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Tag Archives: J.R.R. Tolkien
Happy Birthday, Wystan Hugh Auden: “The enlightenment driven away / The habit-forming pain”
W.H. Auden was born on this day in York, England, 1907. I first encountered Auden in my “Humanities” class, senior year in high school. I got a lot out of that class, and I remember we analyzed Auden’s famous most-anthologized … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Camille Paglia, Christopher Hitchens, Dylan Thomas, Elizabeth Bishop, England, George Orwell, Hamlet, Harold Bloom, Hugh MacDiarmid, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord Tennyson, Louis MacNeice, Marianne Moore, Michael Schmidt, Philip Larkin, poetry, Seamus Heaney, Shakespeare, Ted Hughes, Thomas Hardy, W.H. Auden
23 Comments
Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien
The German publishing firm of Rutten & Loening contacted Allen & Unwin in 1938 (the publishers of The Hobbit) and wanted to negotiate with them for a German translation of the book. But first and foremost, they wanted to know … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit
19 Comments
May 2019 Viewing Diary
Again, just like my April viewing diary, this will be a pretty tough read for anyone not into Supernatural. It may be a tough read for those who DO watch Supernatural (especially if you loved the last 3 seasons. If … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Bette Davis, Bob Dylan, Bob Fosse, Canada, Emma Thompson, France, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joanna Hogg, Joe Berlinger, John Ford, John Wayne, Juliette Binoche, Martin Scorsese, Sam Rockwell, Supernatural, Sylvia Plath, William Wyler, Zac Efron
97 Comments
Review: Tolkien (2019)
There’s so much that’s good here! Had some serious issues with aspects of it, but there’s a lot that is very good. Will be interested to hear from others their reactions, in particular Tolkien fans. My review of Tolkien is … Continue reading
Review: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014); directed by Peter Jackson
Mixed feelings. Thought “Unexpected Journey” was an unnecessarily elongated prologue, loved “Desolation of Smaug” (review here), and the final installment feels like a long-drawn-out closing paragraph. Should have been done in one film. Could have been done in one film. … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged fantasy movies, J.R.R. Tolkien, New Zealand, reviews, The Hobbit
42 Comments
Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
I thought the first installment was embarrassing and bad. Good news, though: the second one is pretty great! Still too goddamn long, Jackson, Jesus Mary and Joseph, but the real work that needs to be done is done here and … Continue reading
The Books: The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Daily Book Excerpt: Memoirs: Next book on the Memoir/Letters/Journals shelf is The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. I’m not a Tolkien fanatic, although I love The Hobbit (it’s my favorite), so this book is rather tough-going for someone not up to … Continue reading
The Books: “The Hobbit” (J.R.R. Tolkien)
Daily Book Excerpt: Adult fiction: The Hobbit; or, There and Back Again, by J.R.R. Tolkien As a child, I was never a Tolkien fanatic. I was a fanatic about other books – all of Madeleine L’Engle’s “time” books, and I … Continue reading
Helm’s Deep
Nothing I say could be adequate to respond to the genius and beauty of THIS. I’ll just leave you with one tantalizing quote: We used over 500 Gummy Bears as orcs and Uruk-Hai. The Elves, Dwarves and Men were represented … Continue reading
The Hobbit LP
Why I love Faustus – in one post.