Events
Tolkien Society Seminar 2016
3 July 2016
Back to events feed Hilton Leeds City, Neville Street, Leeds, LS1 4BX
Hilton Leeds City, Neville Street, Leeds, LS1 4BX

The Tolkien Society Seminar 2016 will be held on Sunday 3rd July at the Hilton Leeds City.

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About the Seminar

The Seminar this year 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 100th 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 Tolkien’s other works of fiction too).

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

There will be an innmoot at Black Swan (37 Call Lane, Leeds LS1 7BT) on the Saturday evening from about 18.30. Feel free to drop in at anytime for as short or as long as you want.

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.

Bookings

Bookings are now open. Registration costs £15 for members and £20 for non-members.

Tickets include light refreshments, with Danish Pastries during the morning break and warm chocolate cookies in the afternoon, together with drinks such as tea and coffee throughout the day.

The date has been chosen to coincide with the start of the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds the following day.

The Venue

Hilton Leeds City, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4BX

The hotel is roughly three minutes from Leeds train station. Leave the station via the main exit near Marks and Spencers. Cross the road via the pedestrian crossing and go down the staircase to the right of the taxi rank. At the bottom of the stairs take a right and continue along the road and under the recently refurbished railway bridge. Hilton Leeds City is located approximately 200m on the right.