Reading Tolkien

Professor Michael Drout speaks to me about his fascinating and deeply moving new literary memoir cum detailed literary analysis The Tower and the Ruin. Drout's book, published December 2nd, analyses Tolkien from the persective of one reader, whilst also providing evidence for how Tolkien is best read in the context of his academic discipline, philology, and Tolkien's creative response to his medieval sources.

In this interview I chat with Giuseppe (Beppe) Pezzini, author of the fascinating new book, 'Tolkien and the Mystery of Literary Creation'. Together, we delve into the intricacies of Tolkien's imagination, explore the reception of Tolkien in Italy, and discuss the role of Tolkien Studies in readers' appreciation of Tolkien's texts. Please join us.

In this minisode I discuss the myth of the Sun and the Moon in The Silmarillion. I jump right into my thoughts so it is recommended that you have read the chapter recently.

In this episode I discuss the Sindar in Chapter 10 of The Silmarillion, and offer brief thoughts on my recent re-read of The Lord of the Rings.

We discuss Fëanor (somewhat drunkenly!) in this new podcast, our first for 2023! For those who think Fëanor 'did nothing wrong' this is the podcast for you! We defend the great Elf's actions and discuss the bias of The Silmarillion narrator at this part of the story. But did Tolkien intend us to read his 'Bible' in this way! For answers to these and other questions please join us! Find Reading Tolkien on twitter: @PodReading, and on Substack.

Sridhar and Ben discuss the first two episodes of the new Amazon series, The Rings of Power.

In this episode Sridhar and I discuss the upcoming Amazon show, Rings of Power, and the prequel to Game of Thrones - House of the Dragon. The discussion turns to the variant means by which Tolkien and Martin approach morally dubious characters like Gollum, or the Lannisters. Both of us are unrepentent in our bias to Tolkien, and I frequently argue that much of what is said to constitute Martin' s genius is done better elsewhere, and frequently with much greater nuance. So, if you're a Martin fan, you will probably find a lot here to argue with.

Join Ben and Sridhar as they discuss Chapters 1-4 of the Quenta Silmarillion. They touch on the nature of the Valar, the status of The Silmarillion as a text within the world of The Lord of the Rings, the various theodicies presented in the text, and the efficacy of mythological vs. theological approaches to the text.

Join Professor Brian Rosebury (Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon) and myself as we discuss Tolkien and tragedy, morality and moral judgement. Brian's details can be found here: https://www.uclan.ac.uk/academics/dr-brian-rosebury

Join us for a new episode in which we review the Nature of Middle-earth with Daniel Stride. Daniel's blog may be found at https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/

Join us for the inaugural episode of the Silmarillion Sessions. We begin with the myth of Creation, the Ainulindalë. We touch on the importance of beauty and goodness, and ask whether these two concepts can be equated in the story, and we consider the role that Plato's ideas about the Forms might play in comprehending the nature of Tolkien's creation myth. We also discuss the Waldman letter. Please join us. The Silmarillion Sessions are suitable for veteran readers, or those who wish to get into The Silmarillion for the first time. We recommend that you read the chapter prior to listening to the episode, however! Find us at our Substack, and Twitter. Please leave a rating and a review, and let us know if you think that Beauty can be equated with The Good!

Here I discuss Tolkien with @RealTomEmanuel, a minister and Tolkien Scholar. We touch on recent trends in the reception of Tolkien, Tolkien studies, and beauty of The Lord of the Rings. Please join us for a great discussion!

Listen in as Ben and Sridhar discuss the Rings of Power in Tolkien's world.

Today I present an interview with scholar and writer Dawn Walls-Thumma. We discuss Dawn's essay 'Attainable Vistas: Historical Bias in Tolkien's Legendarium as a Motive for Transformative Fanworks' published in Volume 3 of the Journal of Tolkien Research. We discuss a range of topics, including historical bias in The Silmarillion and what it means for readers of the book, the state of Tolkien scholarship, fandom, fanfiction, and other matters. Join us! Links: The Silmarillion Writer's Guild Fiction and Research of Dawn Walls-Thumma Dawn's tumblr page

Join Benjamin and Shridhar for the 13th episode of the podcast. They discuss Ross Douthat's recent Substack article on the upcoming amazon show, where he muses about the fate of the story and the likelihood of success. A number of (potentially) controversial hot takes ensue in the discussion! Your hosts also touch on the nature of Tolkien's storytelling, The Children of Hurin, and issues of adaptation more generally. Join them!

In this episode, I interview the great Tolkien scholar Holly Ordway, who has recently published the book Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages, published by Word on Fire. We range over topics pertinent to Ordway's book, but also touch on the status of Tolkien studies, the reliability of the Carpenter biography, and the Romans in Tolkien's fiction. Please join us! Holly can be found at http://www.hollyordway.com/

In this episode, I interview literary scholar Vladimir Brljak, who published an article in 2010 entitled The Book of Lost Tales: Tolkien as Metafictionist. The article argues that Tolkien's metafiction (the Red Book, etc) is central to understanding the effect his work has on readers. We also touch on Milton, the Amazon show, and other topics. Join us!

In this episode, Ben and Sridhar return to 'Aldarion and Erendis' from Unfinished Tales. They discuss the characters and themes, with a particular focus on the slowly growing imperial ambitious of Aldarion and the quietly stoic, if bitter, character of Erendis. LOTRonPrime news and other matters are also broached. Join Ben and Sridhar for another informative episode.

Ben and Sridhar discuss Tolkien's first classic, The Hobbit. They look at Bilbo's journey, the place of moral theory in Tolkien's work, the differences between modern and ancient worldviews, and the place of The Hobbit in Tolkien's wider legendarium. Join them for this in depth and (by the end) raucous podcast.

In this episode, Sridhar and Benjamin discuss Tolkien's darkest work, The Children of Húrin. Join us as we delve into issues of fate, free-will, and theodicy.

In this episode, I interview Hungarian Tolkienist Gergely Nagy, who has written a plethora of (admittedly heavy!) papers on Tolkien and theory, Tolkien and metafiction, and other topics. Join us as we delve into Tolkien's theory of fiction, the strategies he used to make his texts feel 'historical', and a range of other fascinating topics!

In this, the inaugural episode with my brilliant new cohost Sridhar Bhagavathula, we discuss the place of The Lord of the Rings in the 21st century over a glass of wine (well, one of us, at any rate). Topics range from the reception of the Jackson films, adaptation, to Tolkien's Catholicism, a queer readings of Tolkien. Join us as we begin a new epic phase of the podcast!

In this episode, I offer brief thoughts with regard to the recently released synopsis for the Lord of the Rings on Prime show. I also update listeners on a few matters. During my remarks, I refer and quote from Daniel Stride's blog on the Amazon show, available here.

In this fascinating discussion, Dr Dennis Wise (University of Arizona) and I talk about a range of topics related to Tolkien studies, including the state of the academic field, the place of Critical Theory in the reception of Tolkien, theories about metafiction in Tolkien's fiction, the 'ontological' status of Tolkien's creation myth, and how we can approach Tolkien through the theories of Leo Strauss. Dr Wise is a lecturer in the Writing Program at UofA, and he has published extensively on Tolkien and other SF/F topics in a range of journals. His website is https://english.arizona.edu/people/dennis-wise

In this, our third episode at Reading Tolkien, we explore Tolkien's little known but fascinating and often moving unfinished novel, 'Aldarion and Erendis'. Join us as we discuss Tolkien's writing process, the effect that this story has (retrospectively) on the moral character of The Lord of the Rings, and other topics.

Here, I interview blogger and SF writer Daniel Stride, who blogs at https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/ Daniel blogs on Tolkien's work, among other topics.

In this, our premier episode, I explain the intent of the podcast and Razib and I discuss the latest news in regards to the upcoming Amazon Second Age show.