Tag Archives: J.R.R. Tolkien

Why Did Star Wars Stick? #MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWarsDay

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

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

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

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)

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

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

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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)

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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)

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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)

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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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