Some associate TheOneRing only with Peter Jackson films set in Middle-earth. It is always our pleasure to support fans and all the aspects of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (except what you are selling on Ebay). Below is a press release sent by The Tolkien Society that we give to you just as it was sent to us. The Tolkien Society (UK edition) was founded in 1969, 30 years before TORn, and it is always a pleasure to alert people to its events. When we post these we can’t help but wish this was the year we would attend. Anyway, here is the release for events taking place this weekend. Spread the word!
“The Tolkien Society has teamed up with the Birmingham Tolkien Group to bring you the thirteenth Middle-earth Weekend this Saturday and Sunday in celebration of 75 years of The Hobbit.
Middle-earth Weekend takes place at Sarehole Mill in an area of Birmingham in which Tolkien grew up and which inspired his writings – the area is credited with inspiring Tolkien’s vision of The Shire and Hobbiton including Sandyman’s infamous Mill. This area has been designated as “The Shire Country Park” in Tolkien’s honour and the park covers the River Cole, Chinn Brook, Moseley Bog & the Dell, and the Dingles – all places J.R.R. Tolkien knew as a child when he lived just across from the mill pool.
Events this year include: mediaeval re-enactments, archery, live performances of excerpts from Tolkien’s works by Shire Productions, guided walks, poetry and music, our Tolkien tent with stalls of goodies, a climbing wall, our popular costume competition, face painting, dragons(!), and, of course, a working mill! It is a full menagerie of events for the whole family that will excite, entertain, amuse and inform. Continue reading “Tolkien Society celebrating 75 years of ‘Hobbit’ this weekend”
Some TORn followers will be familiar with TORn’s friend The Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen, and his great podcasts and lectures. This summer, he and the Mythgard Institute have some fabulous courses lined up – if you are anxiously awaiting The Hobbit movies (and who isn’t?!), maybe you can pass the time with a few explorations into fantasy and literature!
The Mythgard Institute is offering three classes this semester. Olsen will be teaching a class called Modern Fantasy, looking at the works of six major fantasy authors of the last fifty years. One of these authors, Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn, will be joining Olsen for a live discussion during the class!
In addition, Verlyn Flieger, one of the top Tolkien scholars in the world, will be teaching a class called The Story of Arthur, on Arthurian Literature. Mythgard are also offering their first language class ever: An Introduction to Latin – just in time for you to read The Hobbit when it is published in Latin in September!
Combined information on all the courses is here. Registration is closing SOON, so hurry along and see what’s on offer!
Discussion board member Modtheow reminds us of this annual event where discussion board members N.E. Brigand, visualweasel and Indigo Istar will be among the presenters!
Every year about 3,000 medievalists descend on Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI for the International Congress on Medieval Studies, but tucked into the over 600 sessions on every medieval topic imaginable, you can find 6 or 7 sessions on Tolkien, often referred to as “Tolkien at Kalamazoo.” You don’t have to be a medieval scholar to attend this conference, though I should say that it is meant to be a scholarly event — still, there’s lots of fun to be had, especially in the Friday night “Tolkien Unbound” entertainment, or the Saturday night dance, or in some of the gaming sessions, or dinner at Bilbo’s Restaurant. You can find information about the full conference here.
The Tolkien Society is delighted to announce that Charlie Ross will be bringing a touch of comedic glamour to The Return of the Ring this summer with an exclusive performance of his show ‘One Man Lord of the Rings’.
Charlie Ross, also the star of ‘One Man Star Wars Trilogy’, will be bringing his internationally-acclaimed worldwide tour of ‘One Man LOTR’ to The Return of the Ring this August for an exclusive one-off show. The Return of the Ring takes place at Loughborough University, England on 16th-20th August 2012 with Charlie Ross’s ‘One Man LOTR’ taking place on the afternoon of Friday 17th. The Return of the Ring celebrates the forthcoming films and the 75th anniversary of the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and is the follow-up to Tolkien 2005 that commemorated 50 years of The Lord of the Rings and which was recently described by Ring*Con founder Marcel Bülles as “probably the best Tolkien-related event in history“.
Charlie Ross adds to the already-exciting roster of guests that includes: authors and academics Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger, Brian Sibley, Colin Duriez, John Garth and Corey Olsen; artists Ted Nasmith and Jef Murray; directors of Born of Hope and The Hunt for Gollum Kate Madison and Chris Bouchard; and French Middle-earth re-enactment society The Company of the Green Dragon. To view all our guests, including Charlie Ross, please go to:
Shaun Gunner, Deputy Chairman of The Return of the Ring, said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled! We’ve been working with Charlie for weeks to make sure this happens – he’s so excited about doing this that he’s squeezed us into his busy schedule at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by flying from Edinburgh and back in the space of a day! I can’t wait to experience his act with the hundreds of other Tolkien fans that will be coming – having Charlie with us proves that The Return of the Ring isn’t just an academic event, but that it is a celebration and a convention in the broadest sense of the term.”
Interested in learning about Tolkien and fantasy literature in more depth? We have been asked to spread the word about an online course that spans fantasy from its roots to modern works. Here is the info we were asked to share with all the links after the break:
During the summer semester Cardiff Metropolitan University will run an online course titled Fantasy Literature: Tales Before and After Tolkien, designed and taught by Dr Dimitra Fimi.
The course will examine fantasy literature, from its roots in Victorian fairy tales to modern imaginary worlds. Some of the key texts we will explore include J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and J.K. RowlingHarry Potter series. The course is open to students and adult learners all over the world. It is delivered entirely online via Blackboard, Cardiff Met’s Virtual Learning Environment, so it does not matter where students are physically. The course will begin on Wednesday 9th May, and will run for 12 weeks (10 teaching Units plus 1 reading week and 1 essay-writing week), until the end of July. The course carries 20 credits at Year 3 undergraduate level if students choose to do the assessment. Continue reading “Online course offered in Tolkien, fantasy”
Join TheOneRing and the Tolkien Society, who started the event, by celebrating Tolkien Reading Day! Held annually since 2003, it is meant to encourage reading and is a great day to dust off a copy of one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s many works and dig in. (It also marks the downfall of Barad-dûr and the passing of Sauron, but that happened long before 2003.) Many schools mark the day with an in-class read, but since this year it falls on a Sunday, parents will be in charge of helping children celebrate but reading to pets, the infirm or yourself is also more than acceptable. Enjoy!
