Calling all scholars and students of Tolkien, fantasy, mythology and anyone interested in creative writing! Hall of Fire staff are very pleased to announce that author Anne Petty will be our special guest during our scheduled HoF chat on Sunday, November 7 at 2:00 P.M. EST.
Ms Petty will be sharing her views on Tolkien as a myth-based writer, as well as ideas for those writing their own mythopoeic fiction. She will also be answering our questions on Tolkien, mythology and creative writing, especially creating characters and world-building. All are welcome to join us for this special chat.
In addition to her book writing, Ms Petty has taught English Literature, Creative Writing, and Journalism at both the secondary and university level, and has published in the fields of literary criticism, technical writing and editing, the arts, and multimedia development. Learn more about Anne Petty on her website at www.annepetty.com.
This will be a moderated Q&A session, and HoF staff are now accepting questions. So if you have a question for Anne and can’t make it on the day, please you us your question right now and we’ll ask it for you! Simply e-mail it in to halloffire@theonering.net right now.
anonymous writes: I attended the opening reception for an exhibit of J.R.R. Tolkien’s original manuscripts and working drafts of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings at the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. Anyone who is a fan of Tolkien has an opportunity to view this exhibit through January, 2005. I would urge anyone who can attend to do so. It’s thrilling to see the words of a beloved book in the author’s own hand. Several drafts of the Book of Marzabul are on display, including a colored version and a translation of the dwarvish runes. Below is information about the exhibit and the Tolkien Archives that reside at Marquette.
The Invented Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien Drawings and Original Manuscripts from the Marquette University Collection October 21- January 30, 2005 (Tolkien Conference Oct. 22-23)
The well-known English novelist and philologist, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) wrote The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit and the children’s story Mr. Bliss. Work from all three will be featured in the exhibition which is being presented in collaboration with the Department of Special Collections and University Archives Marquette University and in conjunction with the International Conference The Lord of the Rings, 1954-2004: Scholarship in honor of Dr. Richard E. Blackwelder.
The collection of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973), professor of Old and Middle English language and literature at Oxford University, 1925-1959, contains the original manuscripts and multiple working drafts for three of the author’s most celebrated books, The Hobbit (1937), Farmer Giles of Ham (1949), and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), as well as the original copy of the children’s book Mr. Bliss (published in facsimile form in 1982). The collection includes books by and about Tolkien, periodicals produced by Tolkien enthusiasts, audio and video recordings, and a host of published and unpublished materials relating to Tolkien’s life and fantasy writings.
Tolkien manuscripts reside at Marquette because of the vision of William B. Ready (1914-1981), director of libraries from 1956 to 1963. Ready was appointed with the understanding that he would aggressively collect material for the newly-constructed Memorial Library. He recognized The Lord of the Rings as a masterpiece soon after its publication, long before the work and its author gained enormous popularity. With administrative approval, Ready approached Tolkien in 1956 through Bertram Rota, a well-known rare book dealer in London. At the time, no other institution had expressed an interest in Tolkien’s literary manuscripts. After a relatively brief period of negotiation, an agreement was reached whereby Marquette purchased the manuscripts for 1,500 pounds (or less than $5,000). The first shipment of material arrived in 1957; The Lord of the Rings manuscripts arrived the next year. Tolkien accepted offers to visit and speak at Marquette in both 1957 and 1959, but on each occasion he canceled the anticipated visit due to family concerns. Tolkien’s personal and academic papers, as well as his other literary manuscripts (e.g. The Silmarillion and Leaf by Niggle), are at the Bodleian Library of Oxford University.
In celebration of the Lord of the Rings 50th anniversary scholarly conference held at Marquette this week, Ted Nasmith presents slides of his paintings from the new edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel to the trilogy. Nasmith was commissioned for twenty-six new paintings. Ted will be at the following places:
THE SCIENCE OF MIDDLE-EARTH Author: Henry Gee ISBN: 1-59360-023-2 256 pages Price: $14.00 Publisher: Cold Spring Press Release Date: October 12, 2004 [Now Available! ]
Henry Gee, Senior Editor for the most prestigious magazine in science today – Nature – has written a spellbinding, fun, and accessible book explaining the scientific basis for how all that wizardry, sorcery, and magic really works in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings, and his other fictional books featuring Middle-earth.
Growing out of a series of columns under the pseudonym ‘Olog-hai’ for the premier Tolkien fan website — www.theonering.net — the author explores just how elves might be able to see much further than humans, why Frodo’s sword turns blue at the sight of evil orcs, how the rings of power do their thing, and just about every other conundrum or piece of ‘elvish magic’ that has puzzled and delighted Tolkien fans for years. Gee tells us that science, fantasy, and nature are really more similar than one might think. Gee writes in a popular tone and style, fully explaining all science concepts and convincingly demonstrating how Tolkien’s world of fantasy makes sense in a very real – a very scientific – way.
In the Foreword to this book David Brin, one of sci-fi’s most popular authors, calls The Science of Middle-earth “one of the most clever and insightful explorations of its kind…one of the delights of this book is the chance to see yet another layer in the subtlety of Tolkien’s rich mind. For though he was suspicious of progress and the future, he nevertheless clearly reveled in the intellectual excitement that surrounded him. The new discoveries of science were not alien things. With fascination, he seems to have taken a real effort to weave them into The Lord of the Rings…”
And Paul Levinson, author of The Pixel Eye, says “If Charles Darwin were J.R.R. Tolkien, who would be his Aldous Huxley? If The Science of Middle-earth is any indication, the answer would be Henry Gee…a delightfully written primer.”
Henry Gee received his doctorate in zoology at the University of Cambridge in 1991. In 1987 he joined the staff of Nature, the leading international journal of science, where he is now Senior Editor, Biological Sciences. In 1996 he was awarded a Regents’ Professorship of the University of California. He is the author of several books including Jacob’s Ladder: The History of the Human Genome (Norton, 2004), In Search of Deep Time (Free Press, 1999), and (with Luis V. Rey) A Field Guide to Dinosaurs (Barrons, 2003). As Olog-Hai he is the occasional science correspondent for TheOneRing.net, the leading Tolkien fan website. He lives in Ilford, Essex, England.
The Science of Middle-earth is published by Cold Spring Press and distributed by Simon & Schuster, and is now available in bookstores nationwide and in Canada, and on the Internet through online booksellers.
“The rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small.” Gandalf refused to use his power to control the free peoples of Middle Earth, but no race or collection of people can long survive without some means of government or authority, to maintain order, uphold justice and protect the weakest and most helpless members of the society.
Although monarchies in various forms seem most common, almost every type of government is represented by Tolkien in his works; the oppressive totalitarian rule of Sauron, the Stewardship of Gondor, the communal collective of Rivendell and the vaguely democratic governing of the Shire, to name just a few.
How do each of these systems function, and which seem the most effective? Does absolute power corrupt whomever wields it? How did the different systems develop? Come to cast your vote for your favourite government when you join us this week in #thehalloffire as we look at “Political Systems in Middle Earth”
=== Upcoming topics:
10/30/04, 10/31/04: “The Nazgul/Ringwraiths”
Hall of Fire Special Event
Anne Petty to take a seat in The Hall of Fire.
Hall of Fire staff are very pleased to announce that author Anne Petty will be our special guest during our scheduled HoF chat on Sunday, November 7 at 2:00 P.M. EST. Ms. Petty will be sharing her views on Tolkien as a myth-based writer, as well as ideas for those writing their own mythopoeic fiction. She will also be answering our questions on Tolkien, mythology and creative writing, especially creating characters and world-building. All are welcome to join us for this exciting event.
Note: Hall of Fire on Saturday, November 6 will be an open discussion on various authors who write books based on or critiquing J.R.R. Tolkien.
=== Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net IRC server. Need instructions? Go here: http://www.theonering.net/barlimans/instructions.html
=== Chat Times:
Saturday Chat: 5:30pm EST (17:30) [also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday morning AEST]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) CET [also 2:00pm (14:00) EST and 4:00am Monday morning AEST]
EST = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast CET = Central European Time, Central Europe AEST = Australian East Coast
Amka writes: In an historical alliance, Hobbits and Elves, Men and Dwarves, Wizards and even Orcs will be combining forces to help the music department of one Jackson Elementary, an inner city school in Salt Lake City, Utah. Said to be of uncommon merit, this program teaches music and violin to every student, regardless of income.
Our allies include:
*Howard Shore: He has donated a sheet of the score that he has personally signed to the cause.
*Sideshow Weta: They have offered the Smeagol Bust (a sold out Comic-Con exclusive), the Golden Hall, and the Morgul Lord (retired and sold out).
*Badali Jewelry: They provide for us the rings Vilya and Gollum.
*And many, many more.
These items shall be sold at a silent auction to occur at the dinner portion of the Gala.
Tickets include great seats at the Lord of the Rings Symphony, preceded by dinner at one of Salt Lake’s premiere restaurants: Bambaras. Because of the gracious discounts given to us by both the Utah Symphony & Opera and Bambaras, you would be hard pressed to find such an evening for the $75 ticket price, but the ticket also includes a generous donation to Jackson Elementary School’s music department. Door prizes will be handed out to a special few, and every attendee will receive a special thank you gift.
Tickets for the October 29th event can be bought through the Utah Symphony & Opera by calling (801) 533-NOTE (6683). Ask for the Gala Tickets.
Dress is semi-formal or do feel welcome to wear your costumes! We’ll be walking to the Symphony after dinner, and television news crews have been alerted to the invasion.
