Long before dwarves knocked on Bilbo’s round green door, I had already walked the edges of Tolkien’s map in my imagination. That little book, The Hobbit, was the kind you read as a child and then reread as an adult, discovering new corners of courage every time. Today I’m marking the anniversary of The Hobbit:ContinueContinue reading “Observing an Anniversary: ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ (2012)”
Tag Archives: j-r-r-tolkien
Observing an Anniversary: ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ (2013)
I first walked into Middle-earth in the mid-70s through a brand-spanking-new paperback copy of The Hobbit. Bilbo’s unexpected adventure was playful, sharply drawn, and rooted in a storyteller’s wink. Decades later, Peter Jackson invited us back again, but with a different tone, different scale, and (for many of us) a different set of expectations. Today I’mContinueContinue reading “Observing an Anniversary: ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ (2013)”
December 4: ‘On Fairy Stories’ Turns 76
Stories shape worlds, worlds shape stories. And sometimes, a story about stories can change how we see both. On Fairy Stories (1947) The essay got a fresh face in 2008. A lecture becomes a touchstone, a scholarly reflection on imagination, myth, and meaning. On December 4, 1947, J. R. R. Tolkien’s essay On Fairy Stories was published in EssaysContinueContinue reading “December 4: ‘On Fairy Stories’ Turns 76”
In Memoriam: Edith Mary Tolkien (1889–1971)
On November 29, 1971, Edith Mary Tolkien slipped quietly from this world when she was eighty-two, leaving behind a life woven into the fabric of her family and the imagination of Middle-earth. To the world, she may have seemed the quiet wife of J.R.R. Tolkien, but her life was more complex than any simple label.ContinueContinue reading “In Memoriam: Edith Mary Tolkien (1889–1971)”
The Hobbit That First Opened My Door to Middle-earth — Celebrating the 48-Year Legacy of Rankin/Bass’ Hobbit
I met Bilbo Baggins when I was thirteen years old, standing in the hallway of DeRidder Junior High. The library door carried a poster that stopped me in my tracks. A curious, round fellow stood in his front doorway, pipe in hand, sending smoke rings lazily into the air. The art looked like watercolor washedContinueContinue reading “The Hobbit That First Opened My Door to Middle-earth — Celebrating the 48-Year Legacy of Rankin/Bass’ Hobbit”
Veni, Vidi, Scripsi 