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Programme announced for the Tolkien Society Seminar 2016
The Parkinson building at the University of Leeds

The programme for the Tolkien Society Seminar 2016, due to be held on Sunday 3 July at the Hilton Hotel in Leeds, has been announced.

About the Seminar

The Seminar will consist of a series of talks on the theme of Life, Death, and Immortality in Tolkien’s life and works.

It coincides with the one-hundredth anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. Tolkien fought in and survived this dreadful battle, but lost his close friend and fellow T.C.B.S. member Rob Gilson. With the death of G.B. Smith later that year, the First World War undoubtedly shaped Tolkien’s outlook on life and death, with mortality and immortality looming large in the Middle-earth legendarium and other writings.

Programme

Name Title
Matthew B. Rose Tolkien and the Battle of the Somme
Irina Metzler Tolkien and disability: the narrative function of disabled characters in Middle-earth
Tania Azevedo Tolkien and T. S. Eliot: the waste land and a fallen king
Aslı Bülbül Candaş The elven perspective of life, death and immortality, and its influence on humanity
Sarah Rose Music of life: the creation of Middle-earth
Giovanni Costabile Facing death: how characters in The Lord of the Rings meet the prospect of their own demise and the loss of others
Massimiliano Izzo Recurrent patterns of the Fall in Tolkien’s Legendarium
Andrew Higgins ‘Gifts in harmony?’: a philological exploration of Tolkien’s invented words for ‘life’ and ‘death’
Anna Milon Mortal immortals: the irony of elven immortality in the writing of J.R.R. Tolkien and W.B. Yeats
Gaëlle Abaléa Transmission: an escape from death in Tolkien’s work?
Dimitra Fimi “Tears are the very wine of blessedness”: joyful sorrow in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
Adam B. Shaeffer Frodo and Saruman: euformation, dysformation, and immortality in The Lord of the Rings
Aurelie Bremont Glorfindel of the Green Island: Celtic inspirations in Tolkien’s reincarnation model

An informal innmoot – a visit to a local pub – will be held on the Saturday evening. Check back soon for details of the time and venue.

The Seminar itself will begin with registration from 9.00 on the Sunday morning, and the first paper will commence at 9.30. The day will come to a close at around 17.00.

Registration

Registration costs just £15 for Tolkien Society members and £20 for non-members.

Book your place online today.

About the Author: Daniel Helen
Daniel is an Officer without Portfolio and Trustee of The Tolkien Society. Elected in 2014, he is mainly responsible for the Society's digital operations, including this website.