Stories & Sound – Page 3 – Veni. Vidi. Scripsi.

Lessons from Tolkien’s “Leaf by Niggle” – Word on Fire

While researching my literary anniversary piece on J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Leaf by Niggle,” I came across an essay that thoughtfully explores the spiritual shape of the story. The author describes it as “probably the closest thing in Tolkien’s corpus to an autobiographical allegory,” a claim that feels earned the longer you consider the tale.ContinueContinue reading “Lessons from Tolkien’s “Leaf by Niggle” – Word on Fire”

Leaf by Niggle: The Work We Leave Unfinished

When the flame was kindled on January 3, 1892, a mind was born that would illuminate not just Middle-earth but the quiet corners of imagination itself. J. R. R. Tolkien’s life was marked by a devotion to language, story, and the natural world—a devotion most intimately visible in one of his smallest, yet most curious,ContinueContinue reading “Leaf by Niggle: The Work We Leave Unfinished”

The Companion That Deepens The Lord of the Rings

Sometimes the best guides don’t lead you away from a story. They lead you deeper in. The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion (2005) Twenty years ago, on December 27, 2005, Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull gave readers something rare: a companion that doesn’t explain the magic away but reveals the care behind it. TheContinueContinue reading “The Companion That Deepens The Lord of the Rings”

Más: Futility in a Catchy Beat

I discovered Kinky’s “Más” this morning on a music subreddit, after spending most of the night with fever, sneezing, and coughing as this flu bug peaked. Chasing one last tissue, one extra dose of medicine, always one more something that never quite satisfied, the song caught me and held me, its repeated más echoing my restless state.ContinueContinue reading “Más: Futility in a Catchy Beat”

Walking the Long Road from The Shire: Remembering ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’

I remember sitting in the theater in December of 2001, not fully aware that something formative was unfolding before me. The Shire appeared on screen, warm and unhurried, a place both fantastical and familiar, like a memory I had yet to have. Only later did it become clear that The Fellowship of the Ring, first releasedContinueContinue reading “Walking the Long Road from The Shire: Remembering ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’”