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.
Ode to Elanor
By D.McGlinchey
Elanor, my star flower, my beautiful golden sun.
From lonely isles did your namesake travel to bring beauty and joy from afar.
Elf Child, though of Halfling kin, fair beauty of the Shire.
Your grace and wisdom outshines them all and your laughter a Dragon would halt.
Blessed with the grace of the Valar you glow.
Though hard was the road that led to your being,I never faltered nor forsook the dreams I made.
I traveled there and back again to make true those distant dreams.
And I did.
With you Elanor.
My star flower.
My beautiful golden sun.
~ * ~
A poem of “Riddles in the Dark”
by MA Corkery
Riddles in darkness, hobbit and ring
What object is this? Have I found some new bling?
It’s shiny, and gold and I think very old
But there is something more to it that can’t quite be told
Will it bring power, joy, or wealth?
Can it save me from this dark goblin house?
These questions, they run in my mind as I ask,
“What have I got in my pocket?”
Riddles in darkness, hobbit and ring
What is this creature, this non-goblin thing?
Is it tasty, will it be a good snack?
My precious let’s see and then swiftly attack
Now it is riddles: teeth, daisies, and time
We’ll answer his questions and then he’ll be mine
But wait, where have you gone? Did I lose you somehow?
My precious where are you, I cry out aloud
I look at this morsel, this non-goblin thing
Just maybe, perhaps, he has taken my ring
Riddles in darkness, hobbit, and ring
I am one step closer to my dark lord and king
The darkness is coming, he’ll find me I know
And in the darkness binding he’ll grow and he’ll grow
Riddles in darkness, hobbit and ring
Remember with winter there is always a spring
No matter the darkness, no matter the might
There will always be hope and good fighting the fight
~ * ~
Keep The Faith
by Michael Amos
Though bird in shire and toad in hollow share their daily cries
Dark forces incessantly wallow chanting so he flies
It’s never good to lose your sight of things that truly matter
For there’s a fight tween wrong and right the falling swords a-clatter.
The day is new and offers all the chance to make a choice
The very things that fill us up and cause us to rejoice!
So why are we so very willing at the least resistance
To tattle, harp and creak our spilling complaints every instant?
It’s ours to mourn the loss of power swelling loves true ranks
When all our whinging melancholy has us walking planks.
The remedy is simple dear, and never once you doubt it
You’re the one who moves your eyes and never should you floutt it.
Here the birds and all the frogs who’s siren song declares
The sun is coming! Build your life and share with us your wares
The evil waits for you to fake your focus on a whim
So, always know it’s on your watch you give a chance to him.
Remember love, and luck and joy and fight with all you’ve got
To grow, and know, and pluck your vision from the twisted knot
Of everything that blocks your way and dance aside so lightly
You’re a living song of ever loving will so mighty
The shire is true, The sky is blue
The stakes are oh, so high
Let’s herald one more chance
To make the best of life, it’s nigh.
~ * ~
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.
Yesterday our friends at Weta Workshop delivered something many of us long-time collectors wanted to see, but never thought we would. For years we wanted a Bilbo Baggins sitting at his desk, as you see him during the opening events of The Fellowship of the Ring. Now, fans not only have one superb piece; there are actually two amazing options, depending on how you want to go. If collectors want not just Bilbo at his desk, but also want some of Bag End as well, then you’ll want to go for the limited edition. This piece is up for PO right now through June 21st. This will determine the edition size of Bilbo, which comes with a price tag of $1,299. If you just want Bilbo at his desk, you can order the classic series version, which is an open edition piece for $349. Both versions are not shipping until the first quarter of next year. No matter what route you go, this is going to be one of those pieces that create conversations about your collection.
We’re happy to announce as a surprise tomorrow our friends Diamond Select Toys will be launching series 4 of their awesome The Lord of the Rings figure line.
Gandalf the Grey makes his debut in the line, with his staff and his sword Glamdring, and the other figure in the assortment is a customizable Uruk-hai, including multiple interchangeable heads and weapons. Each features over 16 points of articulation, and each comes packaged in a full-color window box. Designed by Eamon O’Donoghue, sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios. These figures go up for pre-order tomorrow and with a price tag of $29.99.
Like last year, there will be no in-person San Diego Comic-Con this summer. That hasn’t stopped our friends DST from creating something very cool! This exclusive two-pack of Lord of the Rings action figures lets the cat out of the bag, showing Frodo in his completely invisible mode, wearing the Ring of Sauron. Standing right next to him is Gollum, who looks upset about someone stealing his ‘precious’. Each 4-inch action figure features multiple points of articulation, as well as detailed sculpting and paint applications. Limited to only 4,000 pieces, the pair comes packaged in a replica of an opening book, along with Gollum’s boat. Designed by Eamon O’Donoghue, sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios. This item can be pre-ordered right from Gentle Giant’s website for $49.99.
If you loved our last post about the Q-Bitz figures coming from our friends at Asmus Toys, then you’re going to love this one as well! Later this year there are more of these awesome figures coming, and they will include some fan favorites like Gandalf, Legolas, and Frodo. If you like the baddies then you’re in luck as well, with a new Uruk-hai in the mix of this assortment.
If you are collecting their awesome 1:6th scale figures then you’re also going to love this post. Galadriel is getting some love from the folks at Asmus. The likeness looks to be very, very good, and it also comes with her mirror, which adds some great diorama building options with the previously released Frodo figure. Fans can snag Galadriel right now from places like Sideshow Collectibles, for $195 – with her shipping this month.
Head of Amazon Studios says the high budgets are for assets to be leveraged over many seasons.
Hollywood Reporter published a roundtable discussion with several studio heads, including Amazon’s Jennifer Salke; and of course the conversation turned to LORD OF THE RINGS, which is the biggest budgeted TV series in history. “This is a full season of a huge world-building show. The number is a sexy headline or a crazy headline that’s fun to click on, but that is really building the infrastructure of what will sustain the whole series.”
A day later, Amazon announced that director Wayne Yip is the newest Executive Producer of LOTR, making a baker’s dozen of 13 E.P.’s in charge; and confirmed the recent rumor of the first woman to direct for Middle-earth with Charlotte Brändström joining the production, who seems fully on board:
“I’m very excited to be guided through Middle-earth by JD’s and Patrick’s vision.”
Charlotte Brändström, LOTR Season 1 Director
Global, Global, Global
It’s no secret Amazon wants LOTR to be a global show; and they shouldn’t have to worry, since JRR Tolkien’s LORD OF THE RINGS is the worldwide best selling fictional book of the 20th century, and is still considered one of the biggest selling fantasy books in every one of the 38 languages it’s published in. New Line and WB’s Middle-earth films set international sales records, and LOTR is still the most awarded film series in history across the globe.
Amazon’s Salke reinforced her global mandate multiple times, saying, “I’m so grateful to be in the position to drive this part of our business globally… A giant, global audience needs to show up to it as appointment television, and we are pretty confident that that will happen… It’s a global storytelling world, and these companies better get on board because it’s already late.”
LOTR has always been global in nature, but this being Amazon the real global reason is simple. “As for how many people need to watch Lord of the Rings? A lot. (laughs)” says Jennifer Salke. As head of Amazon Studios reporting to Jeff Bezos, there’s probably a constant conversation about metrics. But what makes a global show now may differ from what came before, with Salke adding, “The more diverse the cast, the better; the more diverse and authentic the storytelling, the better.”
For context on the 13 E.P.’s on Amazon’s show, New Line Cinema’s Lord of the Rings had only one active Executive Producer in Mark Ordesky, with the other 4 E.P. credits going to studio heads. This could be seen as a singular visionary in charge, just as there was a singular visionary director for all the films; and just as J.R.R. Tolkien was the singular visionary who never collaborated in crafting Middle-earth.
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.
Ode to Elanor
By D.McGlinchey
Elanor, my star flower, my beautiful golden sun. From lonely isles did your namesake travel to bring beauty and joy from afar. Elf Child, though of Halfling kin, fair beauty of the Shire. Your grace and wisdom outshines them all and your laughter a Dragon would halt. Blessed with the grace of the Valar you glow.
Though hard was the road that led to your being, I never faltered nor forsook the dreams I made. I travelled there and back again to make true those distant dreams. And I did. With you Elanor. My star flower. My beautiful golden sun.
~ * ~
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.