Tolkien Gleanings #153.

* The Tolkien Collector’s Guide takes a seasonal look at collecting Tolkien’s Father Christmas Letters, on YouTube. Not the original letters, but rather the many book editions which have collected the letters for children.

* New on John Garth’s website, a long essay on “Goblin caves, ancient scripts and Tolkien’s gift for invention”. We get the opening of the article, and then it’s “Continue reading for free via my Steady crowdfunding project…”. But I see no clickable link through to the little-known Steady. It turns out that his full article is freely available here.

* The National Review on “J.R.R. Tolkien and His Catholic Faith” ($ probable paywall), reviewing Holly Ordway’s new book.

* Free this week in Omnes magazine, an interview with Holly Ordway.

* Want to read Gothic like Tolkien? Starting at Signum University in early January 2024, the online course “Introduction to the Gothic Language”. Booking now. I see that their course “Tolkien & Science”, with Kristine Larsen, is still in development for a possible 2024 slot.

* And finally, a winter postcard from the ‘fairy glen’, which was near to Tolkien’s Brocton army training camp on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire. The card was probably made near to the time of the First World War, if not during, and is here newly colourised. One can almost image a Black Rider coming past on the track, and two hobbits hiding behind the fallen tree.