Tag Archives: J.R.R. Tolkien

Why Did Star Wars Stick? #MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWarsDay

As much as we wonder about it, it’s a question that is not perfectly easy to answer. Long before technologically precise blockbuster films, Star Wars had cheesy lines, over-the-top acting, and zippers up the back of the monster’s costume. How … Continue reading

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2022: My Year in Books: The Infographic

Happy New Year, everyone! I am once again assembling the “reading nerd data” in an upcoming post. I love charts. And behind every chart is a great spreadsheet. I guess I just love spreadsheets. Meanwhile, as is my tradition, I … Continue reading

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A Brace of Tolkien Posts for his 131st Birthday (#TolkienBirthdayToast)

As J.R.R. Tolkien was born about 68,899,680 minutes ago, the Tolkien Society is once again raising a toast to the Professor on his birthday, 3 January 2022 (see here). After Bilbo left the Shire on his eleventy-first birthday in The … Continue reading

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New Tolkien book on The Battle of Maldon, together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth

Originally posted on Tolkien and Alliterative Verse:
Thanks to the Tolkien Guide, we have an announcement of a forthcoming book that will be important for the study of Tolkien’s alliterative verse: The Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of…

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“A Sense of the Season”: C.S. Lewis’ Birthday Pivot and the Cambridge Inaugural Address (Updated 2022)

In the autumn of 1954 at the age of 56, C.S. Lewis was at the height of his academic career. With a chance to speak to the academic community at Cambridge and the listening world on the BBC, Lewis used … Continue reading

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J.R.R. Tolkien’s Texts on The (Down)Fall of Númenor

Because of the fire and storm digital conversation about the Amazon Prime series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, some may have missed a little bit of good Tolkien news. HarperCollins is releasing another Middle-earth legendarium book–an … Continue reading

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The Literary Life in Dorothy L. Sayers’ Murder Mystery, Whose Body? (1923)

Dorothy L. Sayers has fallen into my life–and I into hers–because of my gloriously irresponsible definition of the Inklings. With a lifelong interest in J.R.R. Tolkien, and a growing curiosity about C.S. Lewis, I was thrilled to discover an entire … Continue reading

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The Idiosopher’s Razor: The Missing Element in Metacritical Analysis of Tolkien and Lewis Scholarship

It is intriguing what you might find on Twitter…. Last year I was in the midst of a large research project that was tilting forward toward a book. One of the first steps in research is taking a broad look … Continue reading

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Wherever I Go, That’s Where the Party’s At: Prince Corin as C.S. Lewis’ Harbinger of Joy, Guest Essay by Daniel Whyte IV

Once again, we are pleased to publish a Narnia essay by Daniel Whyte IV. Daniel is a fantasy and speculative fiction writer whose essays on culture and faith have been published in Relevant, Fathom Magazine, Arc Digital, Tor.com, Speculative Faith, … Continue reading

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Jacob R. Schreiner Thesis Theatre, “The Logos of Faith: Sub-Creation through Speech-Acts in Tolkien’s Legendarium” (free online event Wednesday, June 1st, 12noon Eastern)

Following a successful event last week–a great conversation with Miriam Davidson on “nonviolence” in The Lord of the Rings–I wanted to send a quick update on the three Signum University Thesis Theatres on The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s … Continue reading

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