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New Society publication: Poetry and Song in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien

The Tolkien Society and Luna Press Publishing are pleased to announce the publication of Poetry and Song in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien: Proceedings of The Tolkien Society Seminar 2017, the eighteenth book in the Peter Roe series.

Edited by Anna Milon, and published under the auspices of the Peter Roe Memorial Fund, Poetry and Song in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien is a collection of four papers presented at The Tolkien Society Seminar held at the Hilton Leeds City on Sunday 2 July 2017.

Order

The book is available to order now for £7.50.

UK customers can place their order via  The Tolkien Society website.

International customers should place their order with Luna Press Publishing directly.

An e-book version is also available on all major platforms for just £4.99. Search for “Poetry and Song in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien” or the ISBN-13: 978-1-911143-50-5.

Description

J.R.R. Tolkien regarded himself ‘chiefly as a poet’ (Carpenter, The Inklings, p. 29) and the importance of poetic diction and its most potent form, song, provides a powerful leitmotif to his mythological universe. Following the publication of Tolkien’s two verse works: The Lay of Atrou and Itroun (2016) and Beren and Lúthien (2017), The Tolkien Society called for papers re-examining the importance of poetry and song in Tolkien’s writing. A series of presentations both on the author’s poems and on verse incorporated into his worldbuilding were given in Leeds on the 2nd of July 2017. Published under the auspices of the Society’s Peter Roe Memorial Fund, this book features a collection of four papers delivered on the day by aspiring and established Tolkien scholars alike.

Contents

Introduction
Anna Milon

In search of the Wandering Fire: otherwordly imagery in ‘The Song of Ælfwine’
Massimiliano Izzo

‘Diadem the Fallen Day’: Astronomical and Arboreal Motifs in the Poem ‘Kortirion Among the Trees’
Kristine Larsen

The Magical and Reality-Transforming Function of Tolkien’s Song and Verse
Szymon Pyndur

Translating The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun into French: across the Channel here and back again
Bertrand Bellet

About the Peter Roe Memorial Fund

The Tolkien Society’s seminar proceedings – and other booklets such as the Sindarin Lexicon – are published under the auspices of the Peter Roe Memorial Fund. The Fund commemorates Peter Roe who died in 1979 aged 16 after being hit by a speeding lorry outside his home. He was on his way to buy envelopes to enclose his enthusiastic letter to the Society. Peter was clearly an incredibly talented young man, producing stories, artwork and maps. Peter’s Dwarfish Fragments were published in Mallorn 15 in September 1980. Proceeds from the sale of Peter Roe books go back into the Fund to ensure that it is self-perpetuating. The Society will continue to produce book in the “Peter Roe Series” to honour his memory.

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.