The Tolkien Society got me thinking. This year’s Tolkien Reading Day had a nautical theme – some breezy thing about International Seafarer Day. Why? Is Tolkien a particularly “nautical” writer? I admit this had never occurred to me. From the very idea of Middle-earth, a land before time that approximates continental Europe with land bridges to England and Africa; to the endless series of quests across mountains, forests, fields and caverns that Tolkien loves to describe in breathtaking language; to the most famous fantasy race of Halflings that ever turned pale at the thought of crossing open water, Tolkien has always seemed to me to have his literary feet planted firmly in dry land, like the roots of his beloved trees.
Not that he doesn’t treat with the Sea. Of course he does. Every foreground needs its background. Who doesn’t know that the great Western or Sundering Sea is the barrier between the mortal Great Lands (Tolkien’s original name for Middle-earth’s central continent) and the Undying Lands of Elvenhome and Valinor? Only the Elves may cross this Sea – with the usual exceptions of various mortal Heroes taking their numbers and awaiting their chances. The Elves have the Sea-longing embedded in them. Legolas is warned by Galadriel that once he hears the seagulls at Pelargir in southern Gondor, he will never again be at rest in his woodland home. Ted Sandyman mocks Sam’s love of the tale of the Elves: “sailing, sailing, into the West” – a theme echoed by Saruman at the end of the story as he taunts Galadriel for her exile on the wrong side of the great water. Continue reading “Tolkien against the Sea”
Today, March 25, 2010, TheOneRing.net would like to acknowledge and celebrate Tolkien Reading Day with fellow Tolkien fans all over the world. Initiated by the Tolkien Society in 2003, Tolkien Reading day helps motivate people, alone or in groups, to take time out of their busy lives to enjoy the prose and poetry of Professor J.R.R. Tolkien.
Do you have a favorite passage from The Lord of the Rings? The Silmarillion? The Hobbit? We invite you to join several discussion events on our message boards and share them with us. Or, if *gasp* you don’t have your books handy, we invite you to read and comment on the quotes that other fellow Tolkien-lovers share. Be sure and check out our Main forum to discuss your favorite passages, and the Reading Room for an entertaining look at “Tolkien A-Z.” The essay by ‘squire’ on the Home Page today will also be a must read. (Tolkien Reading Day A-Z footer pictures by “Magpie”).
News from the Winnipeg Free Press on the Tolkien Trust’s donation to an inner-city clinic there. It will be able to fund holistic health initiatives over the next five years thanks to a donation from a charitable foundation set up in honour of the late author of the Lord of the Rings. The Tolkien Trust will donate £60,000 (about $93,000 Cdn.) to the Winnipeg Interdisciplinary Student-Run Health (WISH) clinic. [Read More]
Malcolm from ADC Books sends this along: Press release Updated Front Page to ADC’s Tolkien Art & Books website:
“The front page of the ADC’s Tolkien Art & Books website (www.adcbooks.co.uk) has now been updated to more clearly show the Catalogue of original Tolkien art and limited edition prints by its four Tolkien artists: Ted Nasmith, Ruth Lacon, Jef Murray & Peter Pracownik; and now also the Books that are available, by Angela Gardner, Alex Lewis & Elizabeth Currie, & Ruth Lacon, along with How to Order details! The forthcoming biography of Hilary Tolkien, “Wheelbarrows at Dawn”, due August 2010, is also listed, though price details, ISBN’s, and cover image are to follow later. Continue reading “ADC Books News”
Claire writes: In early December 2008 TheOneRing.net carried a report of the launch of Dr Dimitra Fimi’s book ‘Tolkien, Race and Cultural History’. Well, the publishers, Palgrave Macmillan, have decided to reissue the book – and this time it’ll be in paperback!
It’s fairly unusual for an academic volume to be published in paperback, so this is a real coup for Dimitra and Tolkien studies. It’s due out on 14th August 2010, but you can always pre-order a copy from your local bookshop or on line. To do that you’ll need the ISBN, which is 9780230272842, the title, author’s name and publisher. Continue reading “Dimitra Fimi’s ‘Tolkien, Race and Cultural History’”
The American Culture writes: Should authors like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien be considered “real” artists? Not according to James Bowman. They and numerous others create what Bowman dismissively refers to as “fantasy art.” And fantasy art isn’t Art.
Mr. Bowman is among that group that just can’t seem to abide anything that smacks of fantasy. Bowman distinguishes Homer’s tales of gods and heroes because Homer actually believed these beings existed. The modern world, however, knows that elves, faeries, monsters, magic spinning wizards and sword wielding heroes don’t exist. To James Bowman these are childish fantasies that should be put aside in favor of reality. At the very least, we should not include fantasy in discussions about Art.
