At the ‘Council of London’ held by the Tea Club and Barrovian Society in December 1914, J. R. R. Tolkien and his three dearest friends spoke of the call they felt to bring beauty and meaning back into a world grown … { Read More }
Hope and love are dominant themes in The Lord of the Rings. These are two of the most desperately needed virtues today in a world entrenched in a culture of death, despair, and lust, due to the instant and 24 … { Read More }
Sam is Frodo’s guardian angel on the Quest, but he is not the only one. The Valar also play instrumental roles in aiding the Ring-bearer and his friends during the War of the Ring and beyond. So vital is their … { Read More }
Why does the tale of Arthur and his knights still resonate with its readers centuries after its first introduction? It ends in the tragic defeat of the King, with the deaths of nearly all of his men, and his dreams … { Read More }
As long as we could speak and realize we had a mind and intelligence and a need to explain to ourselves and to others the world around us, we have told stories. For things we have not understood like the … { Read More }
J. R. R. Tolkien speaks of a subject close to his heart in his lecture and essay, “On Fairy-Stories.” He approaches this not just as an admirer or literary critic but as an author of such himself. He had a … { Read More }
There is such power in story-telling! Visionaries, seers, bards, poets, playwrights, and novelists have harnessed this vast resource for as long as man has existed. What a crowd we are part of. What shoulders we stand on. I am proud … { Read More }
I propose to speak about fairy-stories, though I am aware that this is a rash adventure. Faërie is a perilous land, and in it are pitfalls for the unwary and dungeons for the overbold. And overbold I may be accounted. … { Read More }
Enjoy these articles I wrote for Mythic Scribes, a tremendous resource for anyone writing fantasy! Dragons and the Imaginative Mind of J. R. R. Tolkien The Perilous and Wondrous Realm of Faërie Using Mythic Elements in Your Stories The Power … { Read More }
In his wonderful essay “On Fairy-Stories”, J. R. R. Tolkien states three things fantastical stories bring us: recovery, escape, and consolation. In our shattered world, we need them all. We need to see anew everyday things that we do not … { Read More }
