New Hampshire Ringers interested in learning more about the sources of Tolkien’s inspiration should check out the Poetry Society of NH’s celebration of the Kalevala on October 11. There’ll be poetry, music from the Maine Kantele, and Runeberg’s tarts and other Finnish pastries. It’s at 6PM at Artstream, 56 North Main Street, Rochester, NH. The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact poetrysocietyofnh@gmail.com
Category: Lectures & Education
From message board member Isildur’s heir: I just received an email from The New Yorker magazine. It seems Guillermo del Toro will be speaking at the Director’s Guild of America, as part of the New Yorker Festival, on October 4 at 7:30 p.m. at The Directors Guild of America; 110 West 57th Street. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, so be ready!
Guillermo del Toro talks with Daniel Zalewski on monsters: Guillermo del Toro wrote, directed, and produced the 2006 film “Pan’s Labyrinth,” which won three Academy Awards and became the highest-grossing Spanish-language film in U.S. box-office history. His other films include “Cronos,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Blade II,” “Hellboy,” and “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.” His next project will be a two-film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” to be released in 2011 and 2012.
Tickets ($35) available Wednesday, September 17th, at 12 noon E.T., at festival.newyorker.com or by calling 800-440-6974. Tickets will also be sold during Festival weekend at Festival HQ, at Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, and at the door. Send in your reports if you’re lucky enough to go!
If you were looking for an excuse or motivation to read the bulk of Tolkien’s books about Middle Earth, this could be your chance. A group is planning on reading 22 of Tolkien’s works and blogging about the adventure over at The Tolkien Reading Quest. If you are interested in joining them, check out the blog.
“Beyond Romanticism: J. R. R. Tolkien’s Practical Agrarian Romance”
Professor Dickerson will explore one element of Tolkien’s comprehensive ecological vision expressed in his Middle-earth legendarium: the agrarianism of the Shire, and its contrast in the industrialized agriculture of Sauron and Saruman. While Tolkien’s works might be dismissed as mere romanticism–idyllic fantasy with no implications to our world–the talk will defend a claim that the underlying ecology in these works is fundamentally practical (at many levels). Thursday, October 23, 2008 4-5:30 p.m in the Prucha Archives Reading Room, John P. Raynor, S.J., Library (3rd floor).
Continue reading “Matthew Dickerson presents “Beyond Romanticism” at Marquette University Oct 23″
Emory University in Atlanta will be offering a 5-week course this fall titled “J.R.R. Tolkien and the Spiritual Journey”:
This course will explore J.R.R. Tolkien’s insights for the spiritual journey. The class will briefly explore the sources of Tolkien’s vision of the quest that were influenced by his experiences of World War I, his Catholic faith, and his deep reading of ancient mythologies. Employing short readings from Lord of the Rings and clips from the movies of the same name, the class will then discuss key themes in the journey including the affirmation of creation, sacrifice and bliss, friendship, the temptations of power and pride, and the role of the key virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Come discover what Middle Earth can tell us about the possibilities for modern earth. This class is co-sponsored by the Aquinas Center of Theology at Emory University.
Class space is limited to 15 people; for more information click on the link below:
From The Altoona Herald: J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” proves that not every fantasy hero has to look like a fearless warrior. A discussion will take place from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. Monday [September 8th] at the South Side Library, 1111 Porter Ave., on Bilbo Baggins’ transformation from a quiet-living hobbit of the Shire into a rather reluctant hero plodding across Middle Earth. Books will be available at the South Side Library’s information desk. And since hobbits generally eat six meals a day, snacks will be provided to get voracious readers in the mood. For more information on library programs, call 283-4152.