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**lindil** · 07-13-2000, 10:19 AM

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<img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/sting.jpg" align=absmiddle> Re: Which books are canon?

I grew up reading the hobbit and lotr in the late 70's [right after star wars came out actually] and by the time I had read lotr the 2nd time or so I was given a SILMARILLION for Christmas that year.
I saw the movie -but I don't remember that much hoopla {like their was around star wars}
In fact for me it was an EXTREMELY private afair.
I retreated into my suburban forests and my room[ which I insisted be painted grey and dark green] and proceeded w/ tolkien and God and the forrests help to completely revise
[ destroy is probably more accurate] how I looked at the world -
my little suburban corner of northern virg. anyway.
I was so introverted w/ it than when a fellow [soon to become my best friend and co-founder of our little tolkien society]
sawme [re-]reading fellowship and wanted to spark a convo. I was very reluctant to let any one into what I saw as "my"world - I became so consciously
anti-"society" that it dos not suprise me that I missed out on just how -"in the public domain " middle - earth had become .
the bakshi movie only reinforced my strong opinions of the day that "the world " could never do right by tolkien -so would be bett3er off just leaving it alone.
any way... galpsi I was to out of the loop/and too young 12 or so to be aware of the idea of $ pressures- I didn't give it a thought till letters came out. Re: the silmarillion as canon what other choice at the moment is there?
It gives me thought that maybe CRRT could be formally petitioned to tie it all up and if he wasn't interested in it -maybe {now here is an idea} he could let the tolkien community have crack at it by international-internet commitee !
What better way to put such love of middle-earth and Valinor to practical use ? anyway the thought never occured to me to judge negatively CRRT's editing job of the SILM.
I considered it so amazing in and of itself and that it ever saw the light of this sun [other than in manuscript that is ].However as Unfinished Tales came out {which I feel contains some of his most polished writing
and as Barrow-Wight/wraith of A. mentioned it could be integrated w/the Silm w/ "relative"ease thus expanding the" canon "a bit at least -and I do think that a final version of the tales is a worthy ideal - and one that JRRT labored towards his
entire adult life that it would be a worthy legacy for those who may follow after us.
but for now I put my critical mind to rest by viewing unfinished /history as variants that might have come from differing historical /cultural periods suchas 4th age great -great-great-great- great grandkids of the hobbits
[w/out a redbook of w.] or even "5th " age tales by a long decayed or dwindled dunedain-etc.
however I think CRRT has done an amazing and to my knowledge unique thing in publishing such a history .
and I imagine that an un-official-"official" canon if you will could be done on the internet as long as no one tried to publish it .
what a beautiful debate /consensus that would be ! just coming up with the
"rules" and agreeing on a process/voting and finallizing method could take a year! but it would be worth it and even the publishers would prob. be intrigued at the idea of thousands of folks completing their unfinished/history collection to be able to take part.
btw thanks for the welcome and the excellent discussion - and please forgive any excessively long postings as I get used to this way o' talkin.
lindil
lindil

</p>Edited by <A HREF=http://www.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_profile&u=00000076>lindil</A> at: 7/13/00 12:36:57 pm

07-13-2000, 10:19 AM	#14
lindil Seeker of the Straight Path Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: a hidden fastness in Big Valley nor cal Posts: 1,681	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Newly Deceased Posts: 0</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> <img src="http://www.barrowdowns.com/images/posticons/sting.jpg" align=absmiddle> Re: Which books are canon? I grew up reading the hobbit and lotr in the late 70's [right after star wars came out actually] and by the time I had read lotr the 2nd time or so I was given a SILMARILLION for Christmas that year. I saw the movie -but I don't remember that much hoopla {like their was around star wars} In fact for me it was an EXTREMELY private afair. I retreated into my suburban forests and my room[ which I insisted be painted grey and dark green] and proceeded w/ tolkien and God and the forrests help to completely revise [ destroy is probably more accurate] how I looked at the world - my little suburban corner of northern virg. anyway. I was so introverted w/ it than when a fellow [soon to become my best friend and co-founder of our little tolkien society] sawme [re-]reading fellowship and wanted to spark a convo. I was very reluctant to let any one into what I saw as "my"world - I became so consciously anti-"society" that it dos not suprise me that I missed out on just how -"in the public domain " middle - earth had become . the bakshi movie only reinforced my strong opinions of the day that "the world " could never do right by tolkien -so would be bett3er off just leaving it alone. any way... galpsi I was to out of the loop/and too young 12 or so to be aware of the idea of $ pressures- I didn't give it a thought till letters came out. Re: the silmarillion as canon what other choice at the moment is there? It gives me thought that maybe CRRT could be formally petitioned to tie it all up and if he wasn't interested in it -maybe {now here is an idea} he could let the tolkien community have crack at it by international-internet commitee ! What better way to put such love of middle-earth and Valinor to practical use ? anyway the thought never occured to me to judge negatively CRRT's editing job of the SILM. I considered it so amazing in and of itself and that it ever saw the light of this sun [other than in manuscript that is ].However as Unfinished Tales came out {which I feel contains some of his most polished writing and as Barrow-Wight/wraith of A. mentioned it could be integrated w/the Silm w/ "relative"ease thus expanding the" canon "a bit at least -and I do think that a final version of the tales is a worthy ideal - and one that JRRT labored towards his entire adult life that it would be a worthy legacy for those who may follow after us. but for now I put my critical mind to rest by viewing unfinished /history as variants that might have come from differing historical /cultural periods suchas 4th age great -great-great-great- great grandkids of the hobbits [w/out a redbook of w.] or even "5th " age tales by a long decayed or dwindled dunedain-etc. however I think CRRT has done an amazing and to my knowledge unique thing in publishing such a history . and I imagine that an un-official-"official" canon if you will could be done on the internet as long as no one tried to publish it . what a beautiful debate /consensus that would be ! just coming up with the "rules" and agreeing on a process/voting and finallizing method could take a year! but it would be worth it and even the publishers would prob. be intrigued at the idea of thousands of folks completing their unfinished/history collection to be able to take part. btw thanks for the welcome and the excellent discussion - and please forgive any excessively long postings as I get used to this way o' talkin. lindil lindil </p>Edited by <A HREF=http://www.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_profile&u=00000076>lindil</A> at: 7/13/00 12:36:57 pm __________________ The dwindling Men of the West would often sit up late into the night exchanging lore & wisdom such as they still possessed that they should not fall back into the mean estate of those who never knew or indeed rebelled against the Light.