The Tolkien Coming of Age Club 2

[Lalwendë]

I love these stories of what it meant to be a Tolkien reader in the 60's/70's. In the early 80's I used to daydream about that world where everyone seemed to be a Tolkien fan, although I know my daydreams were probably far removed from reality. I always used to think it would have been wonderful to experience university life at that time. I'd actually love to see a book written about what it was like to be a Tolkien fan in those years; it might well be nostalgic, but it would be interesting to see where some of these fans went to from Tolkien. Maybe some of the 'Downers might be in it?

Growing up as a Tolkien fan in the 80's was a welcome relief; it was quite a bleak world, with the ever-present spectre of unemployment, the 'greed is good' mentality and the horrors of a cruel world on the news every day. I sometimes wonder if my love for Tolkien's world partly grew as a response to that cruel time in history. There was quite a love for Tolkien and counter-cultural literature, music and art which grew up in the Liverpool area at that time; I remember seeing Pink Floyd grafitti on this one wall in Bootle every time I went into the city. I think there was a strong need amongst young people then for what Tolkien had to offer; it was seemingly a place full of dreamers. It was always quite easy in the 80's to find fellow Tolkien fans - his work was one of the many things shared by those who 'reacted' against the cultural commercialisation of the decade.

Then I was dropped into the academic world in 1989 and endured the wasteland of the 90's, when Tolkien was seemingly deemed unworthy and uncool, and it was nigh on impossible to find any fellow fans! Or at least, any who would admit to it. With the films, somewhow fans came crawling out of the woodwork - and that is one thing I will always be thankful to the films for! Are these years something of a Renaissance for Tolkien fans? If so, I hope it carries on!