Dimitra Fimi
Welcome to my personal website. I teach and research on:
- The history and evolution of fantasy literature
- The uses of myth and folklore in literary texts
- The interaction of literature and intellectual history
- The adaptation of literary works for the screen
- The mutual influences of literature and visual culture
News
30 October 2009: Festival in the Shire gains Welsh Media attention!
The
Welsh media have shown great interest in Festival
in the Shire! Yesterday's Western Mail included the article
"Tolkien
festival to be held in Middle Wales" in which I was quoted, together
with the Mark Faith, the man behind the whole Festival.
Also, yesterday evening I was interviewed about Festival in the Shire on the BBC Radio Wales programme Good Evening Wales. I had the opportunity to talk about Tolkien's Welsh connections and inspiration and share the excitement about the Festival next August. You can listen to my interview via "listen again" on the BBC Radio Wales website, or via the link below.
- To read the Western Mail article about Festival in the Shire click here
- To listen to my BBC Radio Wales interview click here
- For more information about Festival in the Shire click here
22 October 2009: Festival in the Shire!
A
new exciting Tolkien event has just been announced! Festival
in the Shire is a conference, exhibition and fair celebrating themes
inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien, which will be held in mid-Wales, in Machynlleth's
historic Y Plas house and grounds between 13 and 15 August 2010.
Festival in the Shire aspires to be one of the most comprehensive events ever held for the fans of J.R.R. Tolkien, with a conference, a collector’s exposition of original art, rare books and memorabilia as well as a large festival with stalls and entertainment. Tolkien literature enthusiasts will have the opportunity to delve deeper into Tolkien's work with a three day conference on 'Welsh influences on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien'. This will feature internationally respected speakers such as Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger, Douglas Anderson, John Garth, Colin Duriez and Jane Chance. I am very excited to be part of this very distinguished list of speakers!
The exhibition will showcase rare first editions of Tolkien's books, original art and other Tolkien artefacts. Many of these pieces are from private collections and unlikely to be shown again. In addition to displaying their paintings some of the famous artists who have illustrated Tolkien's books will be present at this event and attendees will have the exciting opportunity to meet them and discuss their work. Artists attending include Roger Garland, Ted Nasmith, Jef Murray, Peter Pracownik and Ruth Lacon.
- For more information about Festival in the Shire please click here
- For a list of special guests to participate in Festival in the Shire please visit this link
- To register for Festival in the Shire click here
20 October 2009: Tolkien, Race and Cultural History shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Award 2009
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I
was delighted to find out that my book Tolkien,
Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits has been shortlisted
for the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award for 2009.
The Katharine Briggs Folklore Award is an annual book prize established by the Folklore Society to encourage the study of folklore and to commemorate the life and work of the distinguished scholar Katharine Mary Briggs (1898-1980; Society president 1969-1972). For the purposes of the award, 'folklore studies' are interpreted broadly, to include all aspects of traditional and popular culture, narrative, beliefs, customs and folk arts, including studies with a literary, anthropological, linguistic, sociological or geographical bias.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday 10 November 2009 after the Katharine Briggs Lecture which will be delivered by Professor John Widdowson, former president of The Folklore Society. Needless to say I am very pleased and honoured to have been shortlisted!
- To find out more about the Folklore Society please click here
- For more information about the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award please click here
15 October 2009: Clash of the Gods - Thanks!
Thanks to all of you who sent e-mails with kind words about "Clash of the Gods": I am pleased you found it informative and engaging. I have still only seen bits and pieces of the three episodes I was in (Beowulf, The Lord of the Rings and Thor) but I should have the DVDs with the complete episodes soon! Meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures and links:
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22 September 2009: Clash of the Gods
A
new series on world mythologies has been airing in the USA History
Channel since late August 2009. The series started with Classical Greek
Myths (Zeus, Medusa, Hercules, and others) and the next few episodes are now
going to focus on myths and legends from Northern Europe: Old Norse, Anglo-Saxon
and the invented mythology of J.R.R. Tolkien. I contributed in these three episodes,
the first of which is scheduled to air next Monday. The filming took place last
spring and I haven't seen any of the finished episodes, so I am very excited!
Here is the schedule for those of you in the USA:
All episodes should be available to watch online (only for USA residents) on the History Channel website as soon as they have aired. Also, preview videos are regularly posted on the History Channel facebook page (available worldwide). If you'd like to see photos from the series, have a look at the production company's (KPI TV) website and KPI's scrapbook. |
13 September 2009: Talk on Tolkien and Wales at Pentyrch
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On Friday 25 September at 7:30pm at Pentyrch Village Hall at Pentyrch, Cardiff, I will give a talk on "Tolkien's Welsh Inspirations, Language and Places" for the Pentyrch and District Local History Society. Everyone wellcome!
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31 August 2009: Classical Education Forum
Many
of you will have heard about the closure of all Humanities courses at the Cardiff
Centre for Lifelong Learning last July. These developments left a great number
of students disappointed but now there is a new educational institution to answer
the demand for courses in Classics, Literature, Art History and many other Humanities
disciplines. My colleague Liz Mayor, formerly associate lecturer in Latin at
the Centre for Lifelong Learning, has founded the Classical
Education Forum, with three venues in Cardiff, in Whitchurch, Thornhill
and Llandaff North. The Classical
Education Forum is currently offering 38 courses, dayschools and trips across
many Humanities disciplines. I am taking part in this new venture by offering
two 10-week courses and taking part in the collaborative teaching of a Day School:
- Filming by the book: Three Classic Novels on Screen (10-week course)
- Fantasy Literature: From Victorian Fairy Tales to Modern Imaginary Worlds (10-week course)
- Saturnalia and All That (day school)
The Classical Education Forum has generated some publicity in local news, including articles in the Western Mail and in the South Wales Echo.
- To browse the courses and day schools offered by the Classical Education Forum click here
- To read the relevant article in the South Wales Echo click here
1 August 2009: Reviews of Tolkien, Race and Cultural History
In
the last few months a number of reviews of my book Tolkien,
Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits have appeared in
various journals and magazines. I was delighted to see the latest one: a review
by Jon Barnes for the Times Literary Supplement. Here are some highlights
of the latest reviews:
"Dimitra Fimi's Tolkien, Race and Cultural History traces the
evolution of the legendarium with admirable care... This scholarly yet approachable
book is filled with...surprising fragments."
Jon Barnes, Times Literary Supplement
"Fimi’s study is well worth reading for the specialist as well as
(or even more so) for the general reader. The author brings together (often
for the first time) relevant research from cultural history and lays out her
arguments fair and square... Fimi’s approach...forces us to reconsider
some well-beloved clichés. Thus, it will no longer be possible to talk
naïvely about the linguistic inspiration of Tolkien’s fiction without
adding at least some qualifying remarks... Fimi’s book has given us some
answers but has also opened up some avenues for future research. What more can
we ask for?"
Thomas Honegger, Tolkien Studies
"No one doubts Tolkien's originality, but Fimi's book allows us to glimpse
a kind of creative logic through which his legendarium almost had to
happen: a climate welcoming of fairies and folklore; romantic quests of national
mythologies; a general interest in language and linguistic invention... Fimi's
book reads so well that it's hard to believe that it's an academic tome..."
Henry Gee, Mallorn
10 July 2009: Tolkien Studies Vol. 6
The sixth volume of the journal Tolkien Studies has just been published. As always it contains a great selection of scholarly articles, shorter notes and book reviews on many different aspects of Tolkien's creativity. The leading article is a very insightful discussion of Tolkien as a literary crtaftsman by John D. Rateliff. The journal also includes a previously unpublished note by J.R.R. Tolkien on “Fate and Free Will”, edited by Carl Hostetter. In the same volume Thomas Honegger has reviewed my recently published book Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits. |
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15 May 2009: The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún has now been released!
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The new Tolkien book I mentioned earlier on this year (see 30 January 2009) has now been released! Tolkien's The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is a verse retelling of the Völsunga saga, which he originally composed in the 1920s and 1930s. The book was edited by Tolkien's son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, and it is bound to become an important text to introduce students to Old Norse literature and culture. |
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún will also be released as an audio book in August, read by the Scottish multi-award winning actor Brian Cox. For "behind the scenes" video clips from the recordings, as well as more information on the book, watch the promotional video below.
In the light of this new publication the official Tolkien Estate website has been updated. It now includes:
- a prose synopsis of the story Tolkien narrates in The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, written by Christopher Tolkien
- a brief presentation of the book and
- a few resources on the legend
Book Trailer |
Promotional Video |
30 April 2009: Kenyan women's Lysistrata protest
The
BBC reported yesterday that women's activist groups in Kenya have slapped their
partners with a week-long sex ban in protest over the infighting plaguing the
national unity government. Following this story I was interviewed by the BBC
Radio Wales' programme Good
Evening Wales on the first anti-violence protest by banning sex ever recorded
in literary sources: Aristophanes' play Lysistrata of 411BC.
- To listen to this short interview click here.
- To read the BBC story on the Kenyan women's sex ban click here.
9 April 2009: Exploring Tolkien: Online Tolkien Course runs again - last time this academic year
My
online Tolkien course Exploring
Tolkien: There and Back Again will run again for the last time this
academic year, starting on 27 April 2009. There are still a few places left
so if you want to enrol hurry up!
As a student on my online course you will have the opportunity to explore Tolkien’s Middle-earth from your home, in your own time. We will examine the vast mythology behind The Lord of the Rings and you will gain a thorough knowledge of Tolkien’s fiction and its creation by focusing on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin. The course focuses on the northern European mythologies that inspired Tolkien’s Middle-earth, especially the creative uses of his sources in Old Norse mythology, Celtic myths and legends, Classical mythology, Shakespeare, and the literary tradition. You will also learn about Tolkien’s ‘invented languages’, their origins and sources, and you will be able to examine Tolkien’s work in its historical context through intellectual history, focusing on the ‘races’ and cultures of Middle-earth.
My online students will also have the opportunity to participate in a lively Discussion Board, which I will be moderating, and they will have full access to Cardiff University’s electronic resources (including such electronic journals as Tolkien Studies and Mythlore and a great number of e-book and reference collections). For those students who are already enrolled in academic programmes, there is the option of doing this course for credits to be used towards their Higher Education Qualifications.
I am also very happy to announce that the Centre for Lifelong Learning can now accept your enrolment and payment completely online!
- To find out more about my Tolkien online course please visit the main web page of the course.
- We also have a Frequently Asked Questions webpage (including details on how the course works, how to enrol, reduced fees, etc).
- See also an outline of the topics covered in the 10 Units of the course.
- I am happy to answer any questions you may have! Please contact me via the contact form here.
7 April 2009: Hobbit Songs and Rhymes: The Folklore of Middle-earth
I
was recently asked by lotrplaza.com
to contribute an article to their new Scholars Forum on a Tolkien-related topic.
My recently published book Tolkien,
and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits includes an important part
on Tolkien's knowledge of folklore as an academic discipline, and his use of
folklore material, especially in relation to fairylore. However, in the last
few years I had accumulated interesting examples and ideas on the folklore of
the hobbits that did not quite make it into my book. The invitation from lotrplaza.com
provided a great opportunity to communicate this material. My article, entitled:
"Hobbit
Songs and Rhymes: The Folklore of Middle-earth" was published a few
days ago on the lotrplaza.com Scholars Forum. It was a real joy to write and
share!
30 March 2009: Which Lewis in Oxford?
Lewis
Carroll, C.S. Lewis or Robbie Lewis? An Oxford-academic-cum-fantasy-writer,
whose “muse” is called Alice; an elderly don (specialist on Lewis
Carroll) with secret vices; a girl who literally goes “through the looking
glass” (killed by a Persian mirror); and a role-playing-games-obsessed
teenager; all figured in episode 1 of the new series of Lewis
on ITV, titled “The Allegory of Love” (taken from one of C.S. Lewis’s
best-known academic works). Expectedly, the episode included ample references
to the Inklings, especially C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, together with (real
and imagined) trivia about them, mostly coming from the mouth of DS James Hathaway,
a much more sophisticated character than his DI Robert Lewis who doesn’t
have any time for this “historical fancy stuff”. The episode –
as is often the case with this series – was a mixture of literary references,
plausible and implausible plot threads, and clever lines to illustrate the newly-established
relationship between Lewis and Hathaway, a kind of inverted Morse – Lewis
duo. Perhaps the best moments of this programme are those that evoke the atmosphere
of Oxford, sometimes overtly intellectual and elitist, others haunted and disturbingly
dark, and in this episode fertile ground for the imagination of some of the
best fantasy writers. The question of why Oxford has generated so many authors
of fantasy literature continues to fascinate!
17 February 2009: Do you know your classics?
This
morning the Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, told BBC
Radio 4's Today Programme that it is becoming increasingly difficult to
teach English Literature because students do not know the Bible or classical
mythology. Having encountered very similar problems when teaching classic works
like those by Shakespeare or Milton, but also more modern and popular genres
like fantasy and modern poetry, this semester I started teaching a new course
that is designed to introduce classical mythology to students and also to explore
the way the mythical themes have been used in English literature, from medieval
to modern. The title of the course is Classical
Myths in English Literature, and it is open both to undergraduates and to
adult learners. I am also working on writing this course for online delivery
so watch this space for a relevant announcement!
Following the poet laureate's comments, BBC Radio Wales' programme Good Evening Wales interviewed me on my experience of students' knowledge of the classics and the Bible.
- To listen to this short interview click here.
- To read a report on Andrew Motion's comments on the BBC website click here.
- For more information on my course Classical Myths in English Literature and all my other courses see under Teaching.
The painting is "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli, housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
3 February 2009: Tolkien at Kalamazoo
The International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo at Western Michigan University, is one of the oldest and most prestigious conferences on Medieval Studies in the world. The conference is now in its forty-fourth year, and for the past nine years has featured sessions on Tolkien, including papers and round-table discussions. This year, the conference will take place between the 7th and 10th of May 2009, and the programme has just been made available here. I will be taking part in the roundtable discussion on Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories”, presided by Douglas A. Anderson and Verlyn Flieger, on Saturday 9th May.
30 January 2009: New Tolkien Book: The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún
After a long and pretty nasty illness, I am back online to report - somewhat belatedly - some really exciting news!
A
new Tolkien book is scheduled to be released in May 2009. HarperCollins will
publish Tolkien's retelling of the Völsunga saga, an Old Norse legend of
bravery, dragon-slaying, treachery and love. Tolkien's retelling is a work in
verse on which he worked in the 1920s and 1930s. The book is to be titled The
Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, and it will be edited and introduced
by Tolkien’s son Christopher.
Tolkien was fascinated by Old Norse myth and legend, and the Völsunga saga left its traces in his creative work, especially in the character of Túrin Turambar, whose story was told in full in the recently published The Children of Húrin. In my online course Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again (already started now, but due to run again in April) I devote a whole Unit on Tolkien's creative uses of Old Norse mythological material, focusing on the Volsunga saga. Tolkien scholars have known for a long time of the existence of Tolkien's verse retelling of the legend of Sigurd and the Volsungs, and its publication is eagerly awaited.
- For more information on the new Tolkien book, including speculations on its contents and length, visit the TolkienLibrary.com.
The Völsunga saga has been translated many times and there are numerous translations available to buy. However, one of the early translations of the saga is now in the public domain and you can access, download and read it free of charge. This is the 1888 translation by by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson.
- For a html version of the translation visit the Sacred Texts Archive
- For a pdf version of the translation visit this link
The photograph of the carving of Sigurd slaying the dragon Fafnir comes from the 12th-century wooden panel of the Hylestad Stav Church, in Setesdal, Norway.
7 January 2009: Exploring Tolkien: Online Tolkien Course runs again
First
of all Happy New Year to all!
My online Tolkien course Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again will run again for the second time this academic year, starting on 19 January 2009. There are still a few places left so if you want to enrol hurry up!
As a student on my online course you will have the opportunity to explore Tolkien’s Middle-earth from your home, in your own time. We will examine the vast mythology behind The Lord of the Rings and you will gain a thorough knowledge of Tolkien’s fiction and its creation by focusing on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin. The course focuses on the northern European mythologies that inspired Tolkien’s Middle-earth, especially the creative uses of his sources in Old Norse mythology, Celtic myths and legends, Classical mythology, Shakespeare, and the literary tradition. You will also learn about Tolkien’s ‘invented languages’, their origins and sources, and you will be able to examine Tolkien’s work in its historical context through intellectual history, focusing on the ‘races’ and cultures of Middle-earth.
My online students will also have the opportunity to participate in a lively Discussion Board, which I will be moderating, and they will have full access to Cardiff University’s electronic resources (including such electronic journals as Tolkien Studies and Mythlore and a great number of e-book and reference collections). For those students who are already enrolled in academic programmes, there is the option of doing this course for credits to be used towards their Higher Education Qualifications.
I am also very happy to announce that the Centre for Lifelong Learning can now accept your enrolment and payment completely online!
- To find out more about my Tolkien online course please visit the main web page of the course.
- We also have a Frequently Asked Questions webpage (including details on how the course works, how to enrol, reduced fees, etc).
- See also an outline of the topics covered in the 10 Units of the course.
- I am happy to answer any questions you may have! Please contact me via the contact form here.
10 December 2008: New Choices just published
The
Centre for Lifelong Learning at Cardiff University has just launched its Spring/Summer
2009 programme of part-time courses for undergraduates and adult learners in
the new Choices prospectus. The new Spring/Summer 2009 programme kicks
off the New Year with almost 300 courses listed taking place in 27 locations
across south east Wales.
The new courses I will be teaching next semester are:
- Exploring Middle-earth: Myth, Language and Ideology in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fiction
- Classical Myths in English Literature
- Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again (Online)
You can browse through all the courses in the new Choices prospectus at the Centre's website, or, alternatively, if you live in the UK you can order a hard copy of the prospectus by clicking here. If you are an undergraduate at Cardiff University you can attend any of these courses as part of your degree. My online course on Tolkien is open to undergraduates and adult learners from anywhere in the world. For more information on my courses please contact me via the contact form here.
3 December 2008: Book Launch

On
Friday 28 November at 6pm the official launch of my book, Tolkien, Race
and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits, took place at the Centre
for Lifelong Learning, Cardiff University. Dr Juliette Wood introduced me and
I then had the opportunity to talk briefly about my book, my research questions,
and the need for a serious re-evaluation of "genre" fiction, including
fantasy. A cheese and wine reception followed, and the attendees had a chance
to flick through the book and get my signature (not as elegant or as valuable
as Tolkien's, but I did my best!) It was great to see so many collueagues, as
well as former and current students at the book launch! Thanks to all who attended!
Read
a detailed report of the book launch at TheOneRing.net website
28 November 2008: Radion Interview with Roy Noble at BBC Radio Wales
Earlier today I was interviewed on the Roy Noble show at BBC Radio Wales and answered questions about my new book, including the links of Tolkien's work with Wales and the Welsh language. To listen to this short interview click here.

24 November 2008: Tolkien, Race and Cultural History
published
My book Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits has just been published by Palgrave Macmillan. My book aspires to be a major new contribution to Tolkien studies, as it aims to contextualise Tolkien's work, bring to light neglected aspects of Tolkien's imaginative vision and addresses key features of Tolkien's creativity. For more detailed information on the book, including a table of contents and a free sample chapter, please click here.
My book will be given an official
launch at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, Cardiff University, on Friday
28 November 2008 at 6pm. Also, an article
in The Western Mail, published this morning, has delved
into the ways my book explores Tolkien's linguistic vision, and especially Tolkien's
appreciation and creative use of the Welsh language.
22 September 2008: Exploring Tolkien: Online Tolkien
Course
For the third academic year I will be teaching an on-line course on
Tolkien taught in 10 weekly units, via the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Cardiff
University. The course is titled Exploring
Tolkien: There and Back Again, and it will run three times during the 2008-2009
academic year, starting on 6 October 2008, 19 January 2009 and 27 April 2009
respectively. The students will be able to explore Tolkien’s Middle-earth
from their home, in their own time. They will examine the vast mythology behind
The Lord of the Rings and gain a thorough knowledge of Tolkien’s
fiction and its creation by focusing on The Hobbit, The Lord of
the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin.
The course will focus on the northern European mythologies that inspired Tolkien’s
Middle-earth, especially the creative uses of his sources in Old Norse mythology,
Celtic myths and legends Classical mythology, Shakespeare and the literary tradition.
The students of this online course will also learn about Tolkien’s ‘invented
languages’, their origins and sources, and they will examine Tolkien’s
work in its historical context through intellectual history, focusing on the
‘races’ and cultures of Middle-earth. My online students will also
have the opportunity to participate in a lively Discussion Board which I will
be moderating and they will have full access to Cardiff University's electronic
resources (including such electronic journals as Tolkien Studies and
Mythlore and a great number of e-book and reference collections). For
those students who are already enrolled in academic programmes, there is the
option of doing this course for credits to be used towards their Higher Education
Qualifications.To find out more please look at Online Courses under Teaching.
20 September 2008: Book Cover of Tolkien, Race and Cultural History
is now online
The dust jacket for my forthcoming book Tolkien, Race and Cultural
History is now online on the Palgrave
Macmillan website. The photo figuring on the book cover is of my own design,
which I created by manipulating a photograph I took recently of Moseley Bog.
I chose this "kaleidoscopic" view of Moseley Bog, one of young Tolkien's
favourite playgrounds close to Sarehole Mill in Moseley, Birmingham, as an appropriate
theme for the book cover as Tolkien often acknowledged this landscape as a source
of inspiration and also he was fond of drawing kaleidoscopic heraldic designs
and emblems for the Elves and Men of the First Age (see especially examples
published in Picture by J.R.R. Tolkien). For more information on the
book click on Publications.
15 September 2008: The Ring Goes Ever On: Proceedings of the Tolkien
2005 Conference
The proceedings of Tolkien 2005: The Ring Goes Ever On, a conference
organized by the Tolkien Society to celebrate 50 years of The Lord of the
Rings which took place at Aston University, Birmingham, on 11-15 August
2005, will be published at the end of September 2008. The proceedings will be
published in two volumes, and will contain eleven
sections with papers by 95
authors, including Rhona Beare, Marjorie Burns, Colin Duriez, John Garth,
Robin Anne Reid, Tom Shippey and Anna Smol. I have contributed the paper: “Material
Culture and Materiality in Middle-earth: Tolkien and Archaeology”. For
more information, including how to order the proceedings, click here.
15 August 2008:

The fifth volume of the journal Tolkien Studies has just been published.
As always it contains a great selection of scholarly articles, shorter notes
and book reviews on many different aspects of Tolkien's creativity. The leading
article is a masteful contribution by Brian Rosebury on "Revenge and Moral
Judgement in Tolkien". The journal also includes two pieces by J.R.R Tolkien:
"Chaucer as a Philologist: The Reeve's Tale", a paper read at a meeting
of the Philological Society in Oxford in 1931; and "The Reeve's Tale",
a version of Chaucer's tale prepared for a recitation at the yearly "Summer
Diversions" in Oxford (1939).
In the same volume I have reviewed Ross Smith's book Inside Language: Linguistic
and Aesthetic Theory in Tolkien (see under Publications).
For a full table of contents of Tolkien Studies Vol. 5, click here.
Buy Tolkien Studies 5 from Amazon.
14 July 2008: Fantasy Dragons
In Episode 2 of the current series of University Challenge, Corpus
Christi College, Oxford successfully answered the following three questions
posed by Jeremy Paxman:
• Kalessin, who transports Ged and Arren to Roke is the oldest dragon
in works by Ursula Le Guin set in which world?
• In Tolkien’s The Silmarillion which dragon is described
as the first of the Urulóki, the fire-drakes of the North?
• In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone what is the
name of the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon that Hagrid illegally breeds?
Do you know the answers?
5 July 2008: Choices Online
The new Autumn 2008 programme offered by Cardiff University’s
Centre for Lifelong Learning is now online here.
A hard copy of Choices will be available soon. To see my courses for
the academic year 2008-2009 go to Teaching.
1
July 2008: Tolkien on Fairy-Stories
A new expanded edition of Tolkien's essay "On Fairy-Stories" has
just been published, edited by Douglas Anderson and Verlyn Flieger. The book
includes previously unpublished versions of the essay, rejected passages, as
well as a critical study of the history and writing of the text. Buy
this book from Amazon.
1 June 2008: Space, Time, Machine and Monster
A science fiction, fantasy and horror conference, organised by Academi,
will take place on Saturday 21 June 2008. Space,
Time, Machine and Monster: A Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Conference
for the Valleys will be held at the University of Glamorgan, Treforest,
10:00am - 4:30pm (tickets £5 / £3 concessions, available on the
door only). I will give a half-hour talk on "Tolkien’s Science Fiction
Experiments". Download the conference programme here.
25
March 2008: Tales Before Narnia
Following the successful Tales
Before Tolkien,
Douglas Anderson has now edited a wonderful collection of tales that inspired
C.S. Lewis, entitled Tales
Before Narnia: The Roots of Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction
.
This delightful anthology includes stories by Roger Lancelyn Green, E. Nesbit,
Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Dickens, Kenneth Grahame, G. K. Chesterton,
and George MacDonald.
15 January 2008: Tolkien, Race and Cultural History
My book Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits
will be published by Palgrave Macmillan in Autumn 2008. For more information
see Publications.
30
November 2007: Old Norse Made New
A collection of essays entitled Old Norse Made New: Essays on the Post-Medieval
Reception of Old Norse Literature and Culture, edited by David Clark and
Carl Phelpstead, has been published by the Viking Society for Northern Research.
The essays investigate the reinvention of Old Norse-Icelandic literature and
culture by writers in English from the eighteenth century to the present day,
from Thomas Gray to Tolkien and beyond. You can find a presentation of the book
here. I have
contributed the essay: "Tolkien and Old Norse Antiquity: Real and Romantic
Links in Material Culture" (see Publications).
Buy
this book from Amazon.







