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Archival Footage of Tolkien Recently Released By the BBC

It's just another regular Monday evening. Little did I know that this would actually be a monumental Monday evening for me.

Every once in a while, I get the time to check up on The Inklings blog, which celebrates and recalls the work of the Inklings - a discussion group of friends that met in The Eagle and the Child pub and included J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. To my surprise and joy, I discovered a recent post there linking to the Good Report website, and sharing - get this - footage of Tolkien. The interviews (which you can watch below) were recently released archival footage from the BBC.






I don't know about you, but was born in the 80s and have never heard this man - one of the greatest authors and minds of all time - speak, let alone watched him move and emote in actual video footage. I got butterflies. As a nearly lifelong Tolkien fan, it was surreal to hear him read Elvish and discuss his work as being both escapist and applicable to real life (but NOT allegory - he was always very clear about that.) So, this was a big day for me.

P.S. - You will also hear from some Oxford students regarding their opinions (both adoring and critical) on Tolkien's long, long tale. These are first-generation geeks, people - our ancestors. Also, am I the only one who felt a swell of pride when the master, commenting on fandom, says, "North America has always been somewhat easier to kindle than any European country"? Can I get an amen? :)
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  1. Beth5/21/12, 11:06 AM

    Guess who can make comments now!!!

    And the previous glitch was Justin's fault (just saying...)

    :)

    ReplyDelete

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