The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post

Child of the 7th Age · 01-09-2003, 08:41 AM

I totally agree that many of the guides have inaccuracies and can not be relied on. I have the ones by Day, Foster, and Tyler, but have found mistakes in all of them. The most reliable, in my mind, is not a print guide but the on-line Encyclopedia of Arda.

I recently subscribed to the Tolkien Collector and was surprised to receive a personal note from Christina Scull that she and her husband Wayne Hammond are now working on a guide which will take into account not only Silm and Hobbit and LotR, but also UT and HoMe. They are long time scholar/librarians and I am really looking forward to seeing that book when they finish.

But when you talk about Tolkien scholars, you should be looking at a lot more than guides. I do agree that no scholar can replace the perceptions that you personally have when you read the books, but I think it is equally short sighted to dismiss all insight that you can get by hearing what others think. Isn't that what we do hear at the Downs? Put forward our own opinions and ideas, and also try and learn from the perceptions of others.

I am not particularly enamored with either Day or Martinez. Any list of "best" scholars is totally subjective, but here are my favorite picks: Douglas Anderson, Wayne Hammond, T. A. Shippey, and Verlyn Flieger. If you're into languages, which I'm not, I would also add Carl Hostetter. And for a Catholic perspective, see Joseph Pearce.

Douglas Anderson has done a lot of bibliography and, more recently, did an updated edition of the Annotated Hobbit. The marginal comments are both amusing and illuminating. I really would recommend this.

Wayne Hammond is a librarian by profession (yeah, librarians, I'm one too!). His most recent publication is J.R.R. Tolkien, Artist and Illustrator, which I really love. The illustrations are gorgeous. He makes the argument that Tolkien's work as an illustrator has not been appreciated enough, and that it is an integral part of the storyline in all of his books.

T.A. Shippey did Tolkien, Author of the Century, which analyzes not the man but his works. My favorite, however, is his earlier volume, The Road to Middle Earth, where he pinpoints many of Tolkien's 'sources' in he original Norse/Celtic/Finnish legends. What makes Shippey unique is that, like JRRT, he is a philologist, so there are things he can see and understand in the texts that I could not, since I don't have that kind of background.

Finally, I really enjoy reading Verlyn Flieger, an older scholar who is a professor at the University of Maryland. I have found Flieger's two books fascinating--one analyzing the concept of light, and the other the concept of time, in terms of LotR and Silm. Flieger talks about the Silmarils and Galadriel's Phial in such a way that it throws enormous light to me (pardon that pun!) on my own favorite character, that of Frodo Baggins.

There are tons more scholarly folk out there, and it would be possible to give you a long list of names, but the real questions are these: what are you interested in, and what are you looking for? What's interesting to one individual can put the next one to sleep!

One last word of warning--don't be put off by terms like 'Tolkien scholars or critics'. All it means is that you have read the books, and that you have some kind of an opinion you want to put forth about what's in those books. Everyone who 'publishes' a thoughtful post on the books thread qualifies as a scholar under that criteria.

So-called scholars tend to have some kind of academic credentials, although even that varies. Hammond, for instance, just has a library degree from the University of Michigan, Flieger and Shippey have doctorates, and I don't know about Anderson. If you were to post a thread on this site in the Barrow-Downs thread and ask about the so-called 'academic credentials' of some of the older posters here, I think you might be surprised at the diversity of backgrounds. We also have our share of doctorates, and masters, and bachelors, and professional degrees. So don't be put off by "Tolkien scholars" but also don't be cowed by them. Some of the most insightful writing I've seen on JRRT has been right here at this site!

sharon

[ January 09, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

01-09-2003, 08:41 AM	#7
Child of the 7th Age Spirit of the Lonely Star Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 5,133	I totally agree that many of the guides have inaccuracies and can not be relied on. I have the ones by Day, Foster, and Tyler, but have found mistakes in all of them. The most reliable, in my mind, is not a print guide but the on-line Encyclopedia of Arda. I recently subscribed to the Tolkien Collector and was surprised to receive a personal note from Christina Scull that she and her husband Wayne Hammond are now working on a guide which will take into account not only Silm and Hobbit and LotR, but also UT and HoMe. They are long time scholar/librarians and I am really looking forward to seeing that book when they finish. But when you talk about Tolkien scholars, you should be looking at a lot more than guides. I do agree that no scholar can replace the perceptions that you personally have when you read the books, but I think it is equally short sighted to dismiss all insight that you can get by hearing what others think. Isn't that what we do hear at the Downs? Put forward our own opinions and ideas, and also try and learn from the perceptions of others. I am not particularly enamored with either Day or Martinez. Any list of "best" scholars is totally subjective, but here are my favorite picks: Douglas Anderson, Wayne Hammond, T. A. Shippey, and Verlyn Flieger. If you're into languages, which I'm not, I would also add Carl Hostetter. And for a Catholic perspective, see Joseph Pearce. Douglas Anderson has done a lot of bibliography and, more recently, did an updated edition of the Annotated Hobbit. The marginal comments are both amusing and illuminating. I really would recommend this. Wayne Hammond is a librarian by profession (yeah, librarians, I'm one too!). His most recent publication is J.R.R. Tolkien, Artist and Illustrator, which I really love. The illustrations are gorgeous. He makes the argument that Tolkien's work as an illustrator has not been appreciated enough, and that it is an integral part of the storyline in all of his books. T.A. Shippey did Tolkien, Author of the Century, which analyzes not the man but his works. My favorite, however, is his earlier volume, The Road to Middle Earth, where he pinpoints many of Tolkien's 'sources' in he original Norse/Celtic/Finnish legends. What makes Shippey unique is that, like JRRT, he is a philologist, so there are things he can see and understand in the texts that I could not, since I don't have that kind of background. Finally, I really enjoy reading Verlyn Flieger, an older scholar who is a professor at the University of Maryland. I have found Flieger's two books fascinating--one analyzing the concept of light, and the other the concept of time, in terms of LotR and Silm. Flieger talks about the Silmarils and Galadriel's Phial in such a way that it throws enormous light to me (pardon that pun!) on my own favorite character, that of Frodo Baggins. There are tons more scholarly folk out there, and it would be possible to give you a long list of names, but the real questions are these: what are you interested in, and what are you looking for? What's interesting to one individual can put the next one to sleep! One last word of warning--don't be put off by terms like 'Tolkien scholars or critics'. All it means is that you have read the books, and that you have some kind of an opinion you want to put forth about what's in those books. Everyone who 'publishes' a thoughtful post on the books thread qualifies as a scholar under that criteria. So-called scholars tend to have some kind of academic credentials, although even that varies. Hammond, for instance, just has a library degree from the University of Michigan, Flieger and Shippey have doctorates, and I don't know about Anderson. If you were to post a thread on this site in the Barrow-Downs thread and ask about the so-called 'academic credentials' of some of the older posters here, I think you might be surprised at the diversity of backgrounds. We also have our share of doctorates, and masters, and bachelors, and professional degrees. So don't be put off by "Tolkien scholars" but also don't be cowed by them. Some of the most insightful writing I've seen on JRRT has been right here at this site! sharon [ January 09, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ] __________________ Multitasking women are never too busy to vote.