Don’t believe the mockers. The latest posthumous work of Tolkien is a masterpiece around the Wagnerian or Sophoclean theme of unconscious incest. Dragon slayers are of perennial fascination, whether they be Saint Michael the Archangel, Bel, Saint George or Perseus killing the sea monster that holds Andromeda prisoner. Modern literature has Ged, the Wizard of Earthsea, banishing the Dragon of Pendor from Ursula le Guin’s Archipelago; or even Harry Potter thrusting his sword through the mouth of the Basilisk. Yet there is no dragon of whom I have read, or whom I have seen on stage – not Fafner himself in Siegfried – who is quite so frightening as Glaurung, the dragon in JRR Tolkien’s The Children of Hurim. [More]
Category: Tolkien
Harry Potter’s moon-faced mug is plastered all over the front doors of the Borders bookstore in Altamonte Springs. A life-sized rendering of the star Quidditch Seeker stands just inside the store entrance, and the sales staff wears lanyards bearing more signs of Harry’s seventh coming. Area booksellers can be forgiven for baiting their hooks as the July 21 release of the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling’s series approaches. But in the meantime, a much older — and some say wiser — wizard has risen from a grave deep beyond Middle-earth. This one has slashed through the Hogwarts hoopla and claimed lordship of the best-seller ring, provoking glee among legions of his mostly older, Hobbit-formed fans. [More]
Ian Collier, Tolkien Society Publicity sends this along: There are photos online from Saturday at Sarehole Mill, you can find them here! [More]
Ian Collier sends this along: In response to calls for more events around the world the Tolkien Society Seminar for 2007 is happening in two parts, one “up here” and the other “downunder”. The seminars are being arranged by the Tolkien Society in partnership with The Cambridge Tolkien Society and Tol Harndor: The Australian Tolkien Society.
The Northern Hemisphere Tolkien Society Seminar
Women in Tolkien, Saturday, 16th June
Wolfson Court, Girton, Cambridge
The ‘northern’ seminar in Cambridge has the theme of “Women in Tolkien” and the weekend will also include an evening mead tasting (for those who are over eighteen years of age) and a punt-moot on the Sunday to Grantchester complete with a picnic lunch.
Interested in Giving a Paper?
Papers should be either 20 or 45 minutes long to fit into half-hour or hour slots with time for questions or discussion. There may also be scope to accommodate a number of short 10-minute presentations. Please send the title, a short summary/abstract and the intended length to the Seminar organiser:
Registration Costs: Tolkien Society members: £28.00 & Non-members: £30.00
The registration fee covers attendance at the seminar, a light lunch and morning and afternoon tea and coffee. The mead tasting is £5.00 per head for members and £7.00 per head for non-members.
The Punt moot will be £15-£20 for punt-hire depending on numbers.
The closing date for registration is 6th June, however spaces are limited so to secure your place please book early.
The Southern Hemisphere Tolkien Society Seminar
The Art and Science of Magic in Middle-earth
Saturday, 25th August, NSW Writers’ Centre, Sydney, Australia
This significant annual event in the Tolkien calendar is being held overseas for the first time in Sydney, Australia. With attendees travelling from around the world this will have an international festive feel. The magic of Middle-earth is wide-ranging in scope and can cover not only all aspects of magic in the works of Tolkien but also the enchantment that Tolkien’s writings have instilled in Tolkien fans far and wide. The seminar will be held at the NSW Writers’ Centre, the Centre was established to promote writing-based culture and the rights and interests of writers and offers literary resources and professional information to established and aspiring writers of all kinds.
Interested in Giving a Paper?
Some potential topics for consideration might be:
- The limitations or laws of magic in Middle-earth
- The various forms of magic
- The supernatural
- Tolkien’s magic compared to other authors of ‘modern’ fantasy
- Is Tolkien’s magic mystical and without explanation or is there evidence of science? How did the Inkling’s view magic/science?
- The magic of words, spells, music and language
- The presence of magic in the classics such as Beowulf, The Kalevala, and Edda.
- The effects of magic on events during the Ages. Was it pivotal?
- The differences in how magic was used and viewed by the various races
- The enchantment of Tolkien’s writings
- The dark arts of Middle-earth and the corruption of magic
- Magic in a religious context
Papers should be either 20 or 45 minutes long to fit into half-hour or hour slots with time for questions/discussion. There may also be scope to accommodate a number of short 10-minute presentations. Please send the title, a short summary/abstract and the intended length to the Seminar organiser:
Registration Costs:
Registration costs for Tolkien Society members are: Aus$25.00, or GBP £10.00, or US$20.00.
Non-members rates are Aus$30.00, or GBP £12.00, or US$24.00.
Lunch and refreshments are included in the registration fee. There is an option of a Sydney Harbour cruise on Sunday if there is sufficient interest.
The closing date for registration is 25th July, however, spaces are limited so to secure your place please book early.
To register please bear in mind Cambridge by 6th June & Sydney by 25th July
All enquiries about bookings for these events should be directed to The Booking Officer:
The Booking Officer, 7 Rievaulx Drive, Morton-on-Swale, Northallerton, DL7 9UE, UK.
E-mail: bookings@tolkiensociety.org
For the Sydney Seminar only, please contact Michael Kennedy if you live in Australia:
Michael Kennedy, 27 Hennessy Lane, Figtree, NSW, 2525, Australia.
E-mail: pacific@tolkiensociety.org
For the Sydney Seminar only, please contact Anne Riney if you live in the USA
Anne Riney, 5241 College View Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90041, USA
E-mail: usd.bookings@tolkiensociety.org
“If one is to take a tale of this kind seriously, one must feel that, however superficially unlike the world we live in its characters and events may be, it nevertheless holds up the mirror to the only nature we know, our own,” he wrote. “In this, too, Mr. Tolkien has succeeded superbly, and what happened in the year of the Shire 1418 in the Third Age of Middle-earth is not only fascinating in A.D. 1954 but also a warning and an inspiration.” Of Tolkien’s many strengths, perhaps none have proved more important than his creation of a deeply believable universe around his narrative. He convinces the reader that the action is unfolding within a living world that stretches far beyond the immediate drama. [More]
Earendil writes: I just thought you might like to know that The Children of Húrin debuted #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List. That seems pretty news worthy! [More]