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Old 04-19-2009, 07:15 PM   #1
Aelfwine
Pile O'Bones
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Here, there and everywhere
Posts: 19
Aelfwine has just left Hobbiton.
Question Why Tolkien?

At the turn of the millenium, many lists appeared ranking the best books of the past century. Many critics disputed LoTR's worthiness to appear anywhere near the top of such lists. Many would not term LoTR a "classic" and many would decline to include the books within the amorphous category of "literature". We who post here might disagree with some or all of the foregoing criticisms. Yet we would all likely agree that there are many great authors besides Tolkien and many compelling works other than LoTR. Any list of such authors or works would vary based upon personal taste and I decline to provide such a catalog because I do not want this thread to wander off on that tangent. My question is simple... or not.

Why Tolkien?

There are a number of large Tolkien bulletin boards on the net. There are more smaller boards. There are newsgroups, mailing lists, etc. This site has thousands of members (most of whom are concededly no longer active but ehy were here once and at least appear to visit now and again), thousands of threads and uncounted posts. Interactive writing based upon Tolkien's world has flourished here in the form of rpgs. Imitation is, of course, the highest form of praise.

But why Tolkien? Why not Faulkner, or O'Brian, or Vonnegut, or Homer, or Tolstoy or... you get the picture.

There has previously been discussion here about subjects like applicability or morality. Some might raise quality or escapism. Clearly Tolkien strikes a chord of some sort. The type of chord might differ in each and every one of us. While I'd be glad to hear about everyone's chords, my question is more why does Tolkien strike a chord rather than what kind. Because, of course, I have some ideas of my own...
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