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davem · 08-15-2005, 02:39 PM

Yeah - full report later. As to highlights - one: meeting Esty (who's one of the loveliest persons you could wish to meet! Two: meeting Narforc (who, by the way, is in the process of writing one of the funniest & cleverest parodies of LotR - I'm far from a fan of the genre, but he's won me over).

The other thing was the lectures - Tom Shippey's on the use of proverbs, Ronald Hutton's on 'Tolkien the Pagan'!!!!! (He made a fascinating point - in a letter to his son, Michael?? Tolkien stated that for a time in his younger days I think he mentioned while at Leeds & at Northmoor Road, but I'll have to check, Tolkien says he neglected his faith - working this out, this period, according to Hutton, covered virtually the whole of the 1920's! This is significant, because thiis was the major period of the development of the Silmarillion. I'll have to go into this later)

Also, a couple by Verlyn Flieger - well, one lecture & one short story reading - why was that special? It was an unpublished short story by Tolkien himself! Actually, it is a background story to Smith of Wooton Major, telling the story of Smith's grandfather, Rider, the history & origin of the Fay Star, & the reason for the Faeries interest in humanity, & incorporating a fascinating philosophical discussion on the nature of Faerie & its relationship to our world & their interdependence. Well up to the standard you'd expect, & it adds incredible depth & meaning to SoWM. It will be finally published (in the UK on 5th Sept by Harper Collins) in a new edition of Smith, but according to Flieger there's no info on an American publication date. We were the first members of the public anywhere to hear the story, & so, for a few weeks at least, the only ones anywhere.

08-15-2005, 02:39 PM	#78
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	Yeah - full report later. As to highlights - one: meeting Esty (who's one of the loveliest persons you could wish to meet! Two: meeting Narforc (who, by the way, is in the process of writing one of the funniest & cleverest parodies of LotR - I'm far from a fan of the genre, but he's won me over). The other thing was the lectures - Tom Shippey's on the use of proverbs, Ronald Hutton's on 'Tolkien the Pagan'!!!!! (He made a fascinating point - in a letter to his son, Michael?? Tolkien stated that for a time in his younger days I think he mentioned while at Leeds & at Northmoor Road, but I'll have to check, Tolkien says he neglected his faith - working this out, this period, according to Hutton, covered virtually the whole of the 1920's! This is significant, because thiis was the major period of the development of the Silmarillion. I'll have to go into this later) Also, a couple by Verlyn Flieger - well, one lecture & one short story reading - why was that special? It was an unpublished short story by Tolkien himself! Actually, it is a background story to Smith of Wooton Major, telling the story of Smith's grandfather, Rider, the history & origin of the Fay Star, & the reason for the Faeries interest in humanity, & incorporating a fascinating philosophical discussion on the nature of Faerie & its relationship to our world & their interdependence. Well up to the standard you'd expect, & it adds incredible depth & meaning to SoWM. It will be finally published (in the UK on 5th Sept by Harper Collins) in a new edition of Smith, but according to Flieger there's no info on an American publication date. We were the first members of the public anywhere to hear the story, & so, for a few weeks at least, the only ones anywhere. __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."