Tolkien: The author or the reader (No, this is not another canonicity thread)

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Ah, but there is a third way, at least for me. I first read LotR at age 11, and by then, many of what would become my lifelong interests were already begun, and no interests I developed later on were inspired by any one specific person or book. However, I can say beyond a doubt that reading Tolkien's work inspired what I might call the enhancement of my interests. I was already interested in illustrating stories before I read LotR, for instance; afterward, Tolkien's works inspired me to continue to develop this interest because it provided such a rich source of material to depict. I've been writing music most of my life; when I started composing symphonies in my more recent years, it was Tolkien's work that gave me the inspiration for the stories to tell with my music. I'd also been writing poems and prose since my early years of elementary school; Tolkien was definitely one of the authors who influenced and inspired me when I turned to writing novels. But only one of them; my style bears precious little resemblance to his. My interest in the medieval, alas, was largely inspired by Katherine Kurtz, not Tolkien, as well as a desire to participate in the local chapter of the SCA (because of other friends who were involved); botany became an interest long before, because I often hid out in the woods and fields to get away from my abusive family; my interest in languages came, I think, from being exposed to Polish at home and Latin at school, and so on.

I do think that the question of whether Tolkien inspires your interests or your interests draw you to Tolkien depends a lot on what age you are when you first read his work. But perhaps not.