Michael’s Comments (group member since Jun 10, 2010)

Michael’s comments from the J.R.R. Tolkien group.

Here's the official HarperCollins book page.

More grand news of a J.R.R. Tolkien work being publlished later this year (3 November 2016, in fact): The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun.

This link to the press review gives much information, in fact SPOILERS! The new work in in the vein of The Story of Kullervo, in that it is an early poetic rendition by Tolkien of a traditional folkloric tale. The dark faerie, the Corrigan, in the poem eventually became Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: think of the scene in Lothlórien when Frodo offers the One Ring to Galadriel!

Tolkien wrote the poem in 1930, and while it has been published before, that was reportedly only the once in 1945 in a literary magazine, The Welsh Review.

The book is edited by Verlyn Flieger, so we are likely to be treated to some excellent supporting material along with the poem itself.

Joey wrote: "I don't remember where I've read it but after some time he too went to the Grey Havens and sailed to the West."

It's not stated in either The Silmarillion nor The Lord of the Rings that Celeborn sailed for the West after his time with the sons of Elrond, but in The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth, Foster speculates that "Perhaps after that he went over Sea." Could that be where you read it?

As to why Celeborn chose to stay on in Middle-earth after Galadriel went West, again there is no direct information, so it becomes necessary to speculate further. The Silmarillion says that at the end of the First Age, Celeborn, along with some other Eldalië, were not "willing to leave the Hither Lands where they had long suffered and dwelt". So it may, perhaps, be the same reason that kept Celeborn there at the end of the Third Age - much of his long life had been spent in Middle-earth and it seems he felt his work there was not yet done.

Appendix B of LoTR says that after the War of the Ring, Celeborn established the realm of East Lórien in the south of the former Mirkwood, perhaps in order to rid it of the evil that Sauron had established there when he took the guise of the Necromancer of Dol Guldur. If so, it would perhaps seem that such evil had lost its power with the destruction of the One Ring and, finding little there to accomplish, Celeborn sought out the company of Elrond's sons at Imladris. Speculation, but perhaps it fits?

It's not an unappealing idea, though you might have expected some mention of it from the man himself.

If anybody's planning on a visit to the Edinburgh Fringe this year, you might want to catch this production of Leaf by Niggle

I was alerted to this new Tolkien biography by Wayne G. Hammond's excoriating blog post.

Given Hammond's well-deserved reputation as a scholar, and particularly as a Tolkien scholar, I'm inclined to take him at his word in his criticisms of Elansea's research and tendency to make unwarranted assumptions. I wonder if anybody in the group has read On the Perilous Road: An Unauthorised Biography of J.R.R.Tolkien, or the earlier offering, J.R.R.Tolkien: Codemaker, Spy-Master, Hero: Au Unauthorised Biography, which describes Tolkien's supposed career as a spy? If so, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

The idea that significant figures who were active during the World Wars may have been spies or intelligence agents might, perhaps, be something of a more general topic of speculation. I've read the same theory in respect of Harry Houdini in The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of the World's Greatest Mystifier by William Kalush. Does anybody know of other "celebrity" figures to whom a career in the twilight world of espionage has been ascribed?

There's unlikely to be a legally free pdf of the book as it has only recently been published. I'd recommend buying a copy or ordering one from your local library :-)

The discussion thread will be here even after the date of the Group Read schedule, so you'll still be able to join in, Rafael :-)

This is a newly edited edition of Professor Tolkien's lecture about his love of creating languages, with lots of supporting materials and analysis from the editors.

Neil wrote: "The standard reference work to Anglo Saxon Paganism is Anglo Saxon Paganism by David Wilson. Well worth seeking out and wisely doesn't use late Icelandic texts to illustrate the 5th and 6th century..."

Neil, as ever, you are a fount of knowledge :-)

Links for convenience:

Anglo-Saxon Paganism by David M. Wilson

Good grief! How did I miss this thread?

I feel that Tolkien achieved his aim of creating a mythology in The Silmarillion: Cosmogeny, the gods, the elder races before humankind, why there is evil in the world and how the world became as we see it.

The Hobbit for me is a folktale rising out of the background mythology, whilst The Lord of the Rings is the national epic, telling the story of the kingly founder of the country. An inexact comparison might be between The Hobbit and The Mabinogion on the one hand, and The Lord of the Rings and Le Morte d'Arthur on the other.

The Way of Wyrd: Tales of an Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer and The Real Middle-Earth: Magic and Mystery in the Dark Ages, both by Brian Bates, were books I found interesting in looking at the question of an English mythology, the latter obviously linked directly to Tolkien.

It sounds intriguing, Beth. I don't have this one, though, so maybe it should go on my wish list. Coincidentally, I saw a first edition copy of this yesterday which, while not being outrageously expensive, was a little more than I was prepared to spend on a casual basis (though I did get a hardback copy of The Children of Húrin to replace my paperback copy!).

A little late in the year, but I've set up my Tolkien reading challenge for 2016!

I'm aiming for four new Tolkien-related books this year. I've just finished the first, J.R.R.Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, which I enjoyed greatly (five stars), and would recommend to anybody interested in Tolkien as an artist. It's interesting how his writing was often influenced by his art, with certain key elements arising first in his drawings and paintings, for example his landscape paintings of the English countryside as clear precursors of his descriptions of the Shire.

Of the other three books I've targeted myself to read, I've already decided on two: A Secret Vice, which I may or may not wait to read with the next Group Read, and The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, which I anticipate I will be getting for Father's Day!

As for the third, I've not yet decided whether it should be a book by Tolkien, possibly his Beowulf, which I have neglectful not yet read, or a book about Tolkien, perhaps The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary.

Just picked up my copy :-D

Slightly weird that my full post didn't save!

I went on to say that I hope you will find the discussion threads interesting and that I look forward to reading your contributions.

Welcome to Middle-earth :-)

Hi, Iní

Welcome to the group

Hi Gloria - we're glad you're part of the Fellowship, too! Welcome :-)

Hi Joey. There's no shame in coming to Tolkien via the movies - many have done so. The path is less important than the journey :-)

Hi, Josh! I'm Michael! Welcome to the rolling green hills of the Shire :-D

Richard wrote: "On the other hand, Payne, film isn't literature and if the films bring new readers to Tolkien to make their personal discoveries of the true stories and nuance that the films have painted broad, th..."

We have a poll about whether members found the books first or the films. Feel free to cast your vote and see the results!

While I understand what you mean about the Dune adaptations, I like David Lynch's films and enjoyed his version on its own terms. I also liked the SciFi Channel's adaptation of Dune, though felt the quality dropped with each successive adaptation of the original trilogy.

I guess I enjoy seeing other people's visions as I find it doesn't detract from my own conception of the original work. That said, I found Jackson's Hobbit films as dire as his LotR films were inspired!