[Iarwain]

To clarify one more time, I'm not trying to disparage Tolkien. Raynor, when I said that I'd wished for more writing about Middle-Earth, I was expressing a desire for more of the wonderful material that is his writing. This thread is not meant to be an argument. What I'm trying to achieve is a notice for some of us who are dead set on believing that Tolkien is the greatest author ever, and don't really venture outside the sci-fi/fantasy realm. Please don't be combative, I'm not trying to insult him.

Boromir, you should read Eliot; he knows exactly what he's talking about. For Shippey to say that he didn't is ridiculous. His poetry isn't about WWI, it's about life in an industrial society and the dehumanization of the individual. Read "The Waste Land" and tell me T.S. Eliot didn't know what he was writing about.

Tolkien was creating a Mythology with languages and epics. He wasn't out to write a spiritual guide or a psychological lyric on the level of Augustine or Dostoevsky. Augustine and Dostoevsky did these things, and they're great to read. This is my point. I know a lot of people will find it very hard to accept, perhaps because it's so nice to know who the greatest author is and devote your reading efforts toward achieving a full grasp of his writings. Or perhaps because ultimately we are escapists, and Tolkien has provided the alternate world we want. If it's the first, this thread is for you, to let you know that there are yet more delightful books to read. If the latter, don't let me bother you, keep on escaping. I'm pretty sure no one has created a more comprehensive and delightful alternate universe than Tolkien.