It’s January 3, which means that on this day, in 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born. Undoubtedly one of the most influential authors of modern mythic literature, Tolkien spent his childhood as an avid reader and a lover of language. As a boy, he often preferred to invent new tongues himself or with friends. His youthful fancies informed his academic career, and Tolkien eventually became a professor of English Literature. In the 1930s, he wrote an article about the criticism of Beowulf that forever changed how the literary world academically viewed the poem.
But of course, the world remembers Tolkien for changing the fantasy genre forever. By penning The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien set a framework for fantasy literature that countless authors have attempted to recapture over the years. The creation of Middle-earth, from its languages to its poetry to its rich cultural history and varied peoples, was an astounding feat of imagination that no one had managed before with such detail and ardent care.
It denotes a particular status as a writer to have your name instantly associated with an entire genre, and indeed, it is impossible to call up the names of science fiction and fantasy authors and not include Tolkien. He intended with his works to create stories that entered our mythic consciousness, a feat that he accomplished in every sense. Though we may never glimpse the House of Elrond, Minas Tirith, or the peaceful Shire for ourselves, it is enough that he left his world to us, and that we will always be able to journey there… and back again.
This post originally appeared on January 3, 2013 on Tor.com.
And alas we shall not see his like again. Although there many extraordinarily talented fantasy writers are out there no one will have his unique combination of life experience, passion for language, and erudition.
& let’s not forget that the Professor has the most romantic tombstone of all time, rivaled only by “I am Providence.”
Rest easy, sleep well J.R.R.T
Know the line has held, your job is done.
Rest easy, sleep well.
Others have taken up where you fell,
the line has held.
Peace, peace, and farewell …
The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin,
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet.
Rest well, Professor. And thank you.
@2, holy carp, I never knew that story until now. Looked it up just now and its the greatest thing. Love knows no time, no bounds.
I have so much to say, I’m not going to say it – Tolkien has been influence for me, not just in terms of entertainment, but in my emotional and even spiritual development. I’m just going to bask in the feels :)
I have read (and re-read) The Lord of the Rings and some of Tolkien’s other works and I am always astounded at the sheer brilliance of the writing itself. Every word was carefully chosen and the flowing meter is always maintained; word after word, page after page.
We thank you for sharing with us, Professor.
The Professor has profoundly colored my world and influenced my love in literature and beyond. Thank you for introducing me to wonders, sir!
I first read the LOTR when I was about 12, and was instantly fascinated and drawn into the wonderful story, since then I’ve reread it (and the Hobbit and the Silmarillion) many times, and as I get older I find ever more levels and depth in his work that simply isn’t present in most other authors, in _any_ genre.
Those levels are lingual, cultural, historical, philosophical, and moral. Other stories that I loved at that age have often note ‘aged’ well for me as I myself have aged and grown and learned, Tolkien’s work gets better with that same process.
His works were almost too spectacular for me. I first read them when I was nine and I couldn’t go back to the boring and the ordinary! The Silmarillion has got to be the world’s most epic book ever written, and The Lord of the Rings is an equally unrivaled masterpiece! Kudos to you, J.R.R. Tolkien!
There was the sound of harp and the clear singing of the minstrel; there spake he that had knowledge to unfold from far-off days the first beginning of men.
From Tolkien’s Beowulf. No minstrel ever sang more clearly or more convincingly.
“Not all those who wander are lost”
Perhaps my favorite quote of all time. Thanks, Professor Tolkien.
Happy birthday John Ronald Ruel Tolkien! To all of us that write fantasy, you are our father, the truest of hobbits this world has ever seen.
He would be 123 today. That’s a pretty cool birthday.
The irony is of course “going west” was a British euphemism of that era for kicking the bucket … like “kicking the bucket” is a modern-day euphemism for going west ….
Something I made in honor of his birthday today. Photo is of the Appian Way in Rome by me.
Today’s other birthdays include the artist Stephen Fabian (1930) and, er, Glen Larceny Larson (1937-2014). I would have liked to include a Stephen Fabian illustration of a scene from The Lord of the Rings but Fabian was (like Frank Frazetta) apparently turned down by Tolkien.
Knowing that my dad and Tolkien share a birthday always brings a smile to my face.