The Eighty-seventh Roving Ranger

Life and Works

May 27, 1930. OUP sends Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra) a copy of the 1919 Middle English Reader.
May 27, 1958. Tolkien writes to Nancy Smith (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on the LotR index.
May 27, 1964. Tree and Leaf (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is first published.
May 31, 1944. Tolkien writes Letter 72 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), mentioning Lewis had been moved to tears by 'The Choices of Master Samwise.'
June 1, 2017. Beren and Lúthien (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is published.
June 4, 1949. Tolkien writes to Pauline Baynes (Si apre in una nuova finestra), thanking her for Farmer Giles.
June 5, 1959. Tolkien delivers Valedictory Adress (Si apre in una nuova finestra) to the University of Oxford.
June 7, 1955. Tolkien writes Letter 163, offering W.H. Auden talking points (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on LotR and himself for BBC Third Programme.

It gives me great pleasure to share the news that The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is among the top ten in the BBC 100 Greatest Children's Book list (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - at #5. Do also have a look at #45.

Events & Shows

The recording of the Tolkien Lecture is available (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The largest volunteer-run Tolkien-centred event in the world (afaik!) is coming up soon - the Tolkien Days (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in Germany.
- [I'll be co-hosting the podcast sessions as well as delivering a lecture on RoP. ]

The castle at Saumur has a Tolkien exhibition (Si apre in una nuova finestra) with the support of the Cité internationale de la Tapisserie (Si apre in una nuova finestra), starting June 3rd.

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

The excellent Allan Turner has provided John Garth with a guest post (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The Mythopoeic Society has announced its awards' finalists (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Teen Titans (Si apre in una nuova finestra) artist Hayk Manukyan (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is repeating the ever silly "why didn't they fly the Ring to Mordor?" nonsense but these animations are fun (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Volante Opera announced on Twitter (Si apre in una nuova finestra) that the full operatic cycle on thr Silmarillion by Paul Corfield Godfrey will be available on June 23rd as one box.

Tom Hillman has some thoughts on Frodo's threat outside the Black Gate (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

John D. Rateliff has a few notes on this year's Tolkien at Kalamazoo (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Interestingly enough, there is now a full reading of Tolkien's On Fairy-Stories (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on Youtube via Catholic Culture Audiobooks.

Rather important if not truly noticed: iron gall ink (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Franchise and Merchandise

The Hollywood Reporter is having a paid partnership with Prime in this Rings of Power (Si apre in una nuova finestra) special, including the music of the series.

In case you were wondering who might be suing people over 'Tolkien' - this usually comes via Middle-earth Enterprises and, more recently, Warner Bros. You can ask Polish game developers C.I. Games about their Lords of the Fallen (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and why WB thinks (Si apre in una nuova finestra) they are trying to cash in on LotR (Si apre in una nuova finestra). The game came out in 2014 and the sequel is expected this year. [Bloomsberg Law]

When it comes to legal issues, MTG (Si apre in una nuova finestra) knows its fair share - right now leaks seem to be their biggest problem, revealing game mechanisms before release on their LotR: Tales of Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra) set. [Please note: this might be a fake; it is all rather absurd.]

The fact that Amazon have announced another MMO set in Middle-earth forced Standing Stone Games to say a few calming words (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on the future of LotRO. Amazon Games' VP certainly belittled their work (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - and made sure to mention 'it's still very important that it's first a game, and then a reflection of the books second.' [GamesIndustry.biz (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

Do not forget - their first attempt at a LotR MMO was cancelled in 2021 (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Interestingly enough new Third Age rights' owners - via Middle-earth Enterprises -, the Swedish Embracer Group, mentioned in a conference call that a strategic partnership of six years fell through only a few days later (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [BNN Bloomberg]

The racist backlash (Si apre in una nuova finestra) against LotR:RoP was so dire that the production team had to hire on-set therapists. [Variety] This should come as no surprise as the actors had talked about it on several occasions before like this interview at Lucca (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Variety]

HarperCollins UK announced a new Silmarillion audiobook on Twitter (Si apre in una nuova finestra), read by Andy Serkis.

Richard Armitage made clear that: "I think after maybe two and a half years of Middle-earth, I’m not drawn to fantasy so much anymore. I’ve seen [it], I’ve done it, it’s not my thing." [Radio Times (Si apre in una nuova finestra), 3:30 mark]

The early reviews on LotR: Gollum are in and things are not looking good. A rather decent sounding one is with Slant Magazine (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (2/ 5 stars). The review with The Gamer (Si apre in una nuova finestra) offers a one-liner that says a lot:

(...) Let it be known that this game didn’t fail because it took risks with its interpretations of Tolkien, it failed because it’s boring, glitchy, and a decade behind the times. Ben Sledge, The Gamer

And just to let you know what the Guardian had to offer: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum review - boil it, mash it, stick it in the bin (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The Star Entertainment GmbH (Si apre in una nuova finestra) global concerts supposedly based on LotR, Hobbit, and RoP are taking ever more flak for being a disaster (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

You should probably try to be in Annecy in June for the pre-view of War of the Rohirrim (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

A short review of the One Ring RPG Starter set (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Inter alia & Back in the day

In case you were wondering whether some people get roles because of their 'connections', Neil Gaiman had a few things to say on the castings for Good Omens 2 (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [tumblr]

Star Trek: Resurgence (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has a launch trailer (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The Folio Society has published the long list to its annual Illustration Award (Si apre in una nuova finestra), based on Ursula K. LeGuin's The Fliers of Gy (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Patrick Rothfuss has announced a new novella (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - but not Doors of Stone.

The Nebula Awards for 2022 have been announced (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

In case you would like a single minute of explanation: what is machine learning (Si apre in una nuova finestra)? Given the fact that all things fantasy have been written by humans - so far - this might make for massive changes in the future.

The nominations for the Spiel des Jahres (Si apre in una nuova finestra) awards (Game of the Year in Germany) are out - don't forget the best sold game in 2022 in Germay was the exit game 'Shadows over Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra)' [I am not saying this proudly as a German Tolkienist 😄] [BGG]

Disney's Galactic Starcruiser is closing for business (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [New York Times]

xkcd has something for all wizard fans (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Ansible 430 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has been published.

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:
The Tolkienist Blog (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Facebook (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Twitter (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Instagram (Si apre in una nuova finestra) : Tolkien-Discord (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [de/en]

Additional news provided in recent weeks to my members at Steady

RR+: Tolkien Lectures - and yes, two of them (Si apre in una nuova finestra)
RR+: LotR: Gollum has a Precious Edition (Si apre in una nuova finestra)
RR+: The Bod is archiving tweets (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - including me 🤩
RR+: Tolkien Society Awards (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - vote now open!
RR+: 70 years after (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - Tolkien's lecture on Sir Gawain in Glasgow
RR+: Tolkien and Smith Conference (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Corpus Christi College, Oxford
RR+: 'Lord of the Rings' (Si apre in una nuova finestra) musical tickets now available
RR+: New Illustrated Edition (Si apre in una nuova finestra) of 'The Hobbit' Announced
RR+: "Tolkien letters (Si apre in una nuova finestra) shine new light on writer’s life and work"

What to look forward to in 2023 if you like Tolkien and all things Tolkienian

Meet and greet with the Tolkienist in 2023