Books That Go With Other Books

So, one of the definite keepers from the book-sort is IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT A TRAVELLER by Italo Calvino [1979; tr. 1981]. I've read this at least twice (three times, I think) and will no doubt at some point read it again. In short, I like this book. So while some other books of his (which I only got because I liked this one and have never gotten around to reading in the quarter-century since) are likely to go out the door, this one's a keeper.

For those who haven't ever read it, it's the story of a man who wants to read a book called IF, ON A WINTER'S NIGHT, A TRAVELLER but who finds events conspire against his reading more than a single chapter at a time. And that furthermore each time he tries again he winds up reading a different opening chapter (different copy, different setting, different plot, different characters, different genre), obviously from some other book. It's a surreal reflection on books and reading, both thoughtful and a hoot. Here's one bit from early on, in which the reader is entering a bookstore to buy Calvino's new book,  If on a winter's night a traveler ("Good for you" the author interjects). But first, the reader must navigate past the many categories of books that stand in the way:

Books You Haven't Read

Books You Needn't Read

Books Made For Purposes Other Than Reading

Books Read Even Before You Open Them Since They Belong To The Category Of Books Read Before Being Written

Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered

Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First

Books Too Expensive Now And You'll Wait Till They're Remaindered

Books ditto When They Come Out In Paperback

Books You Can Borrow From Somebody

Books That Everybody's Read So It's As If You Had Read Them, Too

Books You've Been Planning To Read For Ages

Books You've Been Hunting For Years Without Success

Books Dealing With Something You're Working On At The Moment

Books You Want To Own So They'll Be Handy Just In Case

Books You Could Put Aside Maybe To Read This Summer

Books You Need to Go With Other Books On Your Shelves

Books That Fill You With Sudden, Inexplicable Curiosity, Not Easily Justified

Books Read Long Ago Which It's Now Time To Reread

Books You've Always Pretended To Have Read And Now It's Time To Sit Down And Really Read Them

New Books Whose Author Or Subject Appeals To You

New Books By Authors Or On Subjects Not New

New Books By Authors Or On Subjects Completely Unknown (at least to you)

Of these, I have to admit the following particularly spoke to me: 

—Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered (ain't it the truth?)

—Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First (I'm actually pretty good about passing these by)

—Books You Want To Own So They'll Be Handy Just In Case (previously the source of many books now in boxes; getting better on this one)

—Books That Fill You With Sudden, Inexplicable Curiosity, Not Easily Justified (does Calvino know his audience or what? the true impulse buy: just because)

—Books Read Long Ago Which It's Now Time To Reread (a major category which only grows with time, alas)

There's also a major category I've recently become aware played a large role in overfilling on our shelves: the idea that, if I like a book by writer X, I shd buy more books by writer X (sometimes many more), which I then don't get around to reading for years on end. Sometimes just about everything by a writer is good (or at least worth reading), sometimes a writer only has one or two good books in him (or her).  This is where a lot of the current slow purge is underway.

Of course, for those who are hardcore overbuyers, there's always BIBLIOHOLISM: THE LITERARY ADDICTION, by Tom Raabe (1991)

--John R.

current reading: BRIDE OF THE RAT-GOD by Barbara Hambly (which is far better than its title wd suggest) and GREEN SUNS AND FAERIE by Verlyn Flieger (which is by Verlyn Flieger, who just seems to get better and better).

Historians Who Don't Know Their History

So, one of the books that made its way onto the go-away pile is the biography of James Monroe [2005], part of the 'American Presidents' series overseen by Arthur M. Schlesinger (Jr). I read several of these, feeling that I didn't know enough about several of our early presidents and being attracted by the fact that Garry Wills wrote the volume on Madison (which was excellent*), and that the whole was being overseen by Schlesinger (whose work, or what little I've read of it, is also both readable and impressive). Alas, the volume on Monroe was written by former senator Gary Hart, who I always thought wd have made a pretty good president (certainly better than Bush Sr. or Reagan) had he been able to exercise some self-control. But now, reading his book, I've come to doubt it. For one thing, he doesn't seem to know a whole lot about Monroe (as opposed to Wills, who knows an enormous amount about Madison). For another, a lot of what he argues isn't v. convincing -- e.g., his main theme that General Monroe was the first U. S. president to devote himself to national defense as his first priority (has there ever been a president who didn't obsess over national defense?).  Even more egregious is his claim that "Monroe . . . laid a groundwork for homeland security that would guarantee that no Americans would die on American soil from a foreign attack. That is, until September 11, 2001." (p. 82)

So much for "Remember Pearl Harbor"!

And, in a separate incident, a few days ago I was reading through the Kent paper and saw an announcement for an event held on Jan. 24th, the title of which was "The Life of Abraham Lincoln: 1809-1869".

Now, this might just be an example of the announcement gets Lincoln's dates wrong.** Twice. The event itself might have been a good one (speaker, discussion, visual aids) and I really ought to get down to the Kent museum one of these days. And it's timely, too, what with renewed interest in A.L. these days thanks to the Day-Lewis movie. But it's amazing what an effect little slips like that have.

--John R., who's been known to make egregious slips myself ("Gower").

*among other things, it completely undercuts the 'originist' or 'founders' intent' school of constitutional interpretation.

**he died in 1865.

Also Coming Up Soon: More Tolkien at Marquette

So, so long as I'm talking about interesting upcoming Tolkien events I won't be going to  --and considering that I'm going to Tolkien gatherings in March, April, May, and June, it isn't for lack of trying-- let's not forget about the third and final of the three events Marquette is hosting for this special 75th anniversary HOBBIT year. First was my talk back in October about the curious twists and turns of Marquette's acquisition of the Mss (combined with a great discussion earlier that day with Dr. Tim Machan's Tolkien class), followed a month later by Wayne and Christina's presentation on Tolkien's artwork for THE HOBBIT (a subject upon which they know pretty much all there is to know).

The third in the series, to be held on February 21st,  is a roundtable discussing the new Peter Jackson film (THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY). The panel looks to have some interesting people, all with strong backgrounds in Tolkien studies (all take part in the Tolkien Track at Kalamazoo on a regular basis) as well as a willingness to engage with the films (all four contributed to the Jan Bogstad/Phil Kaveny -edited volume PICTURING TOLKIEN: ESSAYS ON PETER JACKSON'S THE LORD OF THE RINGS FILM TRILOGY).* First up there's Richard West, who's been active in Tolkien fandom and scholarship since the sixties and who always has something interesting to say on whatever topic he writes about. Then there's Robin Reid, the former organizer of the Kalamazoo Tolkien Track who more recently launched a new Tolkien/fantasy/anime con, LeoCon, held down in Commerce, Texas.** Yvette Kisor and Edward Risden have been stalwarts at Kalamazoo, presenting on a range of topics; both are contributors to the forthcoming Shippey festshrift.*** It's certainly a roundtable I'd make sure to go to if I still lived in the area.

This is another of those events I'd love to hear a report on from someone lucky enough to attend.

--JDR


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"A Roundtable Discussion of Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT"
Thursday February 21st

Richard West
Robin Reid
Yvette Kisor
Edward Risden

Here's the link:

http://www.marquette.edu/library/news/2012/hobbit.shtml

*as did I, my piece being on the status within the films of scenes appearing in the book but not shown onscreen.

**which I got to attend last year for LeoCon I. Small, but looks poised to grow a lot over the next few years.

***as indeed are Richard and Robin.

Tolkien. Oxford. Spring.

So, Tolkien and Oxford and Spring in England are all good things.

And if you put three good things together, you get a v. good thing indeed.

Case in point: the Tolkien Spring School taking place in Oxford in March (Th 21st-Sat 23rd). Among the speakers will be Stuart Lee and Elizabeth Solopova (THE KEYS TO TOLKIEN'S MIDDLE-EARTH), John Garth (TOLKIEN AND THE GREAT WAR), Edmund Weiner of the O.E.D. (RING OF WORDS), Th. Honegger (author of many works, and editor of the journal FASTITOCALON), Carl Phelpstead (TOLKIEN AND WALES), Mark Atherton (whose new book on Tolkien is just out), and two whose work I don't know yet, Anna Caughey and Maria Artamonova. This is being described as an introductory event, and sounds like it does a good job of touching a lot of the bases. I'd certainly be going if it were a little nearer (being a continent AND an ocean away). Below is the brief online description of the event; for the full schedule, see http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/news-events/upcoming-events/201303/oxford-tolkien-spring-school

--John R.

P.S.: I'd love to hear a report of how this one goes; sounds like a good event.

Oxford Tolkien Spring School

21 - 23 March 2013

http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/news-events/upcoming-events/201303/oxford-tolkien-spring-school

J. R. R. Tolkien is one of the best known authors of the twentieth century, and his books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have entertained and intrigued readers alike for decades, becoming some of the most popular books of all time. Many people will have read these novels, or seen the filmed adaptations, but have had little opportunity to take their interests further. To meet this need the Oxford Tolkien Spring School is being organised by the University of Oxford's English Faculty (where Tolkien taught for most of his career), aimed at those who have read some of Tolkien's fiction and wish to discover more. A series of introductory lectures by world-leading Tolkien scholars have been assembled, to take place in the English Faculty, University of Oxford, over the 21-23 March, 2013. Talks will cover Tolkien's life, his work as an academic, his mythology, the influences of medieval literature on his fiction, his languages, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and his other lesser known works. There will also be panel discussions looking at Tolkien's place in the the literary canon. There will also be opportunities to see the sights of Oxford that were so important to Tolkien and his colleagues, as well as an introduction to some of the Tolkien collections at the University.

Next Up: Valparaiso

So, having written a piece on THE SILMARILLION's influence on THE HOBBIT ("A Fragment, Detached"), I'm currently working on the problem from the other end: looking to see if THE HOBBIT had any influence on THE SILMARILLION in return. I'm still researching and writing this one, whose working title is "Anchoring the Myth: THE HOBBIT and THE SILMARILLION; so more on it as it comes together.

This will be my presentation at the Tolkien conference being organized at Valparaiso, March 1st thr 3rd, where I'm honored to be one of the three Plenary speakers, along with Doug Anderson (5 pm Friday, "Annotating and Illustrating THE HOBBIT") and Verlyn Fleiger (9 am Saturday, "Bilbo's French Connection").*  My own talk is scheduled for 9 am Sunday morning.

Of course, there'll be a lot more going on than just the featured speakers. Brad Eden, the organizer, has put together a schedule with more than twenty papers organized into eight sessions (i.e., as many or more than comprise the Tolkien At Kalamazoo track in any given year);  in addition I'll be chairing one of these sessions of papers (on THE HOBBIT). It's a tribute to how good a program he's put together that I'm already looking at it and realizing I'll be missing good papers no matter which sessions I go to: there's just that much going on. Plus of course other events, like the Banquet, a musical performance of Tolkien-inspired songs, the Exhibit, and a live performance of Johan de Meij's SYMPHONY No. 1: THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

Should be quite a week-end. If you're anywhere in the area, try to drop by; it shd be an interesting and enjoyable event.

--John R.


Here's the complete schedule of the event:
 http://conference.valpo.edu/tolkien/

Moi, En Anglais

So long as I'm talking about my work in translation, I shd note that the piece I wrote for Tolkiendil, the French Tolkien society who published it in a special issue of their journal L'ARC ET LE HEAUME, has now been posted on their website in its original, English form: "A Fragment, Detached: THE HOBBIT and THE SILMARILLION". Here's the link:

http://www.tolkiendil.com/essais/tolkien_1892-2012/john_d_rateliff 

In this, which was also my Kalamazoo paper last year, I tackle the issue of Tolkien's many contradictory comments on the relationship between the two books. Short Version: In my conclusion, I argue that THE HOBBIT was part of the legendarium from its v. inception, though it's possible to define "The Silmarillion" (i.e., tales of the first age) in such as way as to exclude it.

Enjoy!

--John R.

Me, in Portuguese

So, after I posted my thoughts about why THE SILMARILLION would be much, much more difficult to film than THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, I got a request from a Brazilian Tolkien group to let them post a translation of my post on their website. I was glad to agree, and the piece is now up. For those of you who read Brazilian Portuguese, or for those of you interested to see yet another example of the vibrant Tolkien fandom and scholarship going on all around the world, here's the link to my piece (and hence to their website as a whole). Enjoy!

http://tolkienbrasil.com/artigos/academicos/o-proximo-filme-sobre-tolkien-por-john-d-rateliff/

P.S.: As per Leandro's comment after the main post, he's certainly right that I'm not a film-maker and am approaching the question of making Tolkien films from the viewpoint of a purist and a Tolkien scholar: someone who knows Tolkien v. well and has paid close attention to those adaptations of his work that have already been made. A film-maker of genius can overcome the difficulties I foresee, but that doesn't mean they're not real. The worst will be generating dialogue: there's precious little of it in the Silmarillion stories (far less than in H or LotR), and creating Tolkienesque dialogue that rings true to the story being told has proven the major sticking point in previous adaptations (with the nadir being the Rankin-Bass RETURN OF THE KING). So I stand by my concerns here, while I look forward to seeing how future film-makers (of genius, I hope) tackle and resolve the problems I foresee.

--John R.

current reading: GREEN SUNS AND FAERIE by Verlyn Flieger, BRIDE OF THE RAT-GOD by Barbara Hambly