“All we have to decide, is how much Tolkien to enjoy with the time that is given to us.”
Ok, maybe that isn’t quite the encouraging quote Gandalf gives to Frodo in Moria, but it can certainly still motivate to action! Currently our own Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) group, in an extraordinary cinematic showing, is presenting all three Hobbit movies AND the Lord of the Rings trilogy now through February 15th at the newly re-opened SIFF Cinerama. To celebrate the occasion, let’s talk Tolkien!
Scholar, soldier, translator, writer; who was Tolkien? In Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth by Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien archivist at the Bodleian Library, you get an impressive compilation of essays, maps, personal letters, and artwork displaying the creative process behind Tolkien’s creation of Middle-Earth. Exploring how World War I affected Tolkien’s writings, Tolkien and the Great War: the threshold of Middle-Earth touches on his early life, then moving into how his firsthand experience in the trenches of World War I influenced the stories he wrote.
Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: the gift of friendship focuses on the famous academic camaraderie and friendship between Tolkien and Lewis. From their religious debates to their writing styles, see how these two extraordinary icons helped each other on their literary and personal journeys.
Along with the books that were published in his lifetime, Tolkien also left notes and manuscripts aplenty for his son to compile and edit to create the Middle-Earth legendarium. Whether you want material taking place in, inspired by, or further explorations of the themes of Middle-Earth, we are spoiled for choice! Bilbo’s Last Song, is a beautiful and slightly bittersweet picture book that is really more about the journey than the destination. Its detailed watercolors, rather than focusing on the poem, instead remind readers of events from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings leading up to Bilbo’s final farewell. Don’t think this book is just for kids, it’s for fans of every age!
Delve into some modern analyses of Tolkien’s works with The Hobbit and Philosophy: for When You’ve Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way or Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in the Lord of the Rings. Both books touch on themes of ethics, morality, freewill, and spirituality, but with two different focuses. If you want something that asks questions and draws on the foundations of past philosophers, go for The Hobbit and Philosophy. But if you’re curious about morality and war, try Following Gandalf.
Perhaps, in the end, you just simply want to listen to the soothing academic gravitas of The Professor himself. The J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection is a selection of readings by J.R.R. Tolkien as well as his son Christopher Tolkien. Maybe you’ll be able to hear the same accent that inspired Sir Ian McKellen in his portrayal of Gandalf in the movies…
Arise, arise, readers of Seattle! Literary deeds await!
~Posted by Chelsea M.
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