Tolkien in General

[Merry]

Here's a good thing to read, against the critics, for the Professor's birthday:

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/societ ... 7120238974

[MICHKA]

Thank you.

[Merry]

Here's an essay from TOR.n about whether Christopher Tolkien is being unreasonable in not releasing more of his father's work to filmmakers:

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/01 ... -his-work/

I thought this was reasonble and I liked the conclusion.

[MICHKA]

D'une part je comprends l'attitude de Chistopher Tolkien qui veut respecter la mémoire des écrits de son père dans leur teneur véritable, l'idéologie de ce monde merveilleux inventé, créé, et préserver le mystère , le super travail effectué. D'un autre côté le cinéma est quand même une technique qui ouvre des portes à beaucoup de gens et permet de se faire une idée plus facile à voir que certains écrits ardus à lire, et en même temps donne l'envie d'en savoir plus ; c'est un peu ce qui s'est passé avec ''Le seigneur des anneaux'': combien de personnes se sont arrachés ce livre après les films de P.Jackson? bien sûr on peut regretter les grands effets spéciaux et l'interprétation de plusieurs épisodes à la manière du cinéaste, mais que ce soit un chef d'oeuvre ou pas, cela a propagé l'enthousiasme de milliers de spectateurs et engendré un grand nombre de fans de Tolkien. D'ailleurs la mine d'or de tous les romans d'Heroïc -Fantasy démarre de là. Ce que je déplore c'est qu'un sujet comme le Silmarillion aurait pu voir le jour sur écran! mais, maintenant qui serait capable de le rendre assez magique et resplendissant, honorable ,estimable, vénérable, rendant hommage à son auteur?

[Merry]

I guess it comes down to the classic tension between quality and quantity--does it matter if a lot of people see the work if it isn't a quality representation? I wonder if Christopher would release The Sil if he or his representative had some creative control?

[MICHKA]

Ce serait sans doute une bonne solution, mais je ne crois pas qu'il soit intéressé ,ni financièrement, ni artistiquement parlant. J'ai l'impression qu'à son âge il préfère la paix chez soi, la tranquillité d'esprit; il s'est déjà assez investi dans sa lutte pour l'intégrité des romans de son père, non?

[Merry]

Yes, probably so.

[Philipa]

I didn't know where to put this but I created this little sign today. Take if from someone whose lived a very, very long time.

[Merry]

Tomorrow is a significant day for those who love The Professor: a new Tolkien book will be released! Read more about it here:

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2013/05 ... -may-23rd/

As the article says, this is unusual, since JRRT had expressed his reservations about the Arthurian legend. Will you purchase this book?

[MICHKA]

merci de cette nouvelle intéressante, je suis très curieuse de savoir de quoi il s'agit, ce sera évidemment une surprise excellente

[Merry]

The article says that there is some link with the Arthurian legend and The Sil, so that might be interesting to explore!

Philipa, I just saw your creation from April: my little laptop never produced it for me, but I'm accessing with another computer today. Very nice!

[Lindariel]

Merry, my copy of "The Fall of Arthur" just arrived yesterday. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what The Professor has done with this story. I've been an Arthur enthusiast for a long time, particularly interested in the many different interpretations of the story -- from "The Once and Future King" to Mary Stewart's Merlin/Arthur series, to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series, to Stephen Lawhead's Taliesin/Merlin/Arthur series. This book is on the top of the stack I have saved up for summer reading!

[Merry]

Let us know what you think!

[MICHKA]

oh, oui!!!s'il vous plaît!

[Lindariel]

I've only had a chance to check out the table of contents and flip through the book so far, but Merry I know you'll be pleased to hear that The Professor's long poem is written in the same style as The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun.

As far as the connection to The Silmarillion is concerned, a quick glance indicates that The Professor may have been linking the legendary Isle of Avalon to the island of Tol Eressea off the coast of the Undying Lands. Apparently, in earlier versions of the tales that ultimately became The Silmarillion, Professor Tolkien called Tol Eressea "Avallon." Interesting, yes?