A new audio recording of an unabridged reading of Carolyne Larrington’s revised translation (OUP) of The Poetic Edda was recently released.…
J.R.R. Tolkien was clearly inspired/influenced by at least Völuspá (“Prophecy of the Seeress”), the first poem of the Poetic Edda, which is where almost all of the names of the dwarves in The Hobbit came from.…
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This article is about the one volume Lord of the Rings paperback with cover illustration by Pauline Baynes. Pauline Baynes was commissioned in 1964 to produce a triptych illustration for the first deluxe boxset of The Lord of the Rings. Deagol has written a comprehensive article on this edition and the artwork. [1]
In 1968 George Allen & Unwin produced the first one-volume paperback of The Lord of the Rings. Due to issues with binding paperbacks at the time it was not possible to include the Appendices or Index, only a part of the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen from the Annals of the Kings and Rulers was included.
The book reprints Pauline Bayne’s illustrations from the front and back of the triptych but does not use her original spine illustration or her Lord of the Rings lettering, which was on the spine.…
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[The Tolkien Estate] have updated the website, some new material included, I noticed a recording with Tolkien about the Hobbit that I have not heard before.
https://www.tolkienestate.com/
It is mentioned on the Guardian’s website.…
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… Every year on March 25th, Tolkien fans around the world celebrate Tolkien Reading Day — chosen by the Tolkien Society to celebrate the day that the One Ring was destroyed. This year the theme for Tolkien Reading Day is “Love and Friendship”. Here at TolkienGuide we will be gathering for a few hours of fun discussion of our favorite stories and passages, some giveaways, and maybe even a few visits from some special guests! The rights holders have kindly requested that we not livestream any copyrighted materials this time, so there will not be any Tolkien readings during our event, but it will still be a lot of fun. As like the prior two events, the live streaming event will primarily take place on Discord. If you just want to listen, the live stream will be available on YouTube and will stay up for later listening as well.…
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If you are in the US then you can watch the clip:
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I recently picked up the last edition needed to complete a hardcover set of The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle by JRR Tolkien and Donald Swann, hardback books of sheet music by Swann set to the poetry of Tolkien’s legendarium, especially the Lord of the Rings. This got me thinking about how this wonderful edition to the Tolkien catalogue came to be.
Swann composed the nine settings over a period of 12 years. He began by setting seven poems from The Lord of the Rings to music in Ramallah, near Jerusalem, in 1965. These included A Elbereth Gilthoniel and O Orofarnë, Lassemista, Carnimírië; he replaced the latter with Namárië for the first edition as he felt it was too similar to Henry Purcell’s “Dido’s Lament”[1]. The scholar of music Emily Sulka notes that the song cycle was created because Swann and his wife liked Tolkien’s writings and set six of the poems to music. Tolkien liked five of the settings but proposed a melody similar to a Gregorian chant in place of the sixth, for Namárië. She notes too that Swann wanted them to be performed as a group without applause between the songs.[6]…
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[Quoting the Daily Gazette/Essex County Standard]:
RARE photographs and correspondence from the author of Lord of the Rings are to be sold by Colchester auctioneers next month.
The official archive of J.R.R. Tolkien’s photographer, Pamela Chandler, is estimated to have a combined value of between £20,000 and £30,000.
It will be auctioned by Reeman Dansie, which is based in Wyncolls Road in Severalls Business Park, Colchester, on Wednesday, December 1.…
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Sorry for the late notice on this, just came to my attention! The talk is TOMORROW, November 6th, 4 PM to 5:30 PM at the Exeter Literary Festival, tickets cost £8
https://www.exelitfest.com/lord-of-the-rings/
Twenty years ago, The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, was released. Conceptual designer Alan Lee and Jane Johnson, J.R.R. Tolkien’s editor at Harper Collins, and author of the film’s Companion series, chat about their time in New Zealand on the set of this iconic film.…
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Series of five typed and two autograph letters signed (“Christopher Tolkien”) to Francisco Porrúa, publisher of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien in Spanish, discussing the translation of The Lord of the Rings, with a “vociferous condemnation” of the 1979 animated film version (“…I regard it with abhorrence, as a really unbelievable travesty of my father’s work…”), explaining at length how volumes 10 and 11 fit into the 12 volume The History of Middle Earth (“…an account of my father’s work on the Elder Days…”), and speculating on the effect of the films on his father’s legacy.…
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As it is October 16th somewhere in the world already, and someone decided that is World Dictionary Day, I thought it would be good to re-recommend the book The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary.…
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Heart shall be bolder, harder be purpose, more proud the spirit as our power lessens!
Theme: determination and perseverance. Artists: Soni Alcorn-Hender, Emily Austin, Chapu, Anke Eissmann, Ergo, Donato Giancola, Octo Kwan, Ruth Lacon, Wenjin Lu, Nancy Martsch, Ted Nasmith, Gordon Palmer. Calendar Editor: Jeremy Edmonds.…
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Michael Taaffe has a passion for the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and early medieval Insular art. He combines both of his passions to create new and original artworks. Michael has generously offered to auction his art piece “Day Shall Come Again!” on 31st of October at 12:00AM with all proceeds going to SOSAD Ireland. .…
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The Prancing Pony Podcast interviews Jeremy Edmonds (Urulókë) of the Tolkien Collector’s Guide.
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Two Tolkien lots: Lot 1536: Lord of the Rings. 3 vols.… Estimate £600 – £800. Lot 1537: Lord of the Rings. 3 vols.… Estimate £600 – £800.
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Silmarillion Super Deluxe on auction.…
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Two Tolkien related lots in this auction: Lot 6087: … J.R.R. Tolkien: Ringenes Herre. 3 vols. Cph 1977. Danosh ed.… Lot 6104: … C. Tolkien (ed.): Narn I Chîn Húrin. The Tale of the Children of Húrin.…
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Most of the books included in this lot are quite common, but there’s an offprint of Middle English “Losenger” hiding in here that might be of interest to some.… Auction will run on Wednesday, 2021-06-23.…
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… This was a highly emotional experience for all. Christopher’s wife, Baillie Tolkien was present for the release and she was much affected by it. Much as she loved all the previous works which have been released so far, and had already given her full satisfaction, she admitted that this one had quite a unique effect on her. What made the piece extra special, she explained in French, is that, unlike the previous ones which were recreations of existing artwork in another medium, this was a completion, a realization of a carpet that Tolkien had designed a cartoon for in his mind in 1960, but never saw in real life. Baillie had prepared some notes but, seeing the piece, spoke without calling upon them. She finished by referring to Niggle who, seeing his Tree in full growth, exclaimed: “It’s a gift.” …
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Sorry for the late notice. Tomorrow the following lots are going under the live hammer at Heritage Auctions. I spoke with the staff there about provenance, and I am told the signed book have bookplates from the collection of Nan C. Scott, who visited Tolkien in Oxford with her husband in 1966. From Scull and Hammond’s Chronology (2017), ?Late July or early August 1966 entry on p. 705, “Nan C. Scott and her husband visit Tolkien again, taking some books for him to sign.” …
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Authoritative information may be found here.