The last few years have seen the publication of two of Tolkien’s works that scholars and serious fans have known about for a very long time: Tolkien’s unfinished alliterative poem The Fall of Arthur[i] and Tolkien’s prose translation of Beowulf…
Tolkien TV interview for TRT World
Yesterday I gave a brief interview on J.R.R. Tolkien for the Turkish TV channel TRT World. It’s now available on YouTube and can be accessed here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=90OMuDIbliA
Tolkien at IMC Leeds 2018 – round-up
I am now back from Leeds, after an excellent Tolkien Society Seminar, and an outstanding series of papers and a roundtable discussion on Tolkien at the International Medieval Congress 2018. Here’s a quick overview of all papers presented at the IMC,…
Forthcoming talks and lectures: Glasgow, Kalamazoo, Essex, Oxford and North Wales
The next few months are going to be a bit hectic! If you are attending any of the conferences or events below, don’t hesitate to come and say hello! 26-27 April – Keynote for GIFCon (Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations) 2018: ‘In the…
New journal article: J.R.R. Tolkien and early 20th-century radical linguistic experimentation
Last month I had a new journal article published in the Open Access Journal of Tolkien Research: Fimi, D. (2018) ‘Language as Communication vs. Language as Art: J.R.R. Tolkien and Early 20th-Century Radical Linguistic Experimentation’, Journal of Tolkien Research, 5(1), pp.…
New article on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Father Christmas Letters in The Conversation
I had a new (festive) article published yesterday on the The Conversation, titled: “J.R.R. Tolkien’s Christmas letters to his children bring echoes of Middle-earth to the North Pole”. In this article I discuss the letters from Father Christmas Tolkien sent…
George MacDonald and one of Tolkien’s most quotable lines
I’ve been re-reading many of the works of George MacDonald recently, in preparation for my keynote lecture at the George MacDonald’s Scotland conference at the University of Aberdeen next week (https://gmdscotland.wordpress.com/). My lecture is titled “George MacDonald and Celticity”, and…
Beren and Lúthien: Some First Thoughts (and radio interview)
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Beren and Lúthien, edited by Christopher Tolkien, was published yesterday. The book is an attempt by Christopher Tolkien to extract one of the most beautiful, moving, and personal stories of his father’s ‘legendarium’ into a standalone book, allowing the…
Tolkien and the Art of Book Reviewing: A Circuitous Road to Middle-earth
The Tolkien Society has just uploaded on YouTube my talk for Oxonmoot 2016, titled: “Tolkien and the Art of Book Reviewing: A Circuitous Road to Middle-earth”. I thought, therefore, that it would be a good idea to publish the text of…
Article on Invented Languages on the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) Online
I have had a new article published today on the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) Online, titled: “Inventing a Whole Language”. In this article I discuss imaginary languages, from early modern traveller’s tales and Victorian fantasy, to Tolkien, of course, as well…