securing victory by just 3% over the Lonely Mountain!
Rivendell, on the other hand, pretty much cruised through; even against Lothlorien, Elrond’s home in the valley was still able to take two thirds of the vote. Did that make Rivendell the favourite in the epic final?
The votes have been counted, and the margin between the two locations was just about 15%. Without further ado, we can reveal this year’s Middle-earth Map March Madness Grand Champion:
Yes, as the early rounds would seem to indicate, Rivendell was the firm favourite. They will be singing tra-la-la-lally there down in the valley to celebrate, no doubt!
Many thanks to all of you who played along, voted, and commented. We always enjoy seeing folks taking part in our version of March Madness, and reading what you have to say. Let us know what you thought of this year’s theme in the comments below, or on Facebook. We hope you’ll join the fun again next year!
And then there were two… After two weeks of battles between some of the key locations of Middle-earth, we’re down to the two places which will fight it out to see who will be Grand Champion 2019.
Two tough duels made up the semi-final. On one side, Bag End took on Rivendell; and as hard as that hole in the ground tried, it just could not overcome the power of Lord Elrond. In the end, Rivendell took almost two thirds of the vote in this contest.
On the other side, Gondolin faced off against the Lonely Mountain; and this was an epic fight indeed! The difference came down to less than 3%! But once again, the magic of the elves won through, and Gondolin just defeated Erebor. The dwarves will not be pleased!
So now the hidden city takes on the hidden valley! Two elvish realms face off in the final: Rivendell vs Gondolin. Which location will be the ultimate victor? YOU DECIDE! Voting in the Final is open now, and only goes for TWO days, until 10pm EST on Friday 5 April. So don’t delay! Rally the troops and VOTE NOW on this post! The Grand Champion will be crowned on Saturday!
