Tolkien Gleanings #89.
* Found, another survey-book on nature and landscape in Middle-earth. This time it’s the Italian book Paesaggi della Terra di Mezzo: La Natura nelle opere di Tolkien (2021) (‘Landscapes of Middle-earth: Nature in the works of Tolkien’). From Eterea Edizioni in 266 pages, it appears to be a brisk and systematic trot through most the well-known regions of Middle-earth. Plus some specific looks at…
– The gardens of the Shire;
– Goldberry’s flowers;
– In white, green and gold: the colours of the Rohirrim;
– Ithilien between permanence of the past and resistance to change;
– The deserts of Sauron;
– Hortus Conclusus, body and soul care in the healing garden;
– On the Istari and their staffs;
– The stars and celestial objects.
* I see that the book’s publisher Eterea Edizioni also has a themed scholarly Tolkien journal in Italian, currently at issue #3. #1: Tolkien and the Fourth Age, #2: Tolkien and Translation; and #3: Beowulf in Oxford: Tolkien’s Literary Style. This last is the latest 2022/23 edition. Looking though the auto-translated contents lists I see, among others…
– #1. “Make It Modern! Tolkien, Pound and the Search for the Lost Eden”; “Tolkien and Yeats: With Mythology to Meet the Challenge of Immortality”; and “Re-enchanting an Unenchanted World: Tolkien and Lovecraft”.
– #2. “The Name of The Map: Cartographic Translations of the World of Tolkien” and “What meteor, that night, came down”: Tolkien and the Victorian Man-in-the-Moon”.
– #3. “Like A Beat: The Rhythm of The Lord of the Rings“.
I see that Eterea Edizioni are also partners in the forthcoming Italian conference ‘The Animals of Middle-earth’, set for 21st-23rd July 2023.
* At Mount Saint Vincent University, “Dr. Anna Smol receives award for research excellence” for her work in Tolkien scholarship. Mentioned in the news release is her relatively new Tolkien and Alliterative Verse website.
* And finally, Stoke-on-Trent & Newcastle-under-Lyme Ramblers will be walking the “Tolkien Trail & Great Haywood” (10 miles) on Thursday, 19th October 2023. Two of their scheduled walks may also interest researchers who are visiting boots-on-the-ground Sir Gawain & The Green Knight landscape walkers: Rushton Spencer and Bosley Cloud; and Wildboarclough.