The Ninety-seventh Roving Ranger
Life and Works
January 20, 1982. Finn and Hengest (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is published posthumously, edited by Alan Bliss.
January 21, 1889. Edith Bratt (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is born.
January 22, 1928. Tolkien reads a paper, The Chill Barbarians of the North (Si apre in una nuova finestra), at a meeting of the Newman Society (Si apre in una nuova finestra), in Oxford.
January 24, 1972. Tolkien writes Letter 332 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) to his son Michael on moving to Merton.
January 26, 1925. Tolkien writes a letter to Professor Joseph Wright (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on the occasion of his retirement.
January 28, 1982. The Old English Exodus (Si apre in una nuova finestra) us published posthumously, edited by Joan Turville-Petre (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
January 29, 1968. Tolkien writes a letter to Ken Jackson (Si apre in una nuova finestra) concerning “Bag End”.
January 30, 1914. The Chequers Clubbe (Si apre in una nuova finestra), founded by Tolkien, is given permission to organize dinners.
February 2, 1939. J.R.R. Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra) writes Letter 35 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), asking “Could you give me any idea of the latest date by which the completed MSS. ought to reach you?” ☺️
There is a very decent-looking piece with video recordings of Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (h/t Michael Flowers) [Youtube]
Events & Shows
Some amazing talks are coming up (Si apre in una nuova finestra) at the University of Oxford as part of the Tolkien 50th Anniversary Seminar series (h/t to Garth).
The New York Tolkien Conference is returning this year (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (and reminding me to do my write-up of the 2019 one I participated in!)
Alan Sisto had Tom Hillman over at the Tolkien Times (Si apre in una nuova finestra) for a chat about Pity, Power, and Tolkien’s Ring (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Starting in August Tampere, Finland, will have a Lord of the Rings (Si apre in una nuova finestra) show - again, based on the 2018 adaptation.
This unique production combines unforgettable theatre, original music composed by Tuomas Kantelinen and played by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as amazing circus performances by Sorin Sirkus.
For all events check out the International Tolkien Fellowship (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [FB] and the Tolkien Guide Calendar (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Scholarship and Fandom
A ‘Call for Papers’ from the University of Freiburg has been published: Arcastar Lerinosse: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Arda (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (deadline: Feb 16).
Glaurung, Heir of Fáfnir: Tolkien’s Reading of Old Norse Dragon Myth (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
For a list of the translations of The History of Middle-earth see this Tolkien Guide forum post (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Congrats to Spain for being the only country so far to have them all translated. France, Poland, Hungary, Brazil and Italy are working on getting there (damn you, Germany!)
Now, this is largely conjecture but I love how both Anglo-saxon history as well as the history of early European Christendom are tied into Tolkien: Elrond, Bilbo, Colmcille and King Alfred (Si apre in una nuova finestra). (I really need to write something about my all-time favourite, Alcuin.)
John McLaughlin is providing an amazing service with his site tolkientranslations.com (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
DIARY OF A CITY GUARD – PART 1 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is a hilarious report on what a friend of mine needed to do to become a part of Rings of Power - and what happened.
Brian Sibley has noted with Facebook (Si apre in una nuova finestra) that a new edition of The Maps of Middle-earth: From Númenor and Beleriand to Wilderland and Middle-earth is coming out in April (order with Blackwell’s (Si apre in una nuova finestra)).
I've revised the text and added a new Preface telling the story of how (thirty years ago, in 1994) John Howe and I began collaborating on a series of little books devoted to Middle-earth cartography. This edition (now uniform with all the other Tolkien titles) contains dozens of new pencil drawings by John and (tucked inside the front and back covers) his four original colour maps ready to be displayed.
If only a tenth of Clifford’s speculations in this TORn post prove to be true then we are certainly in for a wild ride: Analysis: New “Rings of Power” Rumors Tease Unhinged Season 2 (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
The German Tolkien Society has announced its Call for Papers (Si apre in una nuova finestra) for this year’s Seminar, “Tolkien and his editors.”
Franchise and Merchandise
Amazon is learning the hard way that paying billions for content might not work: Amazon to lay off several hundred staff in Prime Video, Studios (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Reuters]
Despite its big budgets and buzzy programming, it can be difficult to truly gauge the success of Amazon’s entertainment business because it does not report separate financial results for the division.
Hobbits and Jack Daniel’s: can men’s wedding rings become ‘manlier’? (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Guardian]
Lord of the Rings: Online is moving towards its 17th birthday and has announced some of the festivities (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and the game’s roadmap.
The Elevenses Bakery in Tampa, Florida, is celebrating its first birthday with a week of Tolkien-inspired sweets (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Instagram; also Facebook (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]
Now, this is top tier merchandise (don’t forget the artisan keycaps): The Lord of the Rings™ Rohan (Si apre in una nuova finestra) keyboard by Drop.
You can have a virtual look (Si apre in una nuova finestra) at the “Magic in Middle-earth” exhibition that has been on tour for some time. It is now at Barnsley where the “Experience … Museum is looking for Britain’s Best Tolkien Memorabilia” (Si apre in una nuova finestra), an online event on February, 21st.
Inter alia & Back in the day
Lynch could have done a Dune II - “half a script” has been found (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Wired]
‘Game of Thrones’ Creators’ Wild Road to Their Biggest Gamble Yet: Netflix’s ‘3 Body Problem’ (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Hollywood Reporter]
‘Impossible’ to create AI tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material (Si apre in una nuova finestra), OpenAI says. [Guardian]
Syndetics Unbound always does an annual chart race of books Popular in Libraries (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [LibraryThing; for the US] Would you have guessed that Lessons in Chemistry (Si apre in una nuova finestra) by Bonnie Garmus (Si apre in una nuova finestra) was the most beloved library book in 2023?
If you want your version of Wikipedia to become a propaganda tool - simply copy the existing version and remove everything that is contrary to your view: Ruwiki (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Very decent list: Every Star Wars Movie That Allegedly Is or Isn’t Happening (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Vulture]
'Star Trek' on Mars? Curiosity rover spots Starfleet symbol on Red Planet (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Space.com (Si apre in una nuova finestra)] Also a fairly decent write-up on the issues of Star Trek reboot #4 (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
2024 seems to be good for surprises: Keanu Reeves and China Miéville to collaborate on new novel (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Wertzone]
According to German law I have to infom you all links to enterprises, artists, products etc. are [unpaid advertisements.] Some purchase links may earn me a small commission from Blackwell's, the bookshop of my personal trust.
If you are interested in my other Tolkien-related work please have a look:
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