[Michael Murry]

To recapitulate my understand things, the forthcoming Amazon television series of steaming [not a misspelling] "Lord of the Rings" episodes -- projected to span several years -- will base itself on a mythology found in The Silmarillion, a book put together by Tolkien's son Christopher, about which I know next to nothing. (I always felt that if Tolkien didn't consider these writings fit to publish, then I needn't waste my time reading them.)

But "the show must go on," as the people paid to stage theatrical entertainments like to say, and so some sort of "adaptation" of Tolkien's "writings" (i.e., extensive notes) will most likely appear on television (or cell-phone) screens beginning with a teaser trailer and pilot episode sometime before the end of this year, with regular weekly episodes to begin in the fall of 2022.

In preparation for reading on-line reviews of these productions and their possible relation to mythology in general -- or J. R. R. Tolkien's "legendarium" in particular -- I thought I would access the Interwebs for information, if not enlightenment. Most, if not all, mythologies contain some sort of "origin" or "creation" story -- in this case, probably a narrative voice-over by an "immortal elf" like Cate Blanchet or Hugo Weaving -- and so I thought I would start with asking how Tolkien supposedly began describing his made-up world.

I found this:

Eä was first spoken by Eru Ilúvatar with which he brought into actuality. Eru commanded that the Eä "be!", "[Let it] be!", and then it was. It may be assumed that everything outside Eä, including the Timeless Halls of Ilúvatar, had no material form.

Pure, unadulterated gibberish. It meant nothing intelligible to me, but it did sound like something I hear or read from time to time:

ew – interjection. Pronounced ē-ü — used to express disgust at something distasteful or repellent (such as a bad odor) “Ew, what's that smell?”

Then, a somewhat technical term for this sort of thing occurred to me:

apotheosis – noun. The elevation of someone [or something] to divine status

Which led to another terza rima sonnet attempting to put it all together in verse, my preferred medium of literary exposition:

Apotheosis of Existential Odor

Ew (ill avatar) cried: "Let stuff be!"
So stuff became where stuff wasn’t before.
Nothing for stuff means stuff happens for free:

Schema, mythology, hand-me-down “lore;”
Pure fabrication: fictitious tall tales;
Filling up silence which Halfwits abhor.

Fantasy triumphs where disbelief fails.
Posit The One and name IT “Deity.”
Publish and hope that does wonders for sales.

Coin the term “being” (which no one can see).
Then call it “is” (far more easy to spell).
Thus, tautological identity:

"A is A," proves syllogism can sell
Anything – if you can just stand the smell.

Michael Murry, "The Misfortune Teller," Copyright © 2021