This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on to Mike’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

One of the smart kids (with hippie parents) in my grade 7 class was boasting that he had read the trilogy, so I decided to read it too. I had read the King James Bible for $20, so I thought “How hard could it be?” Absolutely sucked in headfirst by it. So annoyed about that Shelob cliffhanger needing me to read faster.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

The characters exploring all of the very different settings and never knowing who or what they would find there. The camaraderie between them.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

Staying up extremely late reading long into the night while staying at my grandmother’s, because I needed to make sure Frodo hadn’t been killed by Shelob. I skipped ahead.

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

The fact that there are Jackson movies to watch has made me lazy about re-reading the books. I often plan to re-read the entire trilogy, and get bogged down somewhere in the middle, because there are movies, and I’m reading other books too.

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

Absolutely. It has a mind boggling depth of imagination and is unprecedented in terms of world building. And there’s something touching and comforting about the unflinching sentimentality and forefronting of nobility, eloquence, friendship, beauty, self sacrifice and decency.

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Mike does have a podcast entitled The Wikkid Podcast where he talks about his Christian upbringing and “some very predictable problems” of it.

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on toDiana’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

My parents read The Hobbit out loud to me and my brother when I was 8. A teacher was doing a children’s adaptation play and asked the students to watch The Hobbit movie by Rankin and Bass. I was cast as Elrond in the children’s play though I was a girl. That play was performed twice. As I discussed with my mom recently she told me the thing she remembered was her having made me a costume when I was in second grade and the school had to provide me a braille book so I could learn my lines; however, I remembered more the second performance the following year when the class was able to watch the animated movie. I remembered the second performance of a public  school’s children’s play of The Hobbit and my mom remembered the first because my mom is a good seamstress and made me the costume while I was in second grade, but there was no music in that performance. The next year when I was in third grade I had to play a flute solo on the tra-la-laly song, and the other music was added for the performance that year. Both times I was Elrond. I remembered the music, and mom remembered the costume. That was over 40 years ago. 

I could not remember everything until I looked up when any film of Tolkien’s works had been made and I had also found my children’s yearbook from the second time I was in the play when I was in third grade. I did not ever forget Elrond. He is my favorite character. I am totally blind. I have a mental health condition that makes me extremely fearful so the classroom teacher wanted me to be the leader who had the safe place. I was 30 years old when Peter Jackson released The Fellowship of the Ring movie. I am 51 years old on the eve of the Rings Of Power TV series on Amazon Prime, but I do not have Amazon Prime and plan to listen to the content of the stories for the series elsewhere such as in audiobooks of The Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth and the music soundtrack composed by Bear McCreary.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

The sections on the elves and Rivendell.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

Reading/listening to the books/watching the movies once every 5 years. Meeting new friends who are also fans of Tolkien’s work. Because I lost my husband to cancer 6 years ago and we can no longer watch the movies, I have sought ways to immerse myself in the books and will do so for as long as I live. I get enchanted every time I read them. I listen to something about Tolkien every day as the highlight of my day.

For the fondest experience I have with Tolkien’s work, it is a very recent one: This year in August 2022 – to listen to the audio play done by Chad Bornholdt’s crew of “The Council of Elrond” wearing headphones and listening to the chapter in Dolby Atmos 3-d sound that they were able to use. I heard it on The Music Of Middle-earth podcast by Jordan Rannells. Oh Yes! That was a blessed hour and 45 minutes!

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

 Yes. While I was afraid that I would have to leave Tolkien’s world as a child, I am learning there are more books than The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and I never have to leave. I do not want to leave Middle-earth. By necessity of my health condition I need to “go to Rivendell” by way of practicing guided mindfulness meditation every day through mindfulness apps that give directions on deep breathing and muscle relaxation – and I am then at “Rivendell.”.

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

Yes. It is hopeful and encouraging even though much of it is very sad.

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on to Andrei Guchin’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

When I was 11, The Fellowship of the Ring by Peter Jackson was released. I couldn’t go to the cinema to watch it, but I remember doing it at a friend’s house a couple of months after the premiere. I loved it! The story, the special effects, the orcs, the elves, everything. After that, I asked my parents to buy me the books. From then on, there was no coming back.

Nowadays I have a bookshelf with more than 60 Tolkien related books – including a collection of The Hobbit in different languages-, maps, posters, paintings, figures, T-shirts, and more.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

Generally speaking, the way he describes the places in a very detailed manner, revealing his love of trees and nature. This is something that I usually do when I am anywhere so I feel very represented. I tend to remember more about places than people.

I also love how he developed a proper culture behind each race. The alphabets, languages, songs, myths, etc. Everything is explained so well and so well connected to the rest of Middle-earth that you could believe that they are real.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

I spend most of my time with my head in Tolkien’s worlds, so I have many stories to share here. I had the privilege of visiting New Zealand some years ago and have been in many places where the movies were filmed. It was amazing, just like being in Middle-earth! Being in Hobbiton was a very emotional experience for me.

Most recently, the last time I read The Hobbit, I was going through a hard time in my life, so I got to this part of the book when Bilbo says “So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending”. I never paid special attention to this quote before, but that time it was as if Tolkien himself was telling me that face to face. I felt relieved, hopeful. Nowadays this is one of my favorite quotes from Tolkien’s work.

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

When I was a child I liked Middle-earth’s stories because of the adventures, the battles, the magic, the creatures, etc. I enjoyed watching the epic scenes in the movies and playing the video games. Nowadays I keep enjoying that, but I understood that they are more than just fairy tales and I started looking at the stories with other eyes. All the books introduce situations that can be easily translated to real life situations, from daily challenges to more complex concepts like life, death, friendship, love, life purpose and more. It’s really interesting to see how quotes like “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us” may have different meanings depending on the moment of your life in which you are reading it.

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

I wonder if there is anyone who ever answers “No” to this question.

There are so many different flavors in Tolkien’s work when it comes to tales or stories that I find it very hard for anyone not to find a story they enjoy. From Letters from Father Christmas to The Silmarillion, you will always find a good fit for you. And if you are the sort of person who says that fantasy books aren’t for you, you might want to take a look at the “On Fairy-Stories” essay and see if it changes your mind.

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You can find more from Andrei Guchin on Twitter!

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on to Caitlin’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

My mother started reading me the books when I was 4.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

Oh, gosh. Well, Lord of the Rings is my favorite, though I certainly enjoy The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. What I really appreciate is how decent and nonviolent, even though they are good at it when absolutely necessary, the charaters are and also the enduring friendships. Lord of the Rings is basically a master class in non-toxic masculinity. I think I picked up on that even when I was small and that’s why it is a story that sticks.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

Excellent question. The Andy-Serkis-narrated audiobooks have been a joy in these times, Mom reading to me in the old four poster when I was a kid, seeing The Fellowship of the Ring movie with my mom and brother.

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

Yes. My frequent re-reads and re-visits (via the movies and audiobooks) of the stories give me a different or deeper understanding each time. I understand the themes and lessons more explicitly now, at almost 50, than I did when I was a child.

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

Absolutely. There are a lot of very important life lessons in those stories about what is important and how to be a decent person.

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You can find more from Caitlin on Twitter!

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on to Kyria Van Gasse’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

I was introduced through my grandfather, who is obsessed with Tolkien’s works. He collects all the Dutch translations of his books, extended editions of the movies, various art and even makes drawings and paintings of Tolkien’s world himself. It was only natural that he introduced me to the magical world at a fairly young age (I think I saw the movies the moment they were available on DVD, and I am turning 22 this year, so you can count back :P). We also have various pets in the family who are named after Tolkien characters, so you could say the professor’s world really lives within us.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

I’m going to be very basic and say the magical whimsyness of the world. Although I like to say I’d be an elf in his world, I know at heart I am a homely hobbit and I have such a big love for the Shire. The chapters or scenes that happen in that place are my favourite out of all, although I also have a fondness for Théoden and his Rohan (we recently named a cat Rohan!). I just love the world so much and how everyone can find something in it to get lost for a while.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

Definitely back when I was a kid and had weekly sleepover nights at my grandparents. My grandfather used to read stories to us every night, and there was a while where those stories where pages from a daily Tolkien calendar. He read excerpts, showed us maps and drawings, sang the little songs… It really made Tolkien a big part of my childhood. We also had this yearly tradition of watching the full extended editions over a few weeks, so I feel like I know these movies by heart and they kinda shaped me in a way.

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

I think I look at it more as a source of inspiration now, or more like a thing that I’d like to be able to do. I write fantasy as well, and although my writing style is totally not like Tolkien’s, I do believe some parts of his work influenced the way I write. I also really love how he made fantasy a serious business, and showed it wasn’t just a genre for kids’ stories, but a fully fledged part of the literature industry.

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

I would definitely recommend it to anyone into fantasy, or starting to get into fantasy (although I’d say they perhaps should either watch the movies first or start with The Hobbit, as LOTR itself is perhaps a bit too much as a starting fantasy reader).

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You can find more from Kyria Van Gasse on Twitter!

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on to  Laurie Magan’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

My mom showed me the Rankin/Bass Hobbit cartoon in 1977 (I was 9 years old). She also had a Hobbit/LOTR set on our bookshelf (which now, battered and much loved these many years later, has pride of place in my collection), and so I read The Hobbit either immediately before or immediately after. I honestly can’t remember which. I do remember that I moved immediately into LOTR after reading The Hobbit. So my first experience of Tolkien was NOT through the books but was through visual media. I see this as a great way to take part in discussion with people who first came to Tolkien through the Jackson films, as we have something in common–our first impressions of Tolkien were not text-based, but we still find things in the text to absolutely love.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

That has changed over time. At first, when I was a child, it was the fairy story aspect. I loved stories about elves and wizards and dragons, and Tolkien was definitely talking to me on that level. I spent my middle (primary) and high school years escaping into the world Tolkien had created (I will freely admit that I got lost there more than once). As I got into my twenties, I began to read the works from a different perspective and to see themes of friendship, and fidelity, and hope in Tolkien’s writing. Those themes sustained me through more than a few dark times. As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to appreciate the inspirations and sources that Tolkien drew on, as well as the language. Tolkien was my gateway to Old and Middle English, and woke the word-nerd in me. I think the language is something that has always drawn me to Tolkien’s work, but I’ve only recently (in the past ten years or so) actually become aware of that.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

This is a really hard question to answer. Every time I read LOTR, or The Silmarillion, or Smith of Wooton Major, I find something new. That’s one of the joys of reading Tolkien: there is always something new to discover, no matter how many times I’ve already that book or that chapter or that passage. I think I’d have to say my favorite experience is reading “On Fairy Stories” for the first time and connecting that to the world that Tolkien has built in Middle-earth. That was a real “light bulb moment” for me. Here, in a few pages, was Tolkien explaining to me WHY fairy stories (and LOTR) matter. It was the author himself telling me that my love of faerie was justified, and that I was not alone in yearning for other worlds (while at the same time still appreciating the world we all share).

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

Absolutely yes and absolutely no.

Absolutely yes in that I now read Tolkien more critically, more closely. I am now more cognizant of word choice, and when I see a word like “dryad” I wonder “Why did Professor Tolkien use such an obviously non-Germanic word there?” I look for connections between LOTR and The Silmarillion and the older stories, especially those “blink and you miss it” moments that would have been fascinating textual ruins to a reader in 1960. (Eärendil? Who is that? And where can I learn more???)

Absolutely no in that I still read Tolkien (and especially LOTR) for the story. I love the characters, and the relationships between those characters. I am still overwhelmed every time I read about Théoden leading his people into battle, and terrified when Frodo encounters Shelob in the tunnel.) The Black Riders still frighten me; The Dead Marshes still move me in ways I don’t quite understand; and Gandalf still reminds me afresh, every time, that pity (in the original sense of the word) might just be the salvation of us all.

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

I would and I do. I don’t expect that everyone will enjoy it, but I still recommend it. I love Middle-earth, and the people who inhabit it, and I get excited when I meet other people who feel the same.

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on to  Tony Meade’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

As a kid and teenager, I was aware of Tolkien, but I never read it because the way people talked about it, it seemed like it was something that was daunting to get into, and that it was kind of a closed club, so I never got started with it. It wasn’t until I saw the film of The Fellowship of the Ring on opening night in 2001, and after the seven-minute prologue, I was in, and I knew that I wanted to learn everything there was to know about that world. In the year between the first two films, I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings novel, and between the second and third films, I read The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. I really haven’t stopped since.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

There are so many things, but if I had to break down to three things, it is the use of language, the metaphysical underpinnings, and the moral/ethical world that it exists in.

As far as language, Tolkien doesn’t write like anyone else, and his ability to use archaic words, in both denotation and connotation, is truly unique. He also has a poetic quality in his prose that is absent from most modern literature. You get the feeling that you are reading something both ancient and modern at the same time.

I’ve often said that I prefer the Ainulindalë to the Genesis account, or any other creation story for that matter, as it is not only having a feeling of mystical authenticity, but it also manages to capture the issues of good and evil, of fate and free will, and the different roles of divine and incarnate beings. And the metaphor of music as the mechanism of Creation appeals to me as a musician and sound engineer on a different level.

Lastly, Tolkien’s ability to explore complex issues of moral and ethical choices, including how good people go bad, the importance of both means and ends, and the importance of hope can not be more applicable to the modern world. I’ve often said that Tolkien not only makes you want to be a better person, but also shows you how.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

Back in 2003, I was going through one of the darkest periods of my life, due to a number of life crises happening at the same time. Reading through The Lord of the Rings during that time was one of the only things that helped me get through it. Losing myself in the lore of the Prologue and Appendices helped me forget my troubles, and I found hope for myself in those pages.

During that time, I also did my first readthrough of The Silmarillion, but I did it with the audiobook, which I highly recommend for first time readers. That language is really meant to be heard spoken aloud, like epic verse or scripture, so I felt like I really got it the first time around. It was also something that I lose myself in during that troubled time, and it helped me immensely.

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

I have definitely taken a more academic approach over time and increased my reading of Tolkien’s work both in breadth and depth. I have now read all of the published and edited works at least once, and thanks to amazing academics like Drs. Corey Olsen, Mike Drout, Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger, and many others, I’ve been able to study so much of his work in great detail. I’ve also made a special effort to study Tolkien’s non-Middle-earth works, as I feel that these are really revealing of Tolkien’s character as a man, and the things that he was interested in life generally. Of course, I still read The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion once annually.

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

Of course, and if for no other reason than that Tolkien is one of the greatest storytellers of the modern era. It’s obvious to me, going through the early drafts of his work, that despite both his and his observers’ emphasis on his fictional world-building, created languages, and so on, Tolkien really valued good storytelling above all else, which sets him apart from many other authors who have followed in his footsteps.

But also, I think in these current days we need Tolkien’s explorations of the nature of evil, its pitfalls and snares, and how we must face up to it more than ever, and I’ve often said that The Lord of the Rings is the greatest literary exploration of the nature of evil ever printed. I hope that more people can find the time to explore the world that Tolkien created, and how they can apply those experiences to their own lives.

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You can find more from Tony Meade on Twitter!

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on to   Jasper’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

I was perhaps 5 or 6 when my dad first started The Hobbit with me as a bed time story. We had an old set of all of the (then) published Middle-earth books bound in green leather and marbled card, and he would read for me every night. Once we finished The Hobbit, he began reading The Fellowship of the Ring, which might have been a little old for a 6 year old, but I loved it nonetheless. We moved on to The Two Towers when I was about 7, and I have the distinct memory of forgetting our copy when we went on holiday and my dad scolding me for forgetting it, but buying a cheap paperback version anyway so that we didn’t have to miss a week of Frodo’s journey.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

When I was a child it was definitely the world he had built, the vastness and scope of the place that I felt fully immersed in, even during the long and unwieldy songs, and the Ent portions. As an adult, though, it’s got to be the linguistics. I actually chose to do my Masters degree in Historical Linguistics, with a focus on Old Germanic Dialects directly due to Tolkien’s own scholarship. Studying diachronic linguistics, then returning to the worlds and languages Tolkien created, you can really appreciate how much he loved both his academic and creative writing. The progression of Primitive Quendian to Common Eldarin, then to Quenya and Telerin, then down to Sindarin and all the different branches, is so organic. The detail with which he notes changes in phonology and morphology in The Etymologies is so exciting and mirrors his own studies into Proto-Germanic and its related dialects so beautifully. It’s hard not to get very nerdy about it right alongside him.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

The first Peter Jackson movie was released when I was 8, and my childhood best friend and I would spend hours in the fields around his house playing Rangers, fighting Orcs and speaking all the Elvish we could remember. We saw each other after school almost every day, and we didn’t stop playing our elaborate, dramatised Middle-earth games until we were 13.

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

Absolutely. As I mentioned above, choosing to study linguistics in the same vein has given me a whole new respect for the world, languages and cultures that Tolkien created, however as an adult there are things now that I find wanting in that world. In many ways it was a product of its time (though it was as much a product of Beowulf’s time too) and as such there are limitations to the world-building that a current writer of Fantasy wouldn’t dare restrict themselves to. Fantasy nowadays without more than 2 or 3 women in an entire series feels off, as does a cast without representation beyond the White Brythonic/Norse cultures of Tolkien’s wheelhouse. I find now that as much as I love and respect Tolkien’s original works, I want people who are adapting and building upon his works to create something that better reflects those who are consuming it. Why should the beautiful, graceful races of Middle-earth be blonde haired and blue eyed? Why is it only ever the villains that are described in ways that evoke the cultures of People of Colour? Why should the sweeping romances be just between a man and a woman? In Tolkien’s day these things might have been out of the scope of most of his readers, but as seminal a work of Fantasy as he created in his world of Middle-earth, our world and its imaginations have grown exponentially, and any Fantasy should reflect that and take it in its stride. That’s one of the things I love about Tolkien’s work, though, it’s not difficult to imagine infinite different facets of life in Middle-earth. Whether that is Orcs really understanding what a ‘menu’ is, and therefore having a complex and nuanced culture of their own beyond being “villainous creatures”, or the truth of Dwarf women and the more complicated relationship Dwarves may have to sex and gender. There is so much more that Tolkien’s works can become when put in the diverse and variable hands of the people who love it.

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

Yes, but I understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I would love people to love Tolkien as much as I do, but there is so much more Fantasy written now that is more engaging, easier to read, and better reflects its readers. Perhaps dipping a toe into Middle-earth might be appropriate for people who want the linguistics or the history, or just to see how newer Fantasy has been shaped by the success of Tolkien’s works, but I don’t think it’s necessarily an accessible, ‘one size fits all’ kind of Fantasy.

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on to   Madeline Bauer’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

My mom read The Hobbit and all The Lord of the Rings to my brother and I when we were kids; we also watched the movies very young including The Return of the King in theaters. I just totally fell in love with the world and the wonderful characters.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

I love the sensitivity with which he writes. Characters in Tolkien’s works have deep emotion – they laugh, they cry, they have strong bonds with each other. Relationships between characters feel real and when reading I care about them more than I’ve ever experienced with another fictional world. I also love how much artwork there is of Middle-earth – not just Tolkien’s own, but so many accomplished artists have shared their interpretations of his world.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

It’s so hard to choose! At this time, what comes to mind is the exhibit at the Morgan Library in NYC of Tolkien’s sketches, watercolors and some notes. It’s amazing how much of his creative process is still available to fans now, and he had such a great eye for landscapes.

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

Considerably. As a kid even though I’d read the books I still very much was primarily a movie fan. And I still love the movies, they’re wonderful! But recently I’ve read The Silmarillion again and it is just full of great stories. Knowing those stories better has really deepened my appreciation for Tolkien’s other works and I’ll be excited to read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit again with The Silmarillion fresh in my memory.

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

I would and regularly do, to anybody who will listen! I’ve also made some more friends recently who share my love for Tolkien so it’s also been fun to talk to people more regularly who already get it.

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan.

To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page.

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website!

Now, on to  Lucy’s responses:

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1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

My father was an OG Tolkien nerd in the 60s/70s, and read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings to me as a kid. I actually dodged an enormous bullet in that I was almost named Éowyn before the movies came out, after which it would have been… rough.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

To be addressed in more depth in 4, but I’ve always appreciated that his work manages to be optimistic but not naïve about human nature. On a more personal note, my parents moved away from NYC shortly after 9/11, when I was still pretty young, and reading the trilogy to myself for the first time shortly after that gave me a huge soft spot for Boromir, as I too was extremely homesick and had a Minas Tirith/Manhattan-sized chip on my shoulder. He’s still hands-down my favorite, for even more reasons than that we’re both from objectively the best cities in our respective worlds—but it hurts a bit that I got to move back home.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

After we moved, my father stayed in NYC six days a week for work. I actually barely spoke to him in person until he retired when I was in my late teens, but until then, he wrote me two letters at least once a week. The first was from him, about everyday life. Mostly just goofy stuff when I was younger, but as I got older he told me about his childhood, complained about his boss, etc.

The second letter would be signed by and in the “voice” of one of several Tolkien characters, determined by whether: I liked them, he found them interesting, and he could think of a reasonably in-character reason for them to be writing to a random child in 21st century USA. I remember Bilbo (researching a book on Big People), Maedhros (as an exercise in writing left-handed), and Faramir (interested in foreign life) featuring most prominently, but there were quite a few others as well. Even after I was too old to suspend my disbelief, it was oddly reassuring to have pen-pals who I knew were written by my father and therefore cared about me, but would provide advice or insight that I could pretend wasn’t from a parent.

4. Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

Absolutely, especially given how young I was when I first read them. I’ve definitely become much more aware of and critical of a lot of the racial and religious biases in his work as I’ve gotten older, and a linguistics minor in college gave me a very cool perspective, but more importantly, I went to grad school for and now work in forensic psychology. I love it, but it’s a field that makes it easy to become very cynical, and (as referenced in 2) I think that Tolkien beautifully addresses the flaws of individuals without being hopeless about humanity at large. In my office, I actually have a framed watercolor of the quote:
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”

5. Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

I would, and I have, but the nature of my recommendation has evolved quite a bit over time.

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