The Tolkien Coming of Age Club 2

[Ealasaide]

The only person I knew who had read it was my brother, and over the next maybe 10 years I met about three others.

Hilde- am I counted amongst those three? As I recall Tolkien was quite a big thing with us in high school. You were the only person I knew over those years who was into Tolkien the same way I was, even though I didn't meet you until years after I had first read LotR.

[Raefindel]

Ealasaide , It sounds like we might be about the same age. When did you graduate high school, if I may be so bold as to ask?

I graduated in 84. I just had my 39th birthday.

I went to a private school (a Christian school) and I knew only one fellow Tolkien reader. Well, actually, she is the one who started me reading Tolkien. For a Christian school they were fairly liberal on the Tolkien subject. I remember watching "The Hobbit" animated movie at school.

[Ealasaide]

Raefindel, yes, we are very close in age. I graduated high school in the Class of '81. I turned 41 in September.

I saw a coffee mug right about the time I turned 40 that said "40 - Welcome to the Wonder years! (Wonder where they all went...)" It gave me a chuckle because I was thinking the exact same thing.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

...am I counted amongst those three?

But of course you are! And imagine my delight at finding someone who read such interesting books. (And had such equisite taste in library seating arrangements! ) Do you remember the storage room of our high school art/photograpy class, and all the graffiti covering the walls? Thinking about it, I do believe I put a tribute to Tolkien up there.

With the films, somewhow fans came crawling out of the woodwork - and that is one thing I will always be thankful to the films for! Are these years something of a Renaissance for Tolkien fans? If so, I hope it carries on!

If it is a Renaissance, I too hope it lasts. I am enjoying it tremendously!

[Child of the 7th Age]

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.

***********

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?

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.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Having lived outside of Washington D.C., I suppose that my surroundings were a bit bleak and pessimistic in the early 70’s and I missed a great deal of the good aspects that the older kids had found in that era. But there seemed to be a tangible sense of humiliation and cynicism floating down from in the adult world, no doubt from the duel jolts of Vietnam and Watergate. So finding Middle Earth did quite a bit to revive a dying a sense of hope and ideals, and brought back beauty to life.

[mark12_30]

Last fall some friends gave me a M-E Birthday party-- Lorien decor, Shire menu. They had made lembas-pizelles for the birthday party and I had raved about them.

The same friends gave me a Pizelle iron for Christmas (with the wheat-free recipe enclosed, bless them.) They even found a pizelle iron for which one of the 'sides' is a tree.

Happy hobbit.

[Samwise]

Okay, I'll bite....(so to speak)...what's a pizelle?