“They
say it is the first step that costs the effort. I do not find it so. I am sure
I could write unlimited 'first chapters'. I have indeed written many.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
Born on this date in 1892, John
Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English writer, poet and university professor, best
known of course for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. But had he not written these precursors to
much high fantasy as we know it today, he probably would have gained equal fame
for his scholarly work and teaching, including his definitive studies of the
epic poem Beowulf. His translation of Beowulf, completed in 1926, was not published until 2014, but his
1920s lectures, particularly “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics,” had a lasting
impact on Beowulf research and
criticism.
J.R.R. Tolkien lost his father at
age 3, then his mother at age 12, but by then both had instilled in him a
lifetime love of books, the understanding and use of language, and a spirit of
adventure that was to permeate his writing. 
A decorated soldier in World War I,
he developed a writing code and became a code-breaker for the English
army. His academic career began by
working on the Oxford Dictionary, then teaching at Leeds and Oxford. At Oxford’s
Pembroke College he wrote The Hobbit,
which sat unpublished for many years.
Once it was out, he was encouraged to write a sequel and produced Lord of the Rings.
In defining his drive to succeed he
once said it is like a line he wrote for a character: “You have been chosen, and you must therefore
use such strength and heart as you have.”
Share A Writer’s Moment with a friend by clicking the g+1 button below.
No comments:
Post a Comment