It seems unjust to fault an author born a century and a quarter ago, who died nearly fifty years ago, for failing to conform to contemporary mores, especially if said mores are little more than a dozen years old. What follows is a personal opinion. Others may differ. For me, The Lord of the Rings is a window into history. Growing up in Southern California in the mid-20^th Century, I was immediately aware how much Tolkien’s world differed from mine, in climate, culture, and history. The more I can learn about Tolkien’s world, the more insight I can gain into his writing. When I see the English countryside, I can better visualize the Shire. Tolkien came of age when hereditary rulers reigned over, if not actually ruled, most of Europe and much of Asia; when many of the European powers had empires; and most of Africa and parts of Asia was under European rule.…

Perhaps it started when Elyanna Choi (who identifies as non-white) was speaking on a panel at Tolkien 2019, when she was treated discourteously by members of the audience. She voiced her anger online and in ​“My Statement on ​‘Tolkien 2019’,” published in Mythprint Summer ​’20. This was not well received. Italian and English NeoNazi and White Supremacist groups have adopted Tolkien’s works [see “‘Hobbit camps’ and Italian fascism,” Beyond Bree, Jan ​’18], [as] have members in the Tolkien Society.…

Our understanding of what any author does with a political or ideological question rests on three points: 1. What the author himself thinks; 2. What the author writes; 3. What people have done with those writings outside the author’s control. None of these is as straightforward as that makes them look.…

Watching these papers on YouTube has its advantages: you can watch at a convenient time, you don’t have to see all the presentations at once, and, if you don’t catch a word or are trying to read a chart, you can hit ​“replay” or ​“pause.” The disadvantage is that you don’t get any of the handouts, and you miss all the discussion.…

The 2022 Tolkien Calendar is a magnificent piece of work featuring art work by Ted Nasmith, one of the foremost artists illustrating the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien today. The focus of the 2022 calendar is The Silmarillion, which was first published in 1977. Each illustration is accompanied by an appropriate passage from the book.…