The One-hundredth Roving Ranger

There has been a break for some time with the Roving Ranger; it will continue on its bi-weekly basis from now on. Thank you for your patience.

Life and Works

May 5, 1977. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (Si apre in una nuova finestra) by Humphrey Carpenter is first published.
May 5, 2009. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is first published.
May 9, 1957. Tolkien writes Letter 197 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - in answer to his publisher letting him know about the immense success of LotR.
May 10, 1966. Tolkien writes Letter 288 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - about the bronze bust that can today still be seen with the English Faculty in Oxford.
May 11, 1922. A Middle English Vocabulary (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Tolkien's first book, is published.
May 13, 1964. Tolkien writes Letter 256 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - about The New Shadow.
May 15, 1945. Charles Williams (Si apre in una nuova finestra) dies - see Tolkien’s Letter 99. (Si apre in una nuova finestra)
May 17, 1954. Tolkien writes a letter to Henry Willink (Si apre in una nuova finestra), stating that in a talk with C.S. Lewis he managed to convince him to accept the chair in Cambridge.

New translations: Romansh (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (Hobbit) and Mongolian (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (Lord of the Rings).

Book of the Year: Collected Poems (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (Hammond / Scull);

Added to the Oxford DNB this year: Christopher Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The Iron Room has published a piece on Barrow’s Stores (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - see TCBS (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
(Si apre in una nuova finestra)

All dates are taken from Tolkien Gateway (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Events & Shows

The Tolkien 50th Anniversary Seminar Series is continuing (Si apre in una nuova finestra) at Oxford.

I am not quite sure what a Spring Hobbit Hoedown entails but Larp Shire LLC (Si apre in una nuova finestra) are definitely organising one in May (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in Ohio. [Instagram; Eventbrite]

However, I am quite sure I have already mentioned the West Stow Anglo-Sacon Village & Country Park before (can there be a better Tolkien location? 🤩) They have been quietly running the Ring Quest for 22 years now (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - and this video (Si apre in una nuova finestra) will show you this seems to be a really fun event; you’ll have to wait for their 23rd edition, though. [Youtube]

The New York Tolkien Conference is gearing up nicely and offering suggestions for your visit (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (guests so far include Donato Giancola, Kristine Larsen and Nicholas Birns). [June 15]

The incredibly successful third rendition of the Lord of the Rings musical (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is obviously leaving its mark - by moving to Chicago (Si apre in una nuova finestra). Tickets are already available (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [What’s on Stage; Chicago Shakespeare Theater]

The Hobbit (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is on in Pittsburgh (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (Oct-Nov).

For all event (Si apre in una nuova finestra)s (Si apre in una nuova finestra) 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

Oronzo Cilli, author of Tolkien’s Library and co-curator of the Italian Tolkien exhibition on tour right now, has a blog post on his recent unearthing (Si apre in una nuova finestra) of the reading of Tolkien’s Notion Club Papers at Stonyhurst.

Another first generation Tolkienist has left us: Richard Plotz, founder of the Tolkien Society of America (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in 1965, has passed away [Obituary (Si apre in una nuova finestra); David Bratman (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

The Tolkien Society has announced another publication: Tolkien and the Gothic (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [via Luna Press Publishing (Si apre in una nuova finestra)] - and its award winners (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Germanic Heroes, Courage, and Fate: Northern Narratives of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Legendarium by Richard Z. Gallant is now available with Walking Tree Publishers (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

John D. Rateliff has a few thoughts on invented languagues (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

After a break of almost seven years Jason Fisher has reactivated his blog on Tolkien’s uncle Wilfred (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Lingwë - Musings of a Fish]

Another great blog has returned after more than two years: Hail and Farewell (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Too Many Books and Never Enough]

A topic and a response worth reading: Nine Tolkien Scholars Respond to Charles W. Mills’s “The Wretched of Middle-Earth: An Orkish Manifesto” (Si apre in una nuova finestra)[Mythlore]

When the city of Prague was asking for suggestions on what street names to use for city development the Tolkien fans came to its aid - it was all about Rohan (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - or rather, Rohanské nábřeží (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Google Translate] The petition is ongoing, h/t to the lovely people of Tolkien Con (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Research on sound aesthetics on conlangs is ongoing as well - and you can participate (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Stuart Lee’s chapter on the 1955-1956 radio dramatization of LotR is freely available (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (first published in Great Tales Never End (Si apre in una nuova finestra)).

Douglas A. Anderson has an interesting piece on Richard Adams on THE SILMARILLION (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

David Bratman has a few choice things to say on Nick Groom, Tolkien in the Twenty-First Century: The Meaning of Middle-Earth Today (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Mirial Ellis has some thoughts on Éowyn, Faramir and the Houses That Healed Them (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The Tolkien Society Outstanding Contribution Award Winner, John D. Rateliff, gave his talk at last year’s Oxonmoot - Writing to Inklings (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Youtube]

According to some people Led Zeppelin seem to have been Middle-earth enthusiasts for quite some time during their career - and they frequently get it wrong. Like this one: The Story Behind “Over the Hills and Far Away” by Led Zeppelin and How It Was Inspired by a Tolkien Poem (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [American Songwriter]
The poem was only published in 1983 with the Book of Last Tales, Part 1 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), and unless you can show me proof Robert Plant was a close friend of CJRT this ain’t working.

Franchise and Merchandise

The King has died - Bernhard Hill passed away (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [BBC]

The upcoming ‘cozy’ game Tales of the Shire has a trailer and a website (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The producer of the 1968 BBC Hobbit radio adaptation (Si apre in una nuova finestra), John Powell, has passed away (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Guardian]

The Oxford Student has a piece on book’s covers and particularly The Lord of the Rings (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

FYI:‘The Rings of Power’ Showrunners Sign New Amazon Deal, Begin Early Work on Season 3 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Hollywood Reporter]; a great interview with Charlotte Brandström (Si apre in una nuova finestra), lead director on season 2. [Drama Quarterly]

Embracer, the group that bought Middle-earth Enterprises (Si apre in una nuova finestra), continues on its course of consolidation (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Game Informer]

The twenty year anniversary of Return of the King’s sweep at the Oscars has seen many posts, see: “Too Many Endings, Man”: How The Lord of the Rings Conquered the Oscars (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Vanity Fair]

Hobbiton’s Bagshot Row has won an architectural award (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [NZ Herald]

You may have seen the Unexpected Parody (Si apre in una nuova finestra) of the Hobbit film trilogy eleven years ago? The Hillywood Show recently published a Behind the Scenes (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Inter alia & Back in the day

You know that Tolkien has long since become mainstream when a Tory minister resigns using his words (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

An excellent piece (Si apre in una nuova finestra) on how censorship really works - and is, in fact, most of the times self-censorship (in connection with the Hugo Awards issue) [Reactor] See also David Bratman’s recollection of how the Hugo Awards worked thirty years ago (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

An original model of the USS Enterprise has resurfaced (Si apre in una nuova finestra). Even better, it has been authenticated by some of the best people behind the camera.

Left to right: Daren Dochterman (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Gary Kerr (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Mike Okuda (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Denise Okuda (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Doug Drexler (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Jules Urbach (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Rod Roddenberry (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Gene Kozicki (Si apre in una nuova finestra), John Goodson (Si apre in una nuova finestra), and Brian Chanes (Si apre in una nuova finestra). © Doug Drexler (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

I do not mind at all that film memorabilia are being auctioned off decades after they have played any role, like an ‘unbound and incomplete’ manuscript of Star Wars IV left behind by Harrison Ford in a rental back then (Si apre in una nuova finestra). But am I the only one who finds these Age of Celebrity statements creepy?

“It’s got his DNA on it. It might even have [Ford’s] sweat on it,” Sarah Torode, co-owner of Excalibur Auctions, said during the auction. [Source: Deadline (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

Way more entertaining to buy - imho - are some chicken stilts (Si apre in una nuova finestra) used in Star Wars. And although I do not usually like to share trillion dollar companies, well, this fan-including video is pretty hilarious (Si apre in una nuova finestra). A ‘Star Wars’ Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise (Si apre in una nuova finestra)[Hollywood Reporter] And a lovely look back with Carrie Fisher (Si apre in una nuova finestra) from the BBC.

An excellent interview with John Plotz “on Earthsea, Anarchism, and Ursula K. Le Guin (Si apre in una nuova finestra)” [PublicBooks.org (Si apre in una nuova finestra)] - and a great homage to her from The Itch (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

If you are into weird af films - BORDERLANDS (Si apre in una nuova finestra) seems to be a good fun fit [Youtube] (h/t to PhantaNews (Si apre in una nuova finestra))

A very good write-up by Adam Whitehead on Marvel’s issues and plans (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [The Wertzone]

Harry Potter fans will rejoice: all seven novels will be done as full-cast audio books (Si apre in una nuova finestra). And this write-up on “Harry Pottourism” is quite excellent (Si apre in una nuova finestra). Dennis Wise has the link to a review on two books discussing J.K. Rowling’s legacy (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Mythlore] The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO made clear that production of the Harry Potter series is aiming for a release in 2026 (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Hollywood Reporter]

Fans could have had three movies instead of thirteen episodes (Si apre in una nuova finestra) for the end of Game of Thrones [Variety]

Neil Gaiman is auctioning off part of his collection - and an amazing 126 pieces of art these are (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Fine Books Magazine] These are the results (Si apre in una nuova finestra). And Anthony Daniels is (Si apre in una nuova finestra), too (C-3PO, that is). [Hollywood Reporter]

Star Trek’s Discovery has seen some special recognition: a Toronto production stage is now named after it (Si apre in una nuova finestra). And Sweden played a Trek theme when joining NATO - there is a running gag involved, obviously (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

It may sound like fun and giggles but medieval murders in Oxford (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is an excellent example of showing you what really happened in 14th century Oxenforde.

A Pratchett / Discworld RPG is in the making (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [TerryPratchett.com (Si apre in una nuova finestra)] The inaugural Pratchett Prize (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has been awarded - and a very special book is coming out in November (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Quite an interesting read, with a nod to Tolkien: Folklore is philosophy (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Aeon.co (Si apre in una nuova finestra)] (h/t Taz Cooper)

Always good to see how relevant and important the support of children’s literature is: The Indigenous Literacy Foundation wins $725,000 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [ABC.net.au (Si apre in una nuova finestra)]

If you need more suggestions on what to read the New York Times has its best from 2000-2023 (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

You may find this useful: A guide to finally getting into Brandon Sanderson books (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Polygon]

An outstanding career: John Williams Faces His Legacy: 54 Oscar Noms, ‘Star Wars’ Mistakes and Changing the Movies Forever (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Variety]

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As this is 2024 I would like to note that this newsletter is 100% human-made, curated by me, Marcel R. Bülles. This also holds true for everything I write with my blog and here at Steady. Also, the average time of curating this newsletter ranges from 12-16 hours.