2025 in retrospect: fifteen notable events
The new year has come and gone and I am in a pensive mood. I am tired and in pain, by the by, but that is not going to keep me from my...
thetolkienist.com Blog
Meet me at “Leadership in Middle-earth” conference in Zurich, Switzerland (hybrid/ free – March 14th)
I have always wanted to give a talk titled Gandalf: the perfect mentor for the underachievers. Now, this conference would have my been my chance to do so but I am doing the...
An interview with Joy Shannon & Ruth Tolkien: “In The Forest Singing Sorrowless”
Your artistic gateway into Tolkien What drew you to dedicate an entire album to the poetry of J. R. R. Tolkien? Was there a specific poem, moment, or emotional experience that convinced you...
The Black Pine Collection – Tolkien’s favourite tree staging another comeback (of sorts)
If you happen to know me a little – or this blog – then you do know that I am probably the Tolkienist in the world who has written most about Tolkien’s favourite...
Ten years ago two German comedians pranked the nation with a fake Elven singer called Ulmo and made the charts
On November 18, 2015, a video by the singer Ulmo Ocin hit Youtube. It is titled MANDALO. In about two months time it was to amass more than two million views – a...
The Lord of the Crowdfunding: Tolkien-inspired campaigns with Kickstarter, Gamefound, and more
Even though I have never managed to get “Lord of the X” into the snowclone database I am still happy to use it for any silly title I can come up with, like...
Celebrating the latest German ‘Hobbit’ edition, illustrated by Tove Jansson, at Frankfurt Book Fair
The Leipzig Book Fair is by far my favourite as it exudes a love for reading and readers that a business-centred space like Frankfurt seems to lack at times. The whole town of...
MY OXFORD YEAR (2025), review
A running commentary, mild rant, and appreciation by Marcel R. Bülles aka the Tolkienist I was born to do a review of this particular romantic comedy. I will tell you why. I have...
There (Oxford) and back (London) again – Middle-earth-tastic british adventures
This year’s visit to England was supposed to be a very special one as it was largely spent under the stars of Middle-earth. An elf personally ensured that I planned my annual London...
Not a Tolkien quote: He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.
It is time for another edition of Not a Tolkien quote and this time ’tis about silence. It is my first quote with Bluesky that felt so off that I needed to have...
The Tolkien Tapestries in Paris – an image gallery, commented upon (part II/II)
This is the second post on my visit to the Tolkien Tapestries (and carpets) exhibition at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris which ran from March 21st-May 18th, 2025. It is a rather...
A visit to the Tolkien Tapestries in Paris (part I/II)
This is the last week that the Tolkien Tapestries (and carpets) as woven in Aubusson with the Cité internationale de la tapisserie can be viewed at the beautiful Collège des Bernardins in Paris....