[Turambar]

There is a good article by John J. Miller about JRRT in the 12/31/01 issue of National Review called "The Truth Beyond Memory". Unfortunately it's not on the magazine's online version so I can't post a link. Among the interesting factoids in the article (some or most are probably known to you):

1. LotR was named the most important book of the century in a 1997 poll by the British bookseller Waterstone's (I only knew about the amazon.com poll which reached a similar result).

2. Tolkien "penned what is perhaps the most influential essay ever written about Beowulf . (Sharkû, you gotta read that !)

3. Tolkien once wrote that Venice (Italy) was "like a dream of Old Gondor".

4. The word "orc" (which I assumed JRRT took from Blake) comes from Beowulf , where the word "orc-neas" appears, which means something like "demon-corpse".

5. March 25th (the date that Gollum and Sauron fall) is, in the traditional English calendar, the date of the Fall of Man, the Annunciation and the Crucifixion.

6. Finally, Miller quotes W. H. Auden on LotR: "If someone dislikes it, I shall never trust their literary judgment about anything again."

Pretty good article, read it if you can.