Man behind the Mythology

[Bêthberry]

An oak tree? It was some kind of tree. Not an Ent though.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Tree is right, Bêthberry - the picture, taken on August 9, 1973, is in Carpenter's biography and shows him standing next to one of his favourite trees, a Pinus Nigra, in the Botanic Gardens, Oxford.

[Bêthberry]

I wonder if that tree still stands. Perhaps, if I do make a sidetrip to Oxford this summer, I should look for it and take a photograph of it.

But now for another challenge:

What famous poet remarked that hearing Tolkien read Beowulf in class was akin to hearing Gandalf read?

[The Saucepan Man]

That would be WH Auden, who wrote:

What an unforgettable experience it was for me as an undergraduate, hearing you recite Beowulf. The voice was the voice of Gandalf.

[Bêthberry]

Right you are, Sauce. I like the idea of that personal connection, the great fantasy writer teaching the one-day-to-be great modern poet. "Only connect" Auden said, I think. I wonder what kinds of reflections Tolkien's other students had.

And so, the floor is yours.... Make as much noise as you like with your question.

[The Saucepan Man]

Yes and I think that in one of the later Letters, JRRT refers to Auden as one of his great friends, despite them having only actually met on a few occasions. It would seem that their friendship blossomed through correspondence.

Thanks Bb. Next up, and staying on the WH Auden theme:

In what way did WH Auden expose Tolkien to ridicule and cause him and, in particular, Edith much embarassment?

[Estelyn Telcontar]

By saying:

He lives in a hideous house - I cannot tell you how hideous, with hideous pictures.

...publicly at a meeting of the Tolkien Society, as later reported in a London newspaper. Since he had only been in Edith's room for tea, that remark was not particularly flattering and also not true. The house was simply ordinary - something Auden hadn't expected of so extraordinary a person as Tolkien.