First, thanks to everyone for their interesting responses. I went ahead and posted that thread.
Visible Souls.... Friday probably isn't the best day to do that, since folk tend to be busy. But I am such a great procrastinator! If I didn't do it now, it probably wouldn't get up. But if you get a chance this weekend or next week, pop in and add your $.02.
Raefindel -
Your family's reaction must have (and still must be) hard for you. There are so many books out there now that deal with LotR and the Bible, some spelling out daily meditations and others discussing Christian themes e.g., Finding God in Lord of the Rings; Walking with Frodo, A Devotional Journey; The Gospel According to Tolkien. But perhaps they would not feel comfortable with those.
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Quote:
Lalwende: I used to daydream about that world where everyone seemed to be a Tolkien fan, although I know my daydreams were probably far removed from reality.
Hilde: Also news to me was the comment that they seemed most loved in the US. Is that true? Is it still the case?
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Interestingly, I do think it was more popular in the US than in England in the late 60s and early 70s, although I wouldn't say that is true now. I spent a fair amount of time living over there then (at the university and later doing research for my dissertation) so I've got at least a little basis of comparison.
The reason, however, that there were so many Tolkien fans was precisely because the kids in the US felt so alientated from what was happening in the government and the society as a whole. It was an exhilarating time to be alive (we thought we were remaking the world.
), but also sad and frustrating. The Vietnam War hung over the heads of college students. Several of my friends died fighting and there were others who made a hard decision to apply for a CO or to take the risk of ferrying people over to Canada. (My home was in Detroit, which is right on the border.)
The frustration about the war spilled over into many areas. College students were looking for something that would get them away from the problems and frustrations of the 60s, but they were also searching for books that took a strong moral stand. Tolkien was part of this equation. His emphasis on protecting trees and the environment was especially beloved, since many students were involved with the environmental movement that was just getting off the ground.
Of course, there were many differences between the values of the Catholic professor from Oxford and those of the counter-culture students. However, we didn't know that. Very few students knew much about who Tolkien was since not much had been published. We were years away from Carpenter's biography or the Letters. There was a book out by Lin Carter, and another one by William Ready, I think; the latter was really bad. (JRRT was very angry about that one.) A few more things were out in England but it wasn't like today when it's easy to sign onto Amazon.co.uk and immediately buy a book. So things were pretty isolated. Most of the information that I got came through the Tolkien Society. (I remember someone named Vera Chapman who headed it at one point and who wrote fantasy herself.)
As Gandalf told Frodo, we're all stuck with the problems and the challenges of whatever age we were born in. And all we can do is try to respond in a positive way.