Latest News

Eä Tolkien Society Meeting and Broadcast June 15th

Hawke Robinson — 2013-06-14T09:10:00Z

Brian, Hawke, Richard, and others are trying to read as much as we can before the upcoming meeting so we can begin commenting on this new released.

Join live broadcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=CUzjpMdPdc8#!

If you do not have a copy yet to read, come enjoy the conversation anyway, most have experienced the Arthurian legends in various ways, so you varied input on this interesting topic will be greatly appreciated.

In addition to meeting at the usual location, we will of course be simulcasting over the Internet via our Google Plus Hangout and Youtube Channel, so please join us there, and/or in the chatrooms.

See you at the upcoming meeting!

Meeting location: Caffe Delicio on 2301 N. Monroe, Spokane, Washington (and online).

Online Participation Information:

Google Plus Hangout: tolkienmoot@gmail.com - Everyone is welcome to join our hangout and join in the conversation.

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/tolkienmoot (you will be able to view and listen to the live stream, or if you can not watch while it is live, it will be available on the channel a few minutes after the broadcast completes (unedited).

You can post questions (if you are not connecting via Google+) to the Merp.com IRC Chat room: http://irc.merp.com/chat or The One Ring IRC chatroom. You can also post questions to the Youtube channel (though it is difficult for us to monitor all of them simultaneously, we do what we can).

Also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tolkienscholars

And Twitter: https://twitter.com/tolkienscholars

Whether you are just a casually interested fan of Tolkien's "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings" books, Peter Jackson's movie versions, or a dedicated scholar of Professor Tolkien's works, all are welcome to join in the discussion.

We also try to hangout in the IRC chatrooms for:

Theonering.net, geekandsundry.com, merp.com, tolkienmoot, and others, as well as try to monitor the Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter comments, but please keep in mind we're all volunteer, so it is best if you try to contact us in the main chatroom on merp.com to get our attention the quickest.

Namarie!

Next Eä Tolkien Society Meeting and Broadcast Will Be May 18th 12:30-2:00 pm Pacific Time

Hawke Robinson — 2013-04-29T17:20:00Z

Notes from April's meeting here:

http://tolkienscholars.org/news/meeting-notes-from-ea-tolkien-society-april-2013

We will once again be meeting, though this time on the third Saturday of the month in Spokane, and once again simulcast live online over Google Plus Hangout and Youtube. The meeting takes place May 18th, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm (Pacific Time), here is additional information....

Meeting location: Caffe Delicio on 2301 N. Monroe, Spokane, Washington (and online).

Meeting Time: Saturday, Ma 18th, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm (Pacific Time)

Meeting Notes and Broadcast From Last Month

Meeting Notes: http://tolkienscholars.org/news/next-ea-tolkien-society-meeting-and-broadcast-is-april-13th

Last month's recorded broadcast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Naz_XZ-uZ2k

All broadcasts on the Youtube Tolkien Moot channel (including conventions): http://www.youtube.com/tolkienmoot/

Online Information:

Google Plus Hangout: tolkienmoot@gmail.com - Everyone is welcome to join our hangout and join in the conversation.

Also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tolkienscholars

And Twitter: https://twitter.com/tolkienscholars

Namarie!

Meeting Notes from Ea Tolkien Society April 2013

Hawke Robinson — 2013-04-29T17:11:02Z

Attending: Hawke (HR), Chris (CK), Richard (RB), and Brian (BH), and online community from various countries.

1. Discussion of the merits and demerits of beards. From ageism to the
facial hair from the Hobbit movie. http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/f274/

2. HR calls meeting to order the Ea Tolkien Society, a smial of the UK
Tolkien Society.

3. BH read March meeting notes. Showed TheOneRing.net's March Madness
elimination brackets for popularity of characters, with Gandalf beating out
Thorin.

4. HR referred to Music Experience new exhibit in Seattle:
http://www.empmuseum.org/calendar/events/quest-fantasy-exhibit-opening-adventure.aspx

5. Discussion of TOR role-playing campaign & the recent adventures.

6. BH read Tolkien's Letter #54. Which ends with: *
Longað þonne þy læs þe him con leoþa worn,
oþþe mid hondum con hearpan gretan...*
(Less doth yearning trouble him who knoweth many songs,
or with his hands can touch the harp...)

7.Group discussion... JRRT's fatherly advice to his son. JRRT had served in
the trenches of WWI, and now his son is serving in WWII. CK explains the
Latin names for the songs JRRT cites, as they are Hebrew Psalms. This led
to a discussion of the importance of songs to JRRT, and Edith's ability to
play piano. RB made the point that music in his day was usually performed
live, vs. how now it's usually recorded.

8. CK read Tolkien's letter #55. Mention of Jewish professor at Oxford and
their friendly meeting at a air raid shelter. HR talked about the group in
Israel that is one of the few also exploring the recreational therapeutic
potential of RPG.

9. RB read Tolkien's letter #56. Another one from JRRT to his son
Christopher. The Useless Quack was Dr. Havard, one of the Inklings.

10. RB read Letter #57 also... a short one. Discussion of which story C.S.
Lewis was writing at the time... most likely *The Great Divorce*.

11. HR read Letter #58. JRRT mentions writing again about Frodo and Sam. An
interesting discussion between JRRT and an American officer in the UK: "I
told [the American] that his accent sounded like English wiped over a dirty
sponge..." JRRT talking about a nostalgic class reunion in his old haunts
in Birmingham. CK wondered which reunion it was. It was either 25 or 30
years.

12. Facebook for Tolkien Scholars (Tolkien Society) not reaching everyone
because of the new configuration. More Twitter and Google Plus sharing, and
IRC chatroom. However, we have almost 1000 Facebook friends.

13. We all drool over the excellent Douglas Anderson book, *The Annotated
Hobbit*. 2nd edition is highly recommended.

14. Facebook Question from Amman, Jordan: Frodo's best speech, Merry's best
speech, and Pippin's best speech.

Suggestions:
Frodo--at the end of the council of Elrond
Merry--at the Entmoot
Pippin--at Isengard, when Gimli and co. arrive at the gates to find the
hobbits eating and smoking "a few well-earned comforts."

Last comments.

We decided to read Letters 59-64 for next month's meeting.

Next meeting tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 18 (3rd Sat).

Next Eä Tolkien Society Meeting and Broadcast is April 13th

Hawke Robinson — 2013-04-13T18:40:06Z

Meeting location: Caffe Delicio on 2301 N. Monroe, Spokane, Washington (and online).

Meeting Time: Saturday, February 9th, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm (Pacific Time)

Meeting Notes and Broadcast From Last Month

Meeting Notes: http://tolkienscholars.org/news/meeting-notes-from-march-2013-society-meeting

March Recorded Broadcast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vtnNZV7Vds&feature=plcp

Online Information:

Google Plus Hangout: tolkienmoot@gmail.com - Everyone is welcome to join our hangout and join in the conversation.

Also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tolkienscholars

And Twitter: https://twitter.com/tolkienscholars

Namarie!

Meeting Notes from March 2013 Society Meeting

Hawke Robinson — 2013-04-13T18:21:45Z

Tolkien Society March 9, 2013

Attending: Chris, Richard, Brian, Hawke online via Google hangout.

1. Read Feb Notes.

2. Discussion about Hobbit House in Montana. Decision that HR will check into rates and possible discount this summer. Brian to mither* him weekly.

3. Chris read Letter 51.

4. Discussion of letter… Russian buildings bland because of communism. Willesden reference. Joad interesting person.

5. Hawke read Letter 52.

6. Political opinion… vs. Government

7. Middle-Earth connection: how does JRRT treat authority & government in the races of Middle-Earth (LOTR, Silmarillion)? Numenoreans. Comment from Ardamir in Finland re: the Druadan.

8. Richard read Letter 53.

9. JRRT prefers local diversity vs. globalization. Tolkien’s view of Americo-cosmopolitanism affecting the world. Discussion.

10. Ford’s Utopian settlement.

11. Tolkien’s view of Englishness. Preference of own culture without cultural imperialism. Also Tolkien’s faith. Numenor & Gondor & control desire. Even over death cf. Denethor. Kurgan quote from Def Leppard album Rock of Ages, "I've got something to say/ it's better to burn out than to fade away."

12. Ardamir from Finland (non-native English speaker). Agrees good and bad points in globalization.

13. Finland discussion. Reference to Kalevala source matl for JRRT. Kullervo compared to Turin Turambar.

14. Next Meeting read letters 54-58... April 13th @ Caffe Delicio.

*http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mither

Recording of Tolkien Society March 2013 Meeting Broadcast

Hawke Robinson — 2013-03-09T23:08:27Z

Many thanks to those that participated in the Ea Tolkien Society meeting. If you missed the live broadcast, the recorded show is now available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vtnNZV7Vds&feature=plcp Meeting notes will be on http://tolkienscholars.org/ Until next time, Namarie!

March 9th for next Eä Tolkien Society Meeting and Broadcast

Hawke Robinson — 2013-03-09T07:10:00Z

Reading & Topic Suggestions

See February's meeting notes for details:

http://tolkienscholars.org/news/meeting-notes-from-ea-tolkien-society-february-2013-meeting

Online Information:

Google Plus Hangout: tolkienmoot@gmail.com - Everyone is welcome to join our hangout and join in the conversation.

Also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tolkienscholars

And Twitter: https://twitter.com/tolkienscholars

Namarie!

Meeting Notes from Eä Tolkien Society February 2013 Meeting

Hawke Robinson — 2013-02-12T06:34:37Z

Eä Tolkien Society Notes
Caffé Delicio
February 9, 2013

1. Attending: Hawke, Chris, Richard, Brian, and many people online from around the world.
2. Introductory comments
3. Read notes from January meeting.
4. Some discussion re: notes and King Bladorthin reference, and a question from
Leonardo in NZ.
5. Richard read Letter 48.
6. Discussion… Tolkien’s concern about Lewis’s health.
7. Chris, Hawke, and Brian read Letter 49 (very long), regarding Tolkien's views about divorce in discussion with C.S. Lewis.
8. Many footnotes.
9. Discussion of Lewis and Tolkien’s differing views on marriage and divorce.
10. Richard noted that this issue is an artifact of an absolute standard vs. a relative
standard. A relative standard doesn’t have an anchor, so it slides all over the place.
Tolkien notes this when he critiques Lewis for a seemingly contradictory viewpoint.
11. Discussion. Hawke noted that different states in USA define how marriage
ceremonies are to be done. Chris noted concept of covenant marriage tried in the South…
the social cost of divorce was reduced. Discussion also of democracy/who gets to decide
social policies like marriage.
12. Chatroom: Hobbit movie… morgul blade… why didn’t it dissolve?
13. Arthurian reference in Letter 48.
14. Brian recommended Keys to Avalon book… was Arthur from North Wales? See
http://www.amazon.com/The-Keys-Avalon-Location-Revealed/dp/1862047359
15. Richard asked about who Tolkien was writing the mythology for? Discussion of
Anglo-Saxons, English population not keeping a mythological narrative as the Welsh and
Gaelic speakers did.
16. Chris read Letter 50.
17. Tolkien’s love for nature discussed. Referenced Hawke's essay on Tolkien's Love of Tress and Nature that was read at previous year's U.K. Tolkien Society. http://tolkienscholars.org/archives/tolkien-and-trees.pdf/view?searchterm=love+of+trees

Next meeting March 9.

Read Letters 51-53. Look up Wind in the Willows reference in
upcoming Letter 51. Also to discuss a trip to Montana Hobbit house in summer.

February 2013 Eä Tolkien Society Meeting: Feb 9 - 12:30 to 2:30 pm

Hawke Robinson — 2013-02-09T20:03:00Z

Meeting location: Caffe Delicio on 2301 N. Monroe, Spokane, Washington (and online).

Meeting Time: Saturday, February 9th, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Reading & Topic Suggestions: See January's meeting notes for details:
http://tolkienscholars.org/news/next-monthly-meeting-january-12th-ea-tolkien-society

Online Information:

Google Plus Hangout: tolkienmoot@gmail.com - Everyone is welcome to join our hangout.

Also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tolkienscholars

And Twitter: https://twitter.com/tolkienscholars

Namarie!

Ea Tolkien Society January 2013 Meeting Notes

Hawke Robinson — 2013-02-09T19:46:29Z

Ea Tolkien Society Meeting

January 12, 2013

Attending: Hawke (via Google Hangout), Chris, Richard, Noah, Brian

1. BH read December 2012 meeting notes.

2. Lively discussion of the Hobbit film which came out at the end of 2012.

--what they did well: troll scene, riddle sequence, initial dwarven playfulness, music, Lonely Mountain kingdom backstory

--what did not work: Azog change, elves not singing in Rivendell, rivalry between dwarves & elves true but contrived as a betrayal

3. Discussion of the races of Middle-Earth that are described in The Hobbit. We explored the following questions:

How did the Hobbits come to live in the Shire? (led by Richard)
What's the difference between the Elves of Rivendell vs. the Elves of Mirkwood? (led by Chris)
Where did trolls as a race come from? (led by Noah)
How did Thorin's grandfather Thror come to be King under the Mt. in the first place? (led by Brian)
What is the real origin of the blades Orcrist and Glamdring found in the trolls' den? (led by Hawke)

4. The Letters of JRR Tolkien #48 and #49 will be postponed until next meeting.

5. The next meeting will be February 9, 2013, at Caffe Delicio, at 12:30 pm, and on Google Hangout.

Next Monthly Meeting January 12th Eä Tolkien Society

Hawke Robinson — 2013-01-11T04:32:49Z

I suggest for our next meeting, after reading from those Letters 48 & 49, we could discuss the races of Middle-Earth that are described in the book The Hobbit. That way when we discuss the movie, we can focus on peoples it introduces (hobbits, dwarves, elves, wizards) rather than details of the film (which not all of our august company have seen). Specifically I am thinking of a discussion of the backstory of each race prior to the Hobbit book/film story. Each of us could moderate a discussion on a separate group.
For example:

1. How did the Hobbits come to live in the Shire?

How is Gollum's ancestry linked to Bilbo's (and specifically the Brandybucks)? Led by: ________________

2. How did Thorin's grandfather Thror come to be King under the Mt. in the first place? What's the deal anyway with Azog & the orc/dwarf grudge? Led by: _Brian__

3. How did Gandalf and Radagast come to be wizards in Middle-Earth? Led by: ___________________

4. What's the difference between the Elves of Rivendell vs. the Elves of Mirkwood? Led by:_________________

5. Where did trolls as a race come from?

6. Why is there a reference to "Ungoliant" in the movie when Radagast tells about the spiders of Mirkwood?

7. What is the connection between the eagles of the misty Mountains and the mission of Gandalf?

8. What is the real origin of those blades found in the trolls' den?

What say you?

Eä Tolkien Society December 8th Monthly Meeting Notes

Hawke Robinson — 2013-01-11T04:09:06Z

Dec 8 minutes:

After 30-ish minutes of unsuccessful tries to get google+ up & running,

CK Read Minutes
RB read letter 47
Discussion - Tom Bombadil was published in 1962; Farmer Giles in 1949
Was Tom then folded into LOTR, or the other way around?
There are two parts: Bombadil goes Boating, and Bombadil working to get the hobbits out of the Willow tree

LOTR being possibly written and typed out to be read by the inklings?
Discussion of paper bulk and the market for LOTR, considering how long it had become.

Flotsom & Jetsom: Book 3, chapter 9 is chapter XXXI that is referred to in the book.

Discussion of Hobbit being from a hobbit's point of view; LOTR being from a wider [Gandalf's?] point of view
RB Silmarillion - Everything was from the elves' point of view; at the end of the LOTR Frodo left with the elves
BH fairy tailes & Nursery tales not to be read - desires universal to humanity.

Discussion - upcoming movie - Why 3 trilogy? Where to break?
1st movie - Rivendell? After the ring? Lookout of Mirkwood
2nd movie - barrels? Smaug?
3rd movie drag out the battle sequence Thorough &
Swords -> after trolls turned to stone. Glamdring & Gondolin
Elves out of hte west. Orcrist - goblin cleaver
Description of middle earth trolls as cartoonish in Hobbit. Cave trolls in LOTR not so much.

Watch & discuss video #9: Goblin town torture device.
Discussion of trilogy "Eviscorate"
Visual cliff notes, but not a replacement
Couldn't do mythological elements until today.
Hobbit - a quest personal; local. Several dangers; BB grows up; coming of age as a hobbit; as a burgler.

BH says Sunday Matinee 4:00 NorthTown Regal; the 16th.48fps; 2d

Next Eä Society meeting; 2nd Saturday; January 12th; Cafe Delicio; 12:30pm - 2:30pm.

To Read: Letters 48 & 49.

S.D.G.

> 48 To C. S. Lewis
>
> [Lewis kept very few letters, and only two that Tolkien actually sent to him have survived. (For the second,
> see no. 113.) "The U.Q.' is an abbreviation for 'Useless Quack', the nickname given by his fellow Inklings to
> R. E. Havard, Tolkien and Lewis's doctor. 'Ridley' was M. R. Ridley of Balliol College, who, with Tolkien
> and Lewis, was involved in teaching forces cadets at the university, on the wartime 'short courses'. Lewis
> was, meanwhile, also travelling around England giving talks on the Christian religion to RAF stations.]
>
> 20 April 1943 [20 Northmoor Road, Oxford]
> My dear Jack,
> V. sorry to hear you are laid low – and with no U.Q. to suggest that it may be your last illness!
> You must be v: disconsolate. I begin to think that for us to meet on Wednesdays is a duty: there
> seem to be so many obstacles and fiendish devices to prevent it.
> I hope to have a good report of you soon. But do not trouble yourself. Ridley was so astounded
> at the ignorance of all 22 cadets, revealed in his first class, that he has leaped at the chance of
> another hour, esp. since otherwise there was no 'Use of E[nglish]' class next week at all. You can (if
> you wish) shove in 'Arthur'1 on some other date, when you are recovered fully. The tutorials do not
> matter.
> I fear you are attempting too much. For even if you have merely got 'flu', you are prob. tiring
> yourself into an easy victim. As a mere 'director', I shall hope v. much to persuade you to ease off in
> travel (if poss.), and put some weight into this cadet stuff. I am a bit alarmed by it. My lone
> machine-gun since it started seems to me to have missed the target, and it needs at least one more
> gun – to depend on – other than the valuable Ridley.
> I lunched at the Air Squadron to-day & got a brief whiff of an atmosphere now all too familiar
> to you, I expect.
> Yours affectionately
> T2
> PS. Ridley's first question in the test-paper was a group of words to define – apposite, reverend,
> venal, choric, secular and a few others. Not one cadet got any of the words right.
>
> ****
>
> 49 To C. S. Lewis (draft)
>
> [A comment on Lewis's suggestion, in Christian Behaviour (1943), that 'there ought to be two distinct kinds
> of marriage': Christian marriage, which is binding and lifelong, and marriage-contracts solemnised only by
> the State, which make no such demands. The draft, apparently written in 1943, was found tucked into
> Tolkien's copy of Lewis's booklet.]
>
> My dear L.,
> I have been reading your booklet 'Christian Behaviour'.1 I have never felt happy about your
> view of Christian 'policy' with regard to divorce. I could not before say why – because on the
> surface your policy seems to be reasonable; and it is at any rate the system under which Roman
> Catholics already live. For the moment I will not argue whether your policy is in fact right (for
> today), even an inevitable situation. But I should like to point out that your opinion is in your
> booklet based on an argument that shows a confusion of thought discoverable from that booklet
> itself.
> p. 34. 'I'd be very angry if the Mohammedans tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine.'
> Justly so. Let us consider this point alone, at first. Why? Well, if we try to ascend straightaway to a
> rational plane, and leave behind mere anger with anyone who interferes with our habits (good or
> bad), the answer is: because the Mohammedans would be guilty of injustice. They would be
> injuring us by depriving us of our share in a universal human right, the temperate use of wine,
> against our will. You made that quite clear in your remarks about Temperance, p. 13.
> But look now at pp. 26, 30, 31. There you will observe that you are really committed (with the
> Christian Church as a whole) to the view that Christian marriage – monogamous, permanent,2
> rigidly 'faithful' – is in fact the truth about sexual behaviour for all humanity: this is the only road of
> total health3 (including4 sex in its proper place) for all5 men and women. That it is dissonant with
> men's present sex-psychology does not disprove this, as you see: 'I think it is the instinct that has
> gone wrong,' you say. Indeed if this were not so, it would be an intolerable injustice to impose
> permanent6 monogamy even on Christians. If Christian marriage were in the last analysis 'unnatural'
> (of the same type as say the prohibition of flesh-meat in certain monastic rules) it could only be
> imposed on a special 'chastity-order' of the Church, not on the universal Church. No item of
> compulsory Christian morals is valid only for Christians. (See II Social Morality at the beginning.)7
> Do I not then say truly that your bringing in of Mohammedans on p. 34 is a most stinking redherring?
> I do not think you can possibly support your 'policy', by this argument, for by it you are
> giving away the very foundation of Christian marriage. The foundation is that this is the correct way
> of 'running the human machine'. Your argument reduces it merely to a way of (perhaps?) getting an
> extra mileage out of a few selected machines.*
> The horror of the Christians with whom you disagree (the great majority of all practising
> Christians) at legal divorce is in die ultimate analysis precisely that: horror at seeing good machines
> ruined by misuse. I could hope that, if you ever get a chance of alterations, you would make the
> point clear. Toleration of divorce – if a Christian does tolerate it – is toleration of a human abuse,
> which it requires special local and temporary circumstances to justify (as does the toleration of
> usury) – if indeed either divorce or genuine usury should be tolerated at all, as a matter merely of
> expedient policy.
> Under your limitations of space you have not, of course, had opportunity to elaborate8 your
> 'policy' – toleration of abuse. But I must suppose you have considered it, as a practical policy in the
> present world. You do not speak of your two-marriage system as a merely expedient policy, but as
> if it was somehow related to the Christian virtue of charity. Still I think you can only defend it as an
> expedient; as a surgeon who, knowing that an operation is necessary for a patient's health, does not
> operate because he can't (the patient and the patient's foolish advisers won't allow him); or does not
> even advocate the operation, because the Anti-Surgical League is so powerful and vocal that he is
> * Christian marriage is not a prohibition of sexual intercourse, but the correct way of sexual temperance – in fact
> probably the best way of getting the most satisfying sexual pleasure, as alcoholic temperance is the best way of
> enjoying beer and wine.
> afraid of being beaten up. A Christian of your view is, as we have seen, committed to the belief that
> all people who practise 'divorce' – certainly divorce as it is now legalized – are misusing the human
> machine (whatever philosophical defence they may put up), as certainly as men who get drunk
> (doubtless with a philosophic defence also). They are injuring themselves, other people, and
> society, by their behaviour. And wrong behaviour (if it is really wrong on universal principles) is
> progressive, always: it never stops at being 'not very good', 'second best' – it either reforms, or goes
> on to third-rate, bad, abominable. In no department is that truer than in sex – as you yourself vividly
> exhibit, in the comparison between a dish of bacon and strip-tease.9 You show too that you yourself
> suspect that the break-down of sex-reticence in our time has not made matters better but worse.
> Anyone in any case can see that the enormous extension and facilitation of 'divorce' in our days,
> since those of (say) Trollopean society, has done great social harm. It is a slippery slope – leading
> quickly to Reno,10 and beyond: in fact already to a promiscuity barely restrained by legalities: for a
> pair can now divorce one another, have an interlude with new partners, and then 're-marry'. A
> situation is being, has been, produced in which ordinary unphilosophical and irreligious folk are not
> only not restrained by law from inconstancy, but are actually by law and social custom encouraged
> to inconstancy. I need hardly add that a situation is thus being produced in which it is intolerably
> hard to bring up Christian youth in Christian sexual morals (which are ex hypothesi correct morals
> for all, and which will be lost but which depend upon Christian youth for their maintenance).
> On what grounds then do you part company with those Christians who resist, step by step,
> attempts to extend and make divorce easier? (On one point only would I agree. I do not view
> extension of the provisions of the law to all classes (irrespective of rank and money) as an extension
> of divorce – it is rather justice: if you can have real justice in evil. I think in so desperate a battle
> (about so fundamental and vital a matter) that resistance even of 'cheapening' of divorce may be
> defended – why not save the poor by their poverty?; but I admit that as an expedient policy it may
> be given an ugly twist by the enemy.)
> I should like to know on what grounds you base your 'two-marriage' system! From the
> biological-sociological point of view I gather (from Huxley and others) that monogamy is probably
> highly beneficial to a community. On that plane, permanence and rigid fidelity would not appear at
> first sight to be essential. All that the 'social director' requires would seem to be a high degree of
> sexual continence. But has this ever been, and can it ever be in fact achieved without 'sanctions' or
> religio-legal ordinance that invests the marriage contract with 'awe'? It does not look like it. The
> battle may be a losing one, but I cannot help suspecting that those who fight against the divorce in
> this case of law and religion are in the right. Sentire cum ecclesia:11 how often one finds that this is
> a true guide. I say this all the more cheerfully, because on this point I myself dissented in feeling
> (not expressly because I am under saving obedience). But I was then still under the delusion that
> Christian marriage was just a bit of special behaviour of my 'sect or order'.
> The last Christian marriage I attended was held under your system: the bridal pair were
> 'married' twice. They married one another before the Church's witness (a priest), using one set of
> formulas, and making a vow of lifelong fidelity (and the woman of obedience); they then married
> again before the State's witness (a registrar, and in this case – adding in my view to the impropriety
> – a woman) using another set of formulas and making no vow of fidelity or obedience. I felt it was
> an abominable proceeding – and also ridiculous, since the first set of formulas and vows included
> the latter as the lesser. In fact it was only not ridiculous on the assumption that the State was in fact
> saying by implication: I do not recognize the existence of your church; you may have taken certain
> vows in your meeting-place but they are just foolishness, private taboos, a burden you take on
> yourself: a limited and impermanent contract is all that is really necessary for citizens. In other
> words this 'sharp division' is a piece of propaganda, a counter-homily delivered to young Christians
> fresh from the solemn words of the Christian minister.
> [The draft ends here.]

November Eä Tolkien Society Notes

Hawke Robinson — 2012-12-06T19:10:00Z

Eä Tolkien Society

Meeting @ Caffe Delicio, 2301 North Monroe Street,
Spokane, WA 99205

Present: Chris Kuperstein,
Richard Baldwin, Hawke Robinson, & Brian Huseland

VIdeo of the meeting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL-Na8aPn-8

1. Read notes from October
meeting.

2. HR asked if anyone online had any questions
before starting the reading of Letters of
Tolkien. None at first.

3. RB commented that if Middle Earth was
imposed on a map of Europe, Mt. Doom would be where the ancient volcano
Santorini was. Brief discussion.

4. BH suggested that our next Tolkien Society
Meeting on December 8th have the main topic of the upcoming Hobbit
film, The Unexpected Journey. Discussion resulted in agreement. Looking
at future Letters, Letter 47 refers
to the Hobbit.

5. CK read Letter #41. (fragment)

6. Discussion: which did
Tolkien dislike more: lectures or committees? We think committees, based on
what he says. JRRT was a copious letter-writer.
This was the time before email. A lot more meaningful correspondence at
the time.

7. RB read Letter #42. It has interesting
references to communism and Nazi threat as well as a “Dr. Havard” and the Lewis
brothers who hung out with Tolkien. There are many footnotes on this letter.
What role did the USSR have during World War II? First as the ally of Germany,
then changed sides. This letter was written in 1941, when it was still an ally
of Germany.

8. Additional discussion
topic mentioned by CK about media—how much did the British government control
the newspapers? How often does this still happen…

9. Ardamir from the Chatroom
suggested that Dr. Havard was part of the Inklings. We looked it up and read
the Wikipedia entry on Havard.

9. BH, HR, RB, and CK each
took turns reading Letter #43.

10. Thus began a lengthy
discussion of male and female relationships, how men and women respond to each
other in friendship or romance. How did Tolkien think about this? Why did he think this? What sorts of feminism
did he encounter? Was he a chauvinist? How did his traditional Catholic view
perhaps lower the worth of sexuality, and see it as mostly corrupt, vs.
something that may be redeemed or restored to something positive? What would we
agree or disagree with concerning Tolkien’s views? When do we put the opposite
sex on a pedestal, and how does that damage the possibility of a marriage?

11. It was noted that the
context of Letter 43 was JRRT’s fatherly advice to his son about the birds and
the bees, and staying on the right moral path re: relationships.

12. How does this view of
Tolkien’s influence his treatment of romance in Middle-Earth? Discussion
briefly re: nature of Arwen and Luthien (elves, not humans of course).

13. BH said that it’s
important to distinguish between 1st wave, 2nd wave, and
3rd wave feminism. Respect between men and women avoids extremes of old-fashioned
patronizing attitudes of some men or modern despising attitudes of some women. Men and women are different, and need to
respect those differences in each other. RB noted the pendulum has swung too far the other way in our time.

14. Talking about marriage.
Instead of looking for the ideal mate, Tolkien wrote, “The real soul-mate is
the one you’re actually married to.”

15. Ended by reading last
part of Letter #43 which described JRRT and his romance with Edith… he had to break
off the relationship until he turned 21 years old, when he rekindled the
romance and proposed to her. They were happily married for 55 years before
Edith’s death in 1971.

16. Last minute comments from
the Web. BH thanked HR for his investment in Tolkien Society, etc. over the
past years.

17. The next reading assignment will be
letters #44-46 optional, but spending our time on Letter 47, and a lively
discussion about the upcoming Hobbit film. Come prepared to share whatever
tidbits you’ve heard about the movie, and whatever questions you may have about
it.
***Quote from Letter 45:"Anyway, I have in this War a burning private grudge – which wouldprobably make me a better soldier at 49 than I was at 22: against that ruddy little ignoramus AdolfHitler (for the odd thing about demonic inspiration and impetus is that it in no way enhances thepurely intellectual stature: it chiefly affects the mere will). Ruining, perverting, misapplying, andmaking for ever accursed, that noble northern spirit, a supreme contribution to Europe, which I haveever loved, and tried to present in its true light. Nowhere, incidentally, was it nobler than inEngland, nor more early sanctified and Christianized. ...."
***Letter 47 entire:
47 To Stanley Unwin[Unwin wrote on 4 December to say that Foyle's bookshop in London were to issue The Hobbit under theimprint of their Children's Book Club, and that this had enabled Allen & Unwin to reprint the book. Thiswas all the more desirable as the previous stock of copies had been burnt during an air-raid on London.]
7 December 1942 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford
Dear Mr Unwin,Thank you for your note, containing two items of hope. I have for some time intended to writeand enquire whether in the present situation it was of any use, other than private and familyamusement, to endeavour to complete the sequel to The Hobbit. I have worked on it at intervalssince 1938, all such intervals in fact as trebled official work, quadrupled domestic work, and 'CivilDefence'1 have left. It is now approaching completion. I hope to get a little free time this vacation,and might hope to finish it off early next year. My heart rather misgives me, all the same. I ought towarn you that it is very long, in places more alarming than 'The Hobbit', and in fact not really a'juvenile' at all. It has reached Chapter XXXI2 and will require at least six more to finish (these arealready sketched); and the chapters are as a rule longer than the chapters of The Hobbit. Is such an'epic' possible to consider in the present circumstances? Would you like to wait, until it is reallyfinished; or would you care to see a considerable portion of it now? It is in type-script (of variousamateur hands) up to about Ch. xxiii. I don't think you will be disappointed with the quality of it. Ithas had the approval of the original Hobbit audience (my sons and Mr C.S.Lewis), who have reador heard it many times. But it is a question of paper, bulk, and market! It would require two maps.The burning of The Hobbit was a blow. I am to blame in not writing (as I intended) andexpressing to you my sympathy with the grievous damage you must have sustained, of which Ishared only a very small pan. Is any 'compensation' eventually recoverable? ....Would you also consider a volume, containing three or four shorter 'Fairy' stories and someverses? 'Farmer Giles', which I once submitted to you, has pleased a large number of children andgrown-ups. If too short, I could add to it one or two similar tales, and include some verse on similartopics, including 'Tom Bombadil'....Yours sincerely,J. R. R. Tolkien.

Tolkien Role-playing Gaming event, post Hobbit movie USA launch, Sunday, December 16th, 2012.

Hawke Robinson — 2012-11-28T19:15:00Z

I will be running Cubicle 7's The One Ring Role-playing game for folks to try out, while also having on display for discussion the previous Tolkien RPG's, Decipher's LotR (Lord of the Rings) RPG, and Iron Crown Enteprises MERP (Middle-earth Role-playing), to compare and contrast with players and observers.

Merlyn's will have other promotional opportunities for those that can attend in person, including other special events to celebrate the release of The Hobbit movie.

For those that can't attend in person (in Spokane, Washington, USA), this event is also available online via broadcast. You can view broadcast information here: http://tolkienscholars.org/news/the-hobbit-movie-celebration-and-the-one-ring-rpg-event-at-merlyns

Sunday, December 16th from 2:00 pm to close (8/9:00 pm PST).

Game sessions will be approximately 45 minutes each to allow different people to participate, while still having a continuous thread for those that remain through multiple sessions.

No prior experience necessary. All gaming materials provided by the Loremaster (Game Master).

For those attending in person, John, the owner of Merlyn's is planning to have TOR RPG inventory in stock so you have he option to buy new TOR materials at store if you want to.

The event is completely open to the public, and will (hopefully) be streaming live for those who cannot attend in person.

All materials provided (rulebook, map, character sheet, dice, pencil, paper).

We will also be streaming live for those who cannot attend in person.

Streaming available via Google Plus Hangout ( tolkienscholars@gmail.com ) and Youtube channel at http://youtube.com/tolkienmoot

See you there, Namarie!

Last chance for Tolkien-related sites like Middle-earth Radio, Merp.com, and others. Will you step up to save them? Or will it be "good riddance"?

Hawke Robinson — 2012-11-27T09:35:00Z

http://66.165.236.124:8180/merpdotcom/news/last-chance-for-merp.com-will-you-step-up