Tolkien Events 2010 - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 01-19-2010, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

I'm outraged by the price for Festival In The Shire. £260 and no accommodation or feast?! You can get all that plus bed and board at Oxonmoot!

Its to keep the plebs out....

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As for paying £50 for tickets to go and look at first editions, if anyone wants to come and look at some here you can have a special entrance offer price of £29.99, with a free cup of tea

(er, before the 'Treasure hunters' start getting excited may I just point out that the only 'First Editions' we have are The Sil & UT, & a A&U h/b set of LotR from 1965 - which does contain the first edition text, but is only worth about £75on a good day..... but Lal does still charge people £29.99 to see them......)

Mithalwen · 01-21-2010, 11:48 AM

These prices include general admission to the Festival, but not to the Collectors Exposition. The different entrance prices are geared toward different levels of interest; beginner to experienced, however we encourage you to become experienced by purchasing a Collectors Exposition ticket also.

Surely you can't buy experience (well... debatable)...but I can't believe gawping at first editions and even upmarket merchandising tat will do it..

After all the great thing about books is that they are essentially the same if you have a mint first edition or a tattered paperback..

davem · 01-21-2010, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Surely you can't buy experience (well... debatable)...

That's the thinking behind this - as it was behind the Exeter College Tolkien do a few years back which cost £695 for a 5 day conference (but that was full board, admittedly). I'll be interested to see whether this gets many takers.

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After all the great thing about books is that they are essentially the same if you have a mint first edition or a tattered paperback..

My feelings exactly. I get annoyed by the antics of this academic clique that seems to have claimed 'superior' knowledge. They seem to be doing exactly what Tolkien condemned in that quote I gave earlier:

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He thinks that there is now a tendency both to believe and teach in schools and colleges that “enjoyment” is an illiterate reaction; that if you are a serious reader, you should take the construction to pieces; find and analyse sources, dissect it into symbols, and debase it into allegory. Any idea of actually reading the book for fun is lost.

Don't get me wrong - I've enjoyed a lot of the stuff Shippey, Flieger & Garth have produced, but what's coming out now is increasingly esoteric & obsessed with trivialities, & appears only in expensive journals & talks at these kind of conferences. Been there, done that, got the high price books (& they're all in the attic now). However, I recently bought a lovely old (1974) hardback set of LotR, (replacing a set I owned & lost in the early '80's) for £38, & am still basking in a nostalgic glow every time I look at them.

davem · 01-27-2010, 02:09 PM

Bad news for those planning to go to the Festival

http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/i/4453/

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The Festival in the Shire which celebrates all things Tolkien, is a three-day event which was due to take place in August at Y Plas and was attracting celebrated academics, artists as well as film buffs and fans.

However, organiser Mark Faith said this week that the event had now been moved to Pafiliwn Bont, in Pontrhyfendigaid due to space problems and a lack of support from the Plas management.

Cllr Bob Dunn, who manages Y Plas on behalf of Machynlleth Town Council, said that every effort had been made to ensure suitable premises were offered for what he said was a “new and innovative event for the community”.

In a report, due to be discussed by Machynlleth Town Council at their full meeting next Monday (1 February), Cllr Dunn said: “Simply put, there is a difference of opinion between the organiser and us whereby he feels that we should virtually close Y Plas and its grounds for three days and turn them over to him, while I am mindful of the rights of our tenants and our public.”

New site is about 30-odd miles further away.....

davem · 02-13-2010, 02:32 AM

Festival Journal2 is up http://www.festivalintheshire.com/journal/index.html Nice stuff- Interviews with artists like Ted Naismith, John Howe, & one of my faves Rodney Matthews (for those unfamiliar with his work, here's his Rivendell)

Guinevere · 03-11-2010, 03:59 AM

The Tolkien Seminar in Jena (Germany) will be held from Friday 23.04.10 to Sunday 25.04.10
I'm looking forward to going there and meeting Esty again! This years topic "Tolkien and Romanticism appeals especially to me. I always had the impression that Tolkien had a lot in common with the romantics.

Here's a link to a schedule and abstracts of the lectures:http://seminar2010.kolbitar.de/

Mithalwen · 03-13-2010, 06:44 AM

This prompted me to look for news of the UK seminar - there isn't but I found a reminder of Tolkien Reading Day a couple of weeks away on 25th March.

Faramir Jones · 03-17-2010, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guinevere

The Tolkien Seminar in Jena (Germany) will be held from Friday 23.04.10 to Sunday 25.04.10
I'm looking forward to going there and meeting Esty again! This years topic "Tolkien and Romanticism appeals especially to me. I always had the impression that Tolkien had a lot in common with the romantics.

Thanks for telling us about this, Guinevere! Could you let us know how you get on?

01-21-2010, 11:48 AM	#2
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,460	What.....? These prices include general admission to the Festival, but not to the Collectors Exposition. The different entrance prices are geared toward different levels of interest; beginner to experienced, however we encourage you to become experienced by purchasing a Collectors Exposition ticket also. Surely you can't buy experience (well... debatable)...but I can't believe gawping at first editions and even upmarket merchandising tat will do it.. After all the great thing about books is that they are essentially the same if you have a mint first edition or a tattered paperback.. __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace

02-13-2010, 02:32 AM	#5
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	Festival Journal2 is up http://www.festivalintheshire.com/journal/index.html Nice stuff- Interviews with artists like Ted Naismith, John Howe, & one of my faves Rodney Matthews (for those unfamiliar with his work, here's his Rivendell) __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."

03-11-2010, 03:59 AM	#6
Guinevere Banshee of Camelot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Switzerland Posts: 5,830	The Tolkien Seminar in Jena (Germany) will be held from Friday 23.04.10 to Sunday 25.04.10 I'm looking forward to going there and meeting Esty again! This years topic "Tolkien and Romanticism appeals especially to me. I always had the impression that Tolkien had a lot in common with the romantics. Here's a link to a schedule and abstracts of the lectures:http://seminar2010.kolbitar.de/ __________________ Yes! "wish-fulfilment dreams" we spin to cheat our timid hearts, and ugly Fact defeat! Last edited by Guinevere; 03-11-2010 at 04:04 AM. Reason: the link wasn't correct

03-13-2010, 06:44 AM	#7
Mithalwen Pilgrim Soul Join Date: May 2004 Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle... Posts: 9,460	This prompted me to look for news of the UK seminar - there isn't but I found a reminder of Tolkien Reading Day a couple of weeks away on 25th March. __________________ “But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.” Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace