Cet article est la traduction de ma communication intitulée “The other illustrated Silmarillion: Francis Mosley for the Folio Society”, donnée lors du Tolkien Society Seminar le 4 juillet 2020. Vous pourrez retrouver la vidéo de mon intervention tout en bas de cet article.
Continuer la lecture de L’autre “Silmarillion” illustré : Francis Mosley pour la Folio SocietyÉtiquette : Tolkien
My modest – but growing – Tolkien collection
Gazing at other people’s bookshelves is a rather popular pastime among Tolkien fans, so I thought I’d take you on a very short tour of my collection.
Continuer la lecture de My modest – but growing – Tolkien collectionFrancis Mosley and The Silmarillion – a talk in video
As I wrote about here, my paper was selected for the Tolkien Society Seminar 2020. The overall theme of the event was “Adapting Tolkien”, which could hardly be more fitting for my research. I took this opportunity to focus on a lesser-known illustrated book in my PhD corpus: The Silmarillion illustrated by Francis Mosley for the Folio Society in 1997.
Continuer la lecture de Francis Mosley and The Silmarillion – a talk in videoTolkien & illustration – a video interview
At the end of February, I was invited by the duo Pallas Athéné, who create educational Art History videos, to talk about Tolkien and illustrations.
Continuer la lecture de Tolkien & illustration – a video interviewTolkien Society Seminar 2020: abstract
The Tolkien Society has a tradition of hosting a short summer seminar to gather together researchers and non-academics on a specific topic. It is held most years since 1986 and has covered a wide range of subjects which you can browse here.
Continuer la lecture de Tolkien Society Seminar 2020: abstractMiddle-earth in Paris
From October 22 to February 16, a portal to Middle-earth is set up along the Seine. The BnF – French national Library – is hosting one of the largest exhibitions about Tolkien ever. It is the first time this institution celebrates a foreign writer, and, as its director told the first lucky visitors (among which I was), they didn’t choose Shakespeare, Goethe, Dante or Cervantes. They chose Tolkien.
Continuer la lecture de Middle-earth in ParisAn update on public speaking
Things seem to have accelerated in the past weeks. This summer I gave my very first conference as a PhD student, and in the past month I’ve given two more, in wildly different contexts. Each time was an occasion to learn I am grateful for.
Continuer la lecture de An update on public speakingAn interview to rule them all
One morning long ago in the quiet of the world, sitting in front of a hobbit-appropriate pile of pancakes, I had an idea.
Continuer la lecture de An interview to rule them allA few thoughts on the Tolkien movie
Dome Karukoski’s movie was awaited by Tolkien enthusiasts worldwide with more or less dread. I personally chose the path of curiosity, expecting neither a masterpiece nor a complete failure.
Continuer la lecture de A few thoughts on the Tolkien movieTolkien 2019: abstract
On Tolkien Reading Day, last 25 March, I had the extreme pleasure of receiving an e-mail from the Tolkien Society informing me that my paper had been accepted for presentation at the Tolkien 2019 convention in Birmingham next August. Continuer la lecture de Tolkien 2019: abstract
Highlights from Ted Nasmith’s illustrated Silmarillion
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During Nanowrimo last November, one of my goals was to re-read The Silmarillion in Ted Nasmith’s illustrated edition and study the pictures as I went, so that the text would be fresh in my mind and I wouldn’t let an important detail slip unnoticed. Here you will find some of my thoughts and notes looking at the way Nasmith reads Tolkien and blends all the complexity of the tale into his illustrations. Continuer la lecture de Highlights from Ted Nasmith’s illustrated Silmarillion
Progress report : November. Numbers and deadlines.
In November, I was inspired by Nanowrimo and set myself the goal of writing 30,000 words. Initially I was hoping for 50,000, but it would have been counterproductive and I did not want to trade quality for quantity. I started on November 5th and happily met my deadline 29 days later, on December 3rd with one day to spare. Since this is about numbers, I counted six days when no writing was done, either because I was busy elsewhere or for personal reasons.
Continuer la lecture de Progress report : November. Numbers and deadlines.An introduction to Ted Nasmith’s illustrated Silmarillion
[version française ci-dessous]
The end of October was devoted to a close reading of the Silmarillion illustrated by Ted Nasmith. I only had a dim memory of the book, having read it years ago in its French translation, in a couple of days, absorbing every new name as quickly as I forgot them. I remember feeling enthralled and enthusiast, discovering for the first time the Ainulindalë, the tale of Túrin Turambar of the downfall of Númenor between the pages of the yellowed Christian Bourgois edition adorned on the cover with the emblem of Lúthien Tinúviel.
Continuer la lecture de An introduction to Ted Nasmith’s illustrated SilmarillionGuided tour of the “Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth” exhibition at the Oxford Weston Library
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On 1 June, the Oxford Weston Library opened a temporary exhibition about J.R.R. Tolkien. According to its title, “Maker of Middle-earth”, the focus is on the creation of Middle-earth, yet several display cases broaden the subject to present a global overview of the author’s life and work. Although the main room may not seem that large upon entering it, one can easily spend an hour and a half there given how captivating the works are. The ban on photograph adds to the visitor’s will to spend as much time as possible in front of the manuscripts and the original documents.
Continuer la lecture de Guided tour of the “Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth” exhibition at the Oxford Weston LibraryIllustrating the dragon in Tolkien’s Hobbit: artistic agency and the reader’s reception
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This article is written for specialists of Tolkien’s texts but not necessarily of its illustrations. It is meant to be published in journals such as Mythlore, Tolkien Studies or the Journal of Tolkien research, exploring the literary dimension of Tolkien’s works. Readers of The Hobbit may be unfamiliar with some of the vocabulary coming from art history, but they are familiar with the question of reception, and I am hoping to show how illustrations may shed light on the artist’s reading of a text.