Tag Archives: Christopher Tolkien

An Abundance of Spreadsheets about Tolkien’s Expanded Letters (Part 2 of Voyaging With Voyant)

Posted on March 4, 2025 by

Introducing The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien I have confessed before how much I value the letter collections of authors that intrigue me. Besides C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, I’ve spent time in correspondence collections by Dorothy L. Sayers, James Thurber, … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Christopher Tolkien, Digital Humanities, Dorothy L. Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, letter collections, letters, spreadsheets, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Voyant, Warren Lewis | 7 Comments

Voyaging with Voyant in Tolkien’s Expanded Letters (Part 1: Background and Themes)

Posted on February 19, 2025 by

In this post, Dr. Brenton Dickieson discusses Tolkien’s newly expanded letter collection, exploring its publication history and significance, and playing with some Voyant text analytical tools to understand trends in Tolkien’s correspondence and his creative practice. Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research | Tagged Christopher Tolkien, Data Visualization, Digital Humanities, Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Voyant | 11 Comments

Trees, Leaves, Vines, Circles: Reading and Writing The Layered Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fiction: A Note on “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” and “Leaf by Niggle”

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

When I was teaching J.R.R. Tolkien‘s “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” for the first time a couple of years ago, we had a strong conversation around the “Debate between Finrod and Andreth.” For those who have not yet discovered it, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Arthurian Torso, Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth, C.S. Lewis, Carl Hostetter, Charles Williams, Christopher Tolkien, Inklings, Leaf by Niggle, Morgoth's Ring, subcreation, The History of Middle-earth, The Nature of Middle-earth, Tolkien Reading Day | 29 Comments

Christmas With J.R.R. Tolkien: The Father Christmas Letters

Posted on December 25, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

My little 2015 piece on J.R.R. Tolkien’s funny and endearing Father Christmas Letters has had quite a spin around the internet this week. I cannot think of a better Christmas note for you, dear readers of A Pilgrim in Narnia, … Continue reading →

Posted in Letters, Memorable Quotes | Tagged art, art of letter writing, children's literature, Christmas, Christopher Tolkien, fantasy, Father Christmas, J.R.R. Tolkien, letters, literature, Lord of the Rings, myth, Santa Claus, The Hobbit, writing | 16 Comments

The Doom and Destiny of Tolkien’s Chaucer Research: A Note on John M. Bowers, Tolkien’s Lost Chaucer (2019)

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Tolkien’s Lost Chaucer is a book about a book that was doomed from the start. As I have been preparing for a Canterbury Tales section in a class I’m teaching, I have been using this recent winner of the Mythopoeic … Continue reading →