Tolkien Gleanings #142.

* Tolkienists.org returns to offer a new post, after a very long break. It sounds like editor Erik hopes to “de-mothball Tolkienists” sometime in 2024.

* Tolkien scholar John Garth has a title for his next book, Tolkien’s Mirror, and there’s a short podcast with him this week. The book is currently finished and seeking a publisher able to do justice to it (picture licencing for illustrations etc), and is pencilled in for 2025.

* From Germany, the new scholarly journal issue Hither Shore #19 – ‘Raum und Zeit in Tolkiens Werk’ (‘Space and time in Tolkien’s work’). Partly in English. The publisher’s ‘Look Inside’ link is ‘404 not found’, but Google Books obliges with the table-of-contents…

* It appears that Mythprint, quarterly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society is going online. Albeit with a very long open-access embargo. I assume it’s open-access. Since the new #405 will apparently be publicly available to non-members… “for download on Sunday, 15th June 2025”.

* A forthcoming book listed on Amazon UK, J.R.R. Tolkien: Christian Maker of Middle-Earth (December 2023, in paperback and Kindle ebook). “This biography is intended to show readers that Tolkien’s Christian faith was central to his life and work, personally, professionally, and — most importantly — creatively.” Does it say anything that Holly Ordway hasn’t already, in her accomplished and acclaimed new book? Possibly. The Canadian author is a contributor of essays to Barnabas magazine… and “a teacher of English and Classical Studies at Hillfeld Strathallan College and a professor of Communications at Mohawk College.” The book has a pleasing cover painting, which I assume is AI generated by the looks of it…

* Available now, the new book J.R.R. Tolkien: Tales for Our Times — Vol. 1: Art, Not Power. Weighing in at over 400 pages, this book is volume one of a…

two-volume study of the work and vision of J.R.R. Tolkien. Volume One, Art, Not Power, is an exploration of literary ecology, paying particular attention to Tolkien’s exploration of the imaginal realm. The companion volume Fellowship and Flourishing is a more philosophically detailed exposition of the moral ecology that underpins Tolkien’s writings. Premised on the recovery of ‘a clear view,’ both volumes address a number of key questions: power and its corrupting potentials; human creativity in the acceptance of boundaries; ‘the environment’ conceived in the sense of our inherited moral and social ecosystems as well as our natural ones. […] Tolkien’s ideal emerges as that of living artistically in tune with growing things.

A little digging finds that Vol. 2, Fellowship and Flourishing, is just as long and also available now. Though, due to Amazon’s abysmal search functionality, it didn’t show up on my search for new and forthcoming books.

Fellowship and Flourishing is about creating the habitus for the acquisition and exercise of the virtues, cultivating good character, and fostering ‘habits of the heart’ within communities of practice, all of which is essential to a free and self-governing society.

* And finally, local ‘citizen journalism’ online publication Yorkshire Bylines has a new article freely available online, “From trenches to treasures: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Yorkshire Odyssey”. Also mentioned is the nearby Tolkien exhibition in the former mill-town of Barnsley…

“Having been open to the public for over a month, the ‘Magic of Middle-earth’ has exceeded expectations, drawing 10,000 visitors to the museum.”

Tolkien Gleanings #141.

* Over 150 new Tolkien letters have now been published in the handsome expanded book of the Letters. There’s now a handy free guide to help the busy Tolkien scholar to quickly spot the new revelations.

* Word on Fire has the article “The Expanded and Revised Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: A First Look”.

* New at the Journal of Tolkien Research, the ‘Tolkien’s Animals’ special-issue is now available. Has “Tolkien’s Eagles: Aves ex machina” and “Foxes, dancing bears, and wolves”, plus “Tolkien’s Tevildo” (‘Prince of Cats’) among others, together with “Tolkien’s Animals: A Bibliography”.

* A special Tolkien issue of Brazilian journal Ipotesi, with a focus on landscapes, space and walking. Includes a number of Portuguese articles, and here are some of the titles in English…

    – “Martyrdom in Paradise: a symbolic representation of depression in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.”
    – “From map to myth: the geography of Middle-earth.”
    – “Space as a secondary narrative in The Lord of the Rings.”
    – “About Hobbits and the Great War: The Journey of the Ordinary Hero.”
    – “Walking through elven and human spaces: an analysis of heterotopias and affective cartographies.”

* And finally, a new free Librivox audiobook reading of G.K. Chesterton’s non-fiction book William Blake (1910, 1920), which may interest some due to the 1920 re-issue and Tolkien’s interest in Chesterton.

Tolkien Gleanings #140.

* Appearing on the latest Catholic Culture Podcast, Holly Ordway talking about “Tolkien’s hard-won faith” and her new book. Also available on YouTube.

* In Russian with a long English abstract, a freely available article on the translation of Tolkien’s ‘The Song of Earendil’ into Russian. This compares various Russian translations, with special reference to attempts to retain some of the original poetic form.

* The opening event of the Italian Tolkien exhibition in Rome now has a list of speakers, and the launch event will be webcast live on YouTube on 8th November 2023.

* Also in Italy, many Tolkien events at the big multi-day Lucca Comics 2023 festival:—

    – A panel talk and presentation on 1st November: “The history of Middle Earth. The translation into Italian of The History of Middle-earth continues apace. [Here] the Bompiani translators present the fifth volume, a particularly difficult work because it also contains essays on the languages ​​and dialects of Middle-earth and an ‘etymological dictionary’ with an extensive account of Elvish vocabularies.”

    – A workshop on 2nd November. An “in-depth study of the writer’s texts led to the creation of an artbook published by Eterea Edizioni, in which traditional, illustrated digital and 3D modelling techniques intertwine”, to depict the “White City, the hidden kingdom of the Elves of Gondolin. This meeting will explore digital painting and the software used to create the artbook, sculpted in 3D block-out and then digitally painted.” The technique of manually overpainting 3D renders from Blender has now been made somewhat obsolescent by AI, but it may still interest some. The authors say… “we have just opened pre-orders for this artbook.”

    – Then a Quenya speaking workshop; a calendar launch; a launch of another Middle-earth artbook (see the cover below); a panel on “Horror in J.R.R. Tolkien” followed by a workshop on “The representations of horror in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien”; and finally perhaps the ultimate horror… a look at a Disney-fied Tolkien, apparently soon set to become a graphic novel.

* A warm review of the premiere of the Lewis and Tolkien stage show in Los Angeles, USA…

“Author/director Dean Batali has crafted a fascinating ‘what-if’ scenario in which two literary luminaries [meet in later life and] get into rousing and humorous debate as they start to learn the value of their friendship, a friendship [by then] almost lost to time and situation. Kudos to Beattie and Crowley, who do an excellent job of portraying the famed writers, warts and all. Congratulations are also in order for the production team, including Joel Daavid for his outstanding set design, so cozy and pub-like. Vicki Conrad’s costumes, Martha Carter’s lighting, and Chris Moscatiello’s sound set the scene for this absorbing slice of history.”

* There’s also another review of Lewis and Tolkien at the Noho Arts website…

“The performances are exquisite. I felt as if I were genuinely in the presence of these magical men. I felt their connection, their regrets and their love for one another. Sitting in the darkness of this wonderful space, watching them move through their troubles, their relationship and the play was a rare delight.”

* And finally, a speaker in southern England is able to travel to give a two-part illustrated talk on the “Art of Tolkien: Artistic Interpretations of Middle-earth”.