John D. Rateliff's Blog, page 16

The HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT back in print

So, today is the release day for the American hardcover edition of THE HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT (replacing the original two-volume set).  Unlike the original American edition, this is a one-volume book, like the recently re-released British edition.  It's been available in the UK as an e-book all along; now it's available over here as well. 

--John R., v. pleased to have my book reprinted. I put a lot of work into it and I'd like people like me who are interested in such things to have it readily available.

--'He who dies with the most copies of THE HOBBIT wins'

Now at Kalamazoo

 So, I'm now at Kalamazoo. 

So far I've gotten their internet to accept my laptop (twice) --which I'll need, since some sessions at in-person, some virtual, and some mixed.

I've also Seen Someone I Know (in this case, Brad Eden)

and had my first poke into the Dealers' Room.

If shd surprise no one that I bought two books within the first ten minutes:

THE MYTHOPOEIC CODE OF TOLKIEN: A XIAN PLATONIC READING OF THE LEGENDARIUM by Jyrki Korpua 

and

HOW TO MISUNDERSTAND TOLKIEN: THE CRITICS AND THE FANTASY MASTER by Bruno Bacelli.

Last of all, I looked at the program book some more and tested the hang-out and socialize virtual room being hosted by Luke Shelton (hi Luke).

Now for some lunch, or at least a cup of tea, and then this afternoon it's off for the afternoon CSL session.

--John R.

--current reading: THE BATTLE OF MALDON by JRRT 

Anduin (Tolkien Manuscripts at Marquette)

 So, those who wonder what I've been up to for the last six years or so, here's a review of the project.

https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/25890/33836

In brief, it involved Marquette's making high-quality scans of every page of manuscript, typescript, galley, proof, and misc (e.g. maps and small sketches) of LORD OF THE RINGS material and organizing them so it's now possible to trace through draft by draft to locate changes in phrasing and concepts.  Last fall's exhibit at Marquette shows the results.*

 Thanks to Brad Eden for the link.

--John R
*one important point to consider is that this increases access to the manuscripts while also preserving the originals.

Gawain before Kalamazoo

So, I'm now on the road, the first day of my trip to Kalamazoo.* After seeing the Glasgow panel I went back and re-read Tolkien's original lecture, which I had not looked at for a long time. The biggest takeaways for me include the speakers' use of the phrase "deep-rooted" to describe SGGK. They picked this up from Tolkien himself, who uses the these words at least three times in his essay, with great effect.

 Tolkien also makes several references to SGGK as a fairy tale, which may have struck the original audience as slightly odd but which a modern Tolkien reader will naturally link up with OF FAIRY-STORIES, first published just six years earlier. Similarly, a passing use of 'literary credibility' cd w. the benefit of hindsight be linked to OFS's secondary belief.

The part that really floors me is I think the same reason why this piece by one of the great scholars of his time (who specialized in fourteenth century literature) has been neglected. For Tolkien, Gawain's contest with the Lady is "a mere pastime" --not particularly important or interesting.  Instead, he argues that the most important event in the story is whether or not our hero made a valid confession before setting out for the final encounter with the Knight. I find it hard to accept that the Gawain-author wd have spent so much time and attention on what Tolkien sees as a side-issue and so little on what Tolkien argues is the main issue.

Still, I'm glad to see some belated attention come its way, and what others make of Tolkien's reading.

--John R.

--current reading: JRRT's THE BATTLE OF MALDON 

*so far we've got as far as Milwaukee

A Review of the Haggerty Tolkien Exhibit

For those who couldn't make it to the recent Tolkien Maps, Art, and Manuscripts exhibit at Marquette's Haggerty museum, here's a review that does a fine job showing what the exhibit space looked like as well as individual items on display : 

https://www.marquette.edu/haggerty-museum/documents/icma-march-newsletter.pdf 

I was particularly pleased to see a description of the Archives' reprocessing project, which shd be of enormous help to future researches wanting to locate specific passages within the mass of manuscripts:

Before exiting the exhibition, one found a “bonus” portion across from the final named section that presented the complex navigation, reorganization, and ongoing digital humanities project that encompasses the Tolkien Archives. Here the curators contextualized Marquette’s initial acquisition of the Tolkien materials and how this exhibition coincided with the Raynor Memorial Library’s creation of the digital platform, AnduinTM. AnduinTM, named for the river that crossed most of Middle-earth east of the Misty and White Mountains, is the database system that is meant to resemble the “river of creativity flowing from Tolkien’s work.”

To highlight the ease of the new system of digital scanning in which you can view The Lord of the Rings by book, chapter, chapter draft, and (eventually) individual passage, the curators included large interactive screens with which one could explore the database, a contrast in comparison with the cumbersome microfilm machines of the past and highlight of how far technological access has come for current and future Tolkien scholars and fans alike. For those wishing to access AnduinTM, please contact William Fliss (william.fliss@marquette.edu) at Marquette’s Special Collections and University Archives.

I'm planning to spend a day in the Archives after Kalamazoo , so we'll see how much I get through. 

--John R.

--current reading: several things, all of which are distracting me from each other.

You-Tube posting of Glasgow SIR GAWAIN Event

So, those who missed the event is honor of Tolkien's SIR GAWAIN lecture can see the panel of four speakers here on-line. Even though this is one of Tolkien's lesser known essays it's well worth making closer acquaintance with. Here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4c_bKoTM0k&t=1862s 

--John R.

--current reading: Tolkien's Sir Gawain essay

Tolkien's Sir Gawain Lecture

So, this month marks the 70th anniversary of J. R. R. Tolkien's delivering a talk on SIR GAWAIN & THE GREEN KNIGHT at the University of Glasgow. Unlike his famous essay BEOWULF: THE MONSTERS & THE CRITICS (which revolutionized Beowulf studies by arguing that work shd be studied for its literary merit, not mined as a historical artifact), and ON FAIRY-STORIES (the seminal statement establishing modern fantasy as we know it).* Meanwhile, his Gawain piece has largely been neglected. But that seems likely to change, thanks to the Gawain event held today in Glasgow --indeed the same city, same university, and same building as the original site where Tolkien appeared.**

As is become usual these days, the event was in mixed in-person/on-line form. I was one of the virtual attendees --I gather several hundred people in all. I understand the panel of speakers will be put up on You-Tube for non-attendees to enjoy: if so I'll put up a link.

About This Event

On 15 April 1953, Tolkien delivered the W.P. Ker Memorial Lecture, on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, to an audience of 300 at the University of Glasgow. The essay was published posthumously, in 1983, in The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays, edited by Christopher Tolkien. 

Join us at Glasgow on Thursday 27 April 2023, 5-6:30pm, on-campus (Joseph Black Building) or online, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the lecture and its significance, Tolkien's links to Glasgow, and the importance of the Sir Gawain text in Tolkien's creativity. 

Our panel of speakers will feature:

Professor Jeremy Smith, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of GlasgowDr Lydia Zeldenrust, Lecturer in Middle English Literature, University of GlasgowDr Andoni Cossio, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic, University of GlasgowChair: Dr Dimitra Fimi, Senior Lecturer in Fantasy and Children’s Literature, and Co-Director of the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic 

For those attending on-campus, there will be an opportunity to see a pop-up exhibition with documentation related to Tolkien’s appointment as the 1953 W.P. Ker Memorial Lecturer (including a hand-written letter by Tolkien), in collaboration with Archives & Special Collections, University of Glasgow.

--John R.

*Recently A SECRET VICE has gained prominence and influence in the world of language creation.

**They worked out which was the original room but it was no longer available, having been converted from lecture hall to smaller labs.

x

Fanfiction encounters the real world

So, a few days ago the story broke about how a fanfic writer was trying to extract $250 million dollars from Amazon and the Tolkien Estate. After a bit of poking around the best account of it I saw on the internet is a piece on the PC Gamer site by Tyler Wilde: 

https://www.pcgamer.com/rings-of-power-lawsuit

According to them, the sequence of events seems to have run roughly like this.

1. Fanfic author Demetrius Polychron registers the copyright for a novel called THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE KING (sic).  (2017)

2. D. sends a letter to Simon Tolkien (JRR's grandson) describing the book and asking for the Estate to review the Ms.  The Estate ignores query.

3. D. hires a lawyer, who renews his idea of collaboration.   (2019)

4. The very next day, the Tolkien Estate, who don't fool around when it comes to protecting JRRT's copyrights,  rejects any idea of collaboration.

5. D. personally delivers a copy of his Ms to Simon T's home. 

6. Receiving no reply, D. asks for his Ms back and informs S.T. of his plans to self-publish the book and six sequels.

7. D's book is published (September 2022)

8. D. sues Amazon and the Tolkien Estate for $250,000,000.

9. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE KING disappears from Amazon. (April 21st 2023)

For those who are curious, a plot summary of the book can be found at the Fractal Books site:

 Long before the arrival of Annatar, the original Rings of Power were forged by Celebrimbor and Narvi in Eregion near the Misty Mountains. These first magic Rings were far more powerful than those that came after and were corrupted by Sauron to be fought for in the War of the Ring.

Elanor, daughter of Samwise, is nervous the night before her debutante party in the Shire. In the 22nd year of the reign of the High King Elessar the Blue Wizards return from out of the East bearing perilous news: the rest of the Rings of Power have been found and they are in deadly danger. Thus begins the War of the Rings to End All Wars of the Rings. Before it is over Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves, Men and magical races long forgotten or never seen before will join the Quest for Celebrimbor’s originals and the last of Sauron’s corrupted Rings of Power.

Elanor, two Hobbit friends, the Crown Prince Eldarion of Gondor, his Elvish uncles the Princes Elladan and Elrohir of Gondor join the Wizards Alatar and Pallando of Aman in a war across Middle-earth fighting for their lives.

If they fail, they will witness the return of the Valar Morgoth, the source of Evil and former Master of the long defeated Sauron. With all the Rings of Power at his command, Morgoth will enslave the whole of Middle-earth – forever.

https://www.pcgamer.com/rings-of-power-lawsuit

Doctor Who as Gandalf

So, recently I rewatched one of the old Harryhausen films, SINBAD & THE EYE OF THE TIGER (1977). I knew that Patrick Troughton, one of the most fondly remembered actors to play DOCTOR WHO (The Second Doctor, 1966-69), was in it. What I didn't remember is how strongly his Grecian alchemist and sage, Melanthius, resembles Ian McKellen's Gandalf the Grey.
Also, while looking this up I took the time to confirm something I'd heard years ago: that Troughton had a small role in THE OMEN (which I've never seen). It was interesting to see how much Troughton's serious role there, which consisted mainly of running away, resembled his comedic Dr. Who scenes, which also featured a lot of running away.* 
--John R.Current reading: Wm Morris THE WELL AT THE WORLD'S ENDCurrent viewing:  THE ARK (streaming)
 

*except for the gruesome ending --THE OMEN is a horror movie after all.

So, 

Lord Dunsany's THE REWARD (from FIfty-one Tales)

  

THE REWARD

One's spirit goes further in dreams than it does by day. Wandering once by night from a factory city I came to the edge of Hell.

 

The place was foul with cinders and cast-off things with shapeless edges, and there was a huge angel with a hammer building in plaster and steel.  I wondered what he did in that dreadful place. I hesitated, then asked him what he was building.  'We are adding to Hell,' he said, 'to keep pace with the times'.  'Don't be too hard on them', I said, for I had just come out of a compromising age and a weakened country. The angel did not answer.  'It won't be as bad as the old hell, will it?' I said.  'Worse', said the angel.

 

'How can you reconcile it with your conscience as a Minister of Grace,' I said, 'to inflict such punishment?'  (They had talked like this in the city whence I had come and I could not avoid the habit of it.)  

 

'They have invented a new cheap yeast', said the angel.

 

I looked at the legend on the walls of the hell that the angel was building. The words were written in flame, every fifteen seconds they changed their colour,  'Yeasto, the great new yeast, it builds up body and brain, and something more'.

 

'They shall look at it for ever', the angel said.

 

'But they drove a perfectly legitimate trade', I said; 'the law allowed it'.

 

The angel went on hammering into place the huge steel uprights.

 

'You are very revengeful', I said.  'Do you never rest from doing this terrible work?'

 

'I rested one Christmas Day', the angel said, 'and looked and saw little children dying of cancer. I shall go on now until the fires are lit'.

 

'It will be very hard to prove', I said, 'that the yeast is as bad as you think'.

 

And the angel made no answer but went on building his hell.