I watched the FOTR EE again this weekend with a good friend. We were talking about the complexity of the story, the layering and subtexts that we have all discussed here on many occasions.
It occurred to me that there is something very unique about how Tolkien layered his story and developed his characters. JRRT began writing his story in his late teens, as he developed his languages and histories. I wonder if one of the reasons why we find the stories so rich, so filled with sub-text and deep meaning is that Tolkien was sharing his own maturing process with us, allowing us to experience the characters and storyline as he did, through the many changes that age and wisdom brings to one’s thinking, as though he lets us see the outline, the broad brush strokes of the story and at the same time, there is a transparency that lets us look into the depths of the characters and see them through his older eyes. Certainly the fact that his books took up his entire lifetime has to have some reflection in how they ultimately turned out. Even after publication, he continued to tweak, refine and reveal his thinking about the stories. Most authors produce a work in a few years at most, and move on to new ideas and a new work. It feels as if JRRT moved on to new ideas in the same work.
JRRT grew up with his characters and his storyline. And his characters, apparently, grew up with him, as well. The story is filled with characters that change, grow and develop, becoming more complex, more real as the story progresses. Like Frodo, at some points they seem to be very simple, straight-forward characters, almost archetypes, yet at other times, they are deep, filled with layered motivations, and one is not sure that one understands them. There are also intriguing situations, such as Theoden, the beguiled King of Rohan and why his people did not replace him as king- what sort of things were operating in this society to prevent the obvious solution from being applied.
LOTR and Silmarillion are both simple and complex and neither. They have the simplicity and slight naiveté of the young writer enthused with myth and language, and the complexity and wisdom of the older author, more concerned with human nature and ethical questions. Somehow, both of these viewpoints have come to exist in these books in a way rare to literature.
-Can you think of any other artist who used his entire lifetime to create a single work like this?
-Do you think that JRRT’s work is unique in its point of view because it does represent a lifetime of thought rather than capturing a moment in time in an author’s psychological life?
-And do you think PJ captured this aspect of the stories?
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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An excellent post, and I will try to think of other authors who might have done this.
A quick thought before bed - The rich sense of history that permeates Middle Earth, the sense of incalculable depth. I don't know whether this was something Tolkien knew he wanted from the beginning, but I would guess that this is something he developed with age, much as in our lives we start off with a shallow understanding of the world we find ourselves in, and then gradually build up a nuanced sense of history around all the places and countries and people we are familiar with. We end up seeing the world overlaid with faint tracings of all that has gone before. It's kind of like how animals with better senses of smell than we have can stand in a clearing and know what other animals passed through that day, even though they are not there at present.
Curiouser and curiouser!
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This is a great analogy, adalheidis. It IS as though there are traces of Tolkien throughout his entire life present in the story. I sometimes feel as if I can chose to look at the characters from different points of view and not see the differences as inconsistent at all.
Have you ever read a book by re-reading it from the viewpoint of one character at a time? You can easily do this with LOTR, and see that the characters are very consistent when read from their own point of view, but may seem different at times, when viewed from the point of view of another character, as would happen in real life.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Hi Athene,
Can I think of any other artist who used his entire lifetime to create a single work like this? Not really, though I'd imagine visual artists who were forced to spend many years on the same piece might have encountered/created a similar effect. In terms of the written word, authors who engage in series will sometimes end up exploring very different themes by the end of their journey than they did in the beginning. To some degree, I feel Frank Herbert's Dune series is like this, written over many years, and also Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea series. The fourth book in the 'trilogy' is (IMO) a very mature tale with particular concern for the role of women, which I suspect she felt she'd downplayed in her earlier works, which came out many years before.
I can think of someone else, a fictional character called Niggle who devoted his life to an artistic work, in his case neglecting the concerns and joys of the everyday world around him. Who created Niggle? A certain author called J.R.R. Tolkien. Did Tolkien feel that Niggle was a bit like him, perhaps a darker side or what he feared he could be? I don't know, but speculation is free... At least until they figure out a way to charge us for it.
Sean :)
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How about many life times of work? Stories like that of King Arthur that change and evolve from oral myth to written stories that are modified by different writers and story tellers as the years go by. Each takes some, adds some and over years, a mythology evolves.
last and proudest, Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth...
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Yeah, I'm interested in this too Darth. I think it's somewhat different from one person refining their views over time, but it's equally fascinating. I see this as being what Jackson et al have done with LOTR, expanding and modifying Tolkien's original work.
Sean :)
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Good points! I wonder if Tolkien managed to accomplish on his own the same sort of process that has happened with older myths, the revisions, redactions, and reappaisals that have honed our favorite myths. Perhaps this accounts for the "finished" feel of LOTR.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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I love LeGuin! Her development of her central theme over the course of her writing career is impressive, always consistent but also changing. And Niggle is a good example- one of my favorite Tolkien stories, if a bit strange.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Excellent point about Niggle! I was thinking about that story as I wrote the post and wondering if Niggle was the dark side of creativity, or represented something that Tolkien feared to become. If you've ever read Tolkien's letters, it's clear that his life was a struggle to balance his life work with the demands of daily life. Maybe it was all these distractions that caused him to take so long!
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Always a favorite story of mine, and an excellent example of an artist's life's work. 
bovilexia: The uncontrollable urge to lean out the window & yell "Moo!" every time you pass a cow.
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Hmm... well, its difficult to name one work that is like this, but Tolkien's stuff kind of reflects a body of work rather then one thing. Its got duality that way. One centralized theme is there for sure.
I can think of a lot of musicians who embody this, its what I love about music. Listening to Pavement and all of Malkmus's other stuff really shows maturation over time. Gotta give props to Guided By Voices too... a school teachers (Robert Pollard) patiently makes amazing music over 10-20 years and 'then' starts a real band. Wow. Frank Black's ability to continue Pixies gold with the Catholics. Gravy. :) Or listening to someone like Oscar Peterson is fantastic that way. Or... hmm... Johnny Cash is pretty unbelieveable. He's 'still' releasing records that are still fantastic on the same label as Rage Against The Machine. Listening to The Beastie Boys is that way too. They started producing music when they were in their early teens 'n you can watch them grow into Buddists. The transformation is incredible. Lots of rappers are really that way, big time 'n mostly because I think they tend to send a message about their own lives and attitudes then anything else. Listening to Ice Cube is a manifesto from the underground. Totally, cuz his message never changes or sells out, just hard core commentary on everything... or Dr. Dre's message and sound matureing and forming over time is very potent as well.
Another writer I've read who's done this pretty well is Peter Danielson, he wrote a serries of books called Children Of The Lion which is a half historical half fictional retelling of biblical events through the eyes of the descendants of Cain from the Cain and Able story. His children are forever given a birthmark of a Lion's paw and they all hand down the trade of being the most skilled armourers on the planet. Its just fantastic epic Athene. Fantastic, grandoise epic 'n if you like Tolkien you have to like Children Of The Lion. Peter in interviewed has claimed he has felt the calling to write this story his entire life, and it shows. I think I made it to book 13 or something like that.
Another writer, and you'll be able to correct me here if I am wrong, but Franz Kafka appears to me to have done this considering nothing was published until his death. But what I see when I read Kafka was meticulously crafted images so perfect you hardly recgonize them as such.
Ahh... oh yea, Margaret Lawerance's Manawaka series is absolutly incredible. The expansion of Hagar's wilderness is mind blowing when you get right down to knowing a charcter. She's just naked to the reader. But the whole series is great.
'n not because I know, but I've heard on good faith that John Donne achieved this kind of thing. 'n I'd also like to throw a nod to Joyce for his subtle analysis of Dublin/Ireland, though he didn't spend his whole life doing it. In that way too, Faulkner's refinement of his picture of the South ages like wine.
Anyway, I think it wouldn't be too hard to keep that list going. :) Art is endless, isin't it?
Unique? Yes, defenitly. No one has done what JRRT acomplished ever. The layering and intertwining in fiction has never been acomplished period. I've arrived at a truth that people who try to claim he isin't in leauge with other great writers (Shakespeare/Joyce) have yet to comprehend the depth of Tolkien's world. No writer I've read or heard about has ever taken writing 'fiction' so seriously and litteraly, which sets him apart from 'everyone'.
About PJ, totally. But he didn't so much capture it, as he did copy it. Its the same as the books. You can read the Hobbit and say "okay kids story" or read that little line at the end "if you want to learn more about Hobbits and their adventures read Fellowship Of The Ring: The first part of the Lord Of The Rings" and go see what that one line is talking about. Eventually, you keep trying to find out more, and just become overwhelmed in the sheer mythic reality of it all.
Its harder with the movies, but you can do the same thing. You can just watch it and say "great flick" or you can look at the design in the background wall in Edoras and see runes there, which probably (havn't tried looking it up) refrence some king or marshall of the Mark. Or the subtle things you see in cities. I've caught Elvish designs in a few places in and around Moria which could just be elvish designs, but if you look deeper and go on to read FOTR: part one of LOTR, you notice evidence of the age old relationship between Moria and the lost elvish city of Hollin.
This kind of stuff just blows my noodle watching these movies. Even if it is just reading into things that are coincidence, the huge efforts by the film makers have made everything so tangible that such connections do 'appear' in the film. Its kind of like Kevin Costner sitting in corn fields hearing "if you build it, they will come." PJ et al built it, and Tolkien's famous 'applicability' is doing the rest.
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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Aule
(Sun Apr 20 23:35:48)
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Well said. 
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Thanks. :)
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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Beautifully said, Wally. I love that last sentence about Tolkien's "applicability" doing the rest, the great attraction of meaning.
In thinking of your examples, I was wondering if you would consider Paul McCartney to be one of those life-long artists who is still crafting his life work?
I think the difference between Tolkien and your examples, however, is that they do publish they work as they go along, so that you can easily see the stages of their growth. Whereas, JRRT worked and grew for decades before he got the same work published. He seems to be present there in different ways at the same time.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Yep... thats the difference all right. Well, except for Robert Pollard, who became an amazing musician in his basement over the years while being a career school teacher, then started releasing albums. Guided By Voices has some pretty incredible stuff too.
I'd also offer that its pretty amazing when an artist comes along and just burns out producing matterial that effectivly does change their art. The Sex Pistols comes to mind, Nirvana (though the Seattle music scene is more responsible then Nirvana IMHO, but they did rock), I don't know much art, but Jackson Pollack and Worhol seemed to turn everything on it's head. 'n Yoikes, how could I have left Captian Beefheart (Don Van Villet) off my first list as both musician and artist. His development and refinement is obvious from the time he is 3 or 4 years old throughout his entire life. But yea, very few have waited so long and had the opportunity to actually refine the early work as well.
Hmm... was I right about Kafka???
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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Eru, and, or not and Tom Bombadil as the case may be. ;)
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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OH, yes! Good one, Wally!
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Michael Jordan is poetry in motion and defenitly an entire life's work. I mean, I don't know how you do what Michael did over a lifetime. You get cut from your highschool basketball team, and to prove your coach made a mistake, you become the unquestioned best basketball player in all history. Hollywood can't write stories like that and stay believeable, but Michael Jordan can do it in reality.
He defines what sports are, really. It wasn't enough to be good, or the best, but he had to dominate everyone who had the gall to try and play in his leauge. No one ever won except Michael Jordan, because even when he lost, he'd won. This last comeback doesn't even count as everyone knows all he had to do was sign with a big name team to win another championship, ie: he didn't even try to do that with the Wizards. Still, the fact that at 40, on any given night, Michael could turn it on and decimate another team in every mental and physical way (despiste not having the athletic ability of people 20 years younger then he was) and to do it on a sub-par team talent wise is astounding. Anyway, following his career or looking back on it, you see an entire lifetime spent on refining and perfecting not what a basketball player is, but what Michael Jordan the basketball player is, ie: others in their field were great but were great within a set of rules, while they operated on their own rules they wrote themselves.
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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Good example! Jordan is a great artist, and you're right, his own athletic ability is his life work.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Athene, the only artist whom immediately comes to mind is Frank Lloyd Wright, the architect who spent his whole life attempting to perfect his idea of the natural, organic house.
I need to consider more the question of Tolkien's maturity and a life working on LotR.
But off of the top of my head, I think Jackson and McKellen's portrayal of Gandalf shows the subtley of wisdom that Tolkien may not have captured as a younger writer, but was deepened in later years by the experience of living a full life.
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Of course! Wright lived his philosophy his entire life. I wonder what Wright and Tolkien would have thought of each other- they seem to have some similar leanings, especially you can see that in the Elves relationship to their world and how they lived in it.
I think I agree with you about Gandalf- he does not offer answers to anything, but he seems to present the questions that make the other characters delve into the complexities of their lives and choices. Just as a truly wise old wizard would do!
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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athene, I think JRR would have been delighted to read your post!
In creating what he saw as an alternative mythology for England, the feeling that his works had been compiled and evolved over many years is exactly the sort of thing he was trying to achieve! But you are right - it is a unique accomplishment. I wonder if it's because he loved writing and creating his world so much that he was loath to finish it and therefore have to let it go; certainly The Silmarillion (which was not edited and published until after his death) was an unfinished work, even though he had been working on it almost all his adult life! It is as if the act of creation was more important to him - although he obviously loved middle earth deeply, the "means" were what he enjoyed rather than the "end".
And PJ... well, in my own (admittedly limited) experience, I've never seen a film where so much time, effort, devotion and detail have been lavished on the visual effects, locations and casting. It is certainly a tribute to Tolkien's work, and as such I believe it has captured the essence of the books.
Not all those who wander are lost
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Thank you, Bella! In reading JRRT's letters, it pretty obvious that he wanted to get his books published, but he didn't really want to stop writing them long enough for that to happen.
I'm amazed at his ability to sustain this interest for an entire lifetime. When he wasn't writing the stories themselves, he was writing lengthy essays about them in letters to friend, explaining this or that in great detail. I think you have to be very special to have such a lifelong devotion, but then, he also had a lovely, lifelong devotion to his Edith. Perhaps there is a lesson here for us.
I agree that PJ did just a wonderful job of bringing the essence and tone of the books to screen. He seems to have captured JRRT, the storyteller, in the movie somehow.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Wonderful post athene, as usual.
From a psychological standpoint I would completely agree that JRRT's work stands alone as an example of an author's growth and maturity during the novels' creation. I can think of no other artist, visual or literary, that has invested so much of his/her life-force into a single product.
As for the second question, I believe that PJ understood the importance of the fact that LOTR spanned a large part of JRRT's life. Therefore, we can catch glimpses of the author at various stages of his life's experiences in the portrayal of certain scenes and characters.
-Frodo's complete contentment while reading under the tree (JRRT as a teen)
-Sam's awe upon seeing the Oliphant and other things in the Big World (JRRT in the military)
-Gandalf's desire to protect the unspoiled countryside of the Shire (JRRT as an older professor)
And so many more examples I could list.
bovilexia: The uncontrollable urge to lean out the window & yell "Moo!" every time you pass a cow.
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Those are wonderful examples. I was also thinking of Gandalf, whose wisdom grew past the judgemental impatience of youth into the calmer understanding that not all things can be as they should, nor should we condemn them for it.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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I was trying to think of creators whose work spanned their lives, and the only ones I could think of were cathedral builders. Only I don't know any of their names, or whether their designs actually evolved in the building. Yet something is fluttering in the corners of my memory. Does anyone know?
Curiouser and curiouser!
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There were many great cathedral builders, but the one that springs to my mind in connection with this topic is the Spanish architect Gaudi. His work and influence can be seen all over the city of Barcelona, but the building that dominated his life was the great cathedral of the Sagrada Familia. He started work on it in 1883, and it was not complete when he died in 1926. It’s a fantastic, unique building, that is really the culmination of his artistic vision.
Not all those who wander are lost
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Gaudi is cool... I was in Barcelona a while ago and his stuff was totally amazing and unlike anything I've ever seen.
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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I knew someone would know. Thanks, Belladonna!
Curiouser and curiouser!
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Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follet. Easily his best book, and you'll never look at a Cathedral again in the same way, ever. Its fantastic.
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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I'll definitely check it out.
Curiouser and curiouser!
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I don't recall a particular architect or builder, but some of those cathedrals were multi-generational projects, taking decades. I think I recall one where the common people made pilgrimages to the site to work on it a bit, laying a brick or something, as a holy act. Was that Chartres? Surely, over time the original designs had to reinterpret themselves a bit, and the final ediface would be somewhat different from the plan.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Hi Athene; Another great thread....
Tolkien was sharing his own maturing process with us, allowing us to experience the characters and storyline as he did, through the many changes that age and wisdom brings to one’s thinking, as though he lets us see the outline, the broad brush strokes of the story and at the same time, there is a transparency that lets us look into the depths of the characters and see them through his older eyes.
Can you think of any other artist who used his entire lifetime to create a single work like this.
The first person that comes to my mind Athene, is "Michelangelo". When I studied the artist’s life work you get the impression that it was a continually evolving process. That Michelangelo was always searching. I remember seeing a great film on the subject that follows the direction of thought that you are outlining. Michelangelo: Self-Portrait Film.
Michelangelo's earliest sculpture were made in the Medici garden near the church of San Lorenzo; his Bacchus and Sleeping Cupid both show the results of careful observation of the classical sculptures. His later Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs and Madonna of the Stairs reflect his growing interest in his contemporaries, and a maturing intellect. In a brief post it would be very difficult to outline his lifework, but what I would like to focus on is the work at the end of his life. Michelangelo began work on the Rondanini Pieta, which he began carving when he was 89 years old. And I quote:
I am carving another Pieta; God grant I may finish it. How different from my first in St. Peter's a lifetime ago when I was just 21. Beauty was my idol then. Faith alone must guide me now, as I face the day of judgment."
It's interesting to note that this sculpture displays a wonderful unfinished quality to it. And a sense of mystery that is hard to put in words. It's as if the face is emerging from the marble ...This unfinished mysterious quality to me represents a life long quest of soul searching that is both an enigma and the essence of life itself. Quite a powerful statement from one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Anyway, in consideration of the fact that Tolkien keep revising and evolving his mythology until his last days is a testament to what one can achieve in a lifes work that parallels Michelangelo.
Do you think that JRRT’s work is unique in its point of view because it does represent a lifetime of thought rather than capturing a moment in time in an author’s psychological life?
Really interesting food for thought Athene... but I got to go! It’s 1:45 in the morning, be back tomorrow.
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Broc
(Tue Apr 22 07:24:35)
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As Shakesaid Speare in the Verchant of Menace -- "All that Golders is Not Glit!"
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"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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I've seen both of them, and you couldn't be more right Paul. The unfinished Michaelango is nearly as compelling as the finished pieces. Of all the artists in the world, very few seem to have that ability to just wow you. You hear about these famous pieces and when you see them they seem to blend into all the other art you've seen, however his still stand out and smack you in the face. When you turn the corner and see David its incomparable. Somethign about it... I've seen countless other big statues that are amazing, but David just hits you. The finial Judgement and the Ceiling of the chapel do it too, however they stand out in a more sensationalist and obvious way, where David is just better, even though thousands of other statues look like the same idea, they just don't measure up.
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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I think you're right about Michaelangelo and a handful of other artists. Somehow their work transcends the observational and really addresses you in a very spiritual way. You can't quite explain how, but the work has life.
I have an odd reaction to certain colors- they make my eyes 'tingle' for want of a better word. There's a resonance there that isn't there with other colors. The same thing happens with certain works of art, music- David is certainly such a work, and also the ancient Greek Bacchus and Dionysis.
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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Thanks Wally, 
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What an interesting observation, Paul! (I hope you got some sleep!). I think that this is what you are saying:
The difference that really strikes one between the Pieta of Michaelangelo's youth and of his old age is the level of detail. In the youthful version, it is all finished, all perfected, expressing his certainty that he knows the answer to the question 'what is beauty'. In the more recent version, product of his elder days, his work seems to be more focused on the question.
I find in LOTR that the emphasis shifts gradually from answers to questions, and finally at the end, there are more questions left than answers. Even as the story nears a conclusion, there is less and less true resolution, and more and more obscurity as JRRT incorporates more values and fewer definitive events into the story. It's as though he includes the events only as the framework for the questions, as Gandalf seems to do when others ask him to discuss an event or explain an occurance, as though he can't quite focus on the event because it has so many meanings. And so, the story becomes less finished as it ends, more mysterious. Does anyone else get this feeling?
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew..."
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I defenitly get that feeling, however I'm not so sure it is a result of his life spanning his work specifically, but thats not really what I mean... I know that Tolkien wrote his stories and then aggressivly revised and edited them. I know he rewrote and entire section of LOTR simply because he had acidentially judged the phases of the moon, and it didn't fit what he wanted, so he re-wrote it. Anyway, I expect much of his work was written at teh beginnings and ends of his life. There is defenitly a transgression from Mordor/Sauron are evil to Gollum is human and how did he become so wretched, however, that is unmistakeable. Very mysterious. How great is that Cave Troll scene the more you watch it, for instance?
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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more thoughts,
Do you think that JRRT’s work is unique in its point of view because it does represent a lifetime of thought rather than capturing a moment in time in an author’s psychological life?
Quite often in history action has been the echo of words, As I’m sure Tolkien made a mental note of. An era of talk was followed by an era of events. The brutality of the twentieth century is the echo of words spoken by brilliant speakers and writers in the second half of the nineteenth century. Tolkien was born on the cusp of this change. In my mind it could be surmised that Tolkien set about the transition back to language and words. Which are the seeds of enlightenment of a lifetime of work, with the hopes of causing a twenty first century spiritual insurgence. I think Tolkien is unique in this aspect because it takes a lifetime of thought, growth and maturity of intellect to cultivate this task.
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Can you think of any other artist who used his entire lifetime to create a single work like this?
Simon Rodia, the man who created the Watts Towers, immediately comes to mind. Similiar complexity, totally different medium. Same single minded sense of purpose.
Do you think that JRRT’s work is unique in its point of view because it does represent a lifetime of thought rather than capturing a moment in time in an author’s psychological life?
I think it's unique because Robbe-Grillet was publishing in the same period as Tolkien - they're about as different you could get!
And do you think PJ captured this aspect of the stories?
Yes - but the brilliant casting really made the movie, in my opnion.
"Yes - but what about Second Breakfast?"
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Nice one Phyllis...
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...thanks Paul!.....I have a real interest in "outsider art" (although Simon Rodia is probably pretty mainstream by now, really)..... I would argue that Tokien was an outsider too - his style was certainly outside the common literary canon of most Mid-20th century European and American literature....and his life seemed to run counter to many mid-20th century writers as well - he wasn't part of a literary *scene* coming out of an major city (New York, Paris) - he was tenured professor doing his thing as an academic. I would also argue that if his adult life has been more like other writers of that era (Hemmingway, Norman Mailer, Keruoac) it's possible that LOTR would have never been completed.....the stability of academic life enabled him to take the time he needed to get the job done.
...I kind of like he fact that most of the photos you see of him are of this very tweedy English gent or are photos from Oxford commencement ceremonies where he's all turned out in his Doctoral robes.
.... I guess you don't need to live dangerously to still be cutting edge!
"Yes - but what about Second Breakfast?"
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your welcome!
.... I guess you don't need to live dangerously to still be cutting edge!
So true, Phyllis so true....
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I've always considered outsider art to be more along the lines of Wesley Willis. :)
Lie:Episode I was a good movie
Truth:http://punpages.uh?.sht/glucas/ScenesofSmashatWC.pdf
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"...All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
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...And you have my bow...
Now give it back!
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"Boromir, quit trying to cut off Frodo's head ..." ~ Blatant favoritism most annoying.
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...the angels had guitars even before they had wings...
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bump
No matter where you go, there you are...
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CTS-1
(Wed May 21 21:02:11)
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While not the most popular author today, I suggest Ayn Rand as someone whose life basically built up to one major work (in her case, Atlas Shhrugged). After its completion, she never tried anything similarly ambitious. One may also fairly argue that her body of work up to that novel (including The Fountainhead) were less successful attempts to realize the same vision (preliminary attempts, essentially).
Also, while a radically different vision (and, indeed, almost diametrically opposed in many ways), Rand's culminating work also represents the culmination of her intellectual path, just as Tolkien's does.
Look- he's trying to think!
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...And you have my bow...
Now give it back!
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...And you have my bow...
Now give it back!
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...And you have my bow...
Now give it back!
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...And you have my bow...
Now give it back!
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...And you have my bow...
Now give it back!
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UPDATED Mon Apr 21 22:51:47
