The Twenty-Fifth Roving Ranger
Folks,
a warm welcome to this, the twenty-fifth Roving Ranger newsletter.
Events
The Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic has a new talk coming up: D&D and Fantasy Fiction: Giants in the Oerth.
I would highly suggest to you to look up the International Tolkien Fellowship Facebook group for Tolkien-inspired events the world over.
Essays & Scholarship
I like the connection between a scholar in Scottish medieval history reading The Hobbit and being inspired to by Tolkien’s work. I really need to read up on his work on Iona!
John D. Rateliff has a few thoughts on C.S. Lewis’ Elwin Ransom.
Another piece has just dropped with the Journal for Tolkien Research: Tolkien’s Penchant for Alliteration: Using XML to Analyze The Lay of Leithian.
Reviews and Book News
Interestingly enough, the Washington Post had this: Before he dreamed up Frodo, J.R.R. Tolkien let his imagination run wild as Father Christmas.
I have not seen it but a Hobbit parody should be noted: The Turtle.
New Zealand will be getting its very own Hobbit translation.
Franchise, merchandise and Amazon series
I would really love to congratulate the marketing team who came up with the idea of promoting the Lord of the Rings film trilogy as Christmas movies. Kudos 😁 And yes, this has spiraled into films like Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home being claimed as Christmas movies, too! [P.S. One of my favourite films!]
Several outlets have reported that LotR on Prime has wrapped filming (for now.)
Bilbo Baggins had to close.
Brick Brothers have published their LEGO Creation of the Year 2020 Shortlist and yes, film trilogy-inspired work has made it onto this list. I desperately need you to visit Simon Hundsbichlers’ mini diorama of the Siege of Minas Tirith. 🥰
Other stuff
I don’t really know how he does it but for him there has to be a 28 hours day, minimum: How Neil Gaiman helped with the Fire & Blood audiobook.
In other news
MGM, one of the most famous and classic US film productions studios, seems to be considering a sale. [WSJ: Paywall.]
Yes, they smuggled Scotty on to the International Space Station.
A new suburban quarter will have Tolkien-inspired names.
As a bit of a Trekkie I totally loved the Deep Space 9 documentary and am glad to hear the Voyager documentary is preparing its crowdfunding campaign.
I am not enough of a Potterhead to judge the importance of this piece of news but seem to remember quite a bit of controversy back in the day when J.K. Rowling changed her agent: Christopher Little has died.
The Blog Roll
These are blogs you really should be following if you’re interested in Tolkien …
Some of these, you may find, are not as active as one would hope; but even if they have not posted anything new for a long time they are repositories of great essays and research on all things Tolkienian and always worth your time. The blog roll – and this very newsletter! – has been inspired by Troels Forchammer’s Parma-kenta and his excellent Tolkien Transactions he did for seven years – they are still sorely missed!
Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, ‘Too Many Books and Never Enough’
Dimitra Fimi, ‘Dr. Dimitra Fimi’
Jason Fisher, ‘Lingwë — Musings of a Fish’
Douglas A. Anderson, ‘Tolkien and Fantasy’
John D. Rateliff — ‘Sacnoth’s Scriptorium’
John Garth, ‘John Garth’
David Bratman, ‘Kalimac’s Journal’
Jenny Dolfen, ‘Jenny’s Sketchbook’
Andrew Higgens, ‘Wotan’s Musings’
Anna Smol, ‘A Single Leaf’
Edmund Weiner, ‘Philoloblog’
Robin Anne Reid, her blog
Annalisa Palmer, her blog
Various, The Mythopoeic Society
Various (Bradford Eden, ed.) Journal of Tolkien Research (JTR)
Various, The Tolkien Society (TS)
Southfarthing Mathom
Various, The Mythopoeic Society, ‘The Horn of Rohan Redux’
Sue Bridgwater, ‘Skorn’
Tom Hilman, ‘Alas, not me’
Michael Martinez, ‘Middle-earth’
Bruce Charlton, ‘Tolkien’s The Notion Club Papers’
Various, ‘Middle-earth News’
Jeffrey R. Hawboldt, ‘Expressions of Substance’
Ryszard Viajante Derdzinski, ‘Tolknięty’
Stephen C. Winter, ‘Wisdom from The Lord of the Rings’
Troels Forchhammer, ‘Parma-kenta‘
Marcel Aubron-Bülles, ‘The Tolkienist‘
Jeremy Edmonds, ‘Tolkien Collector’s Guide‘
Aubrey, ‘Diverse Tolkien‘
Elyanna, ‘itariilles‘
Picture credits: Marcel Aubron-Bülles aka the Tolkienist in the courtyard of Sarehole Mill, Birmingham, one of the place in Tolkien’s life with an actual connection to the Professor. Please note a lot of people would have you believe all sorts of nonsense.
According to German law I have to infom you all links to enterprises/ artists are [unpaid advertisements.]
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