Tolkien Reading Day (Mar. 25)

I hope it's okay to post this here -- this is called "The Green Dragon" after all; and I seem to recall a thread in Site Talk recently saying that Green Dragon is also for discussing sci-fi/fantasy books and literature, as well as the games and pictures of cats and so on. If this is not appropriate for the group, my apologies and I hope the moderator will delete it.

I'm not affiliated at all either with theonering.net or the Tolkien Society, but as a bibliophile (and also a Tolkien fan) I loved this idea -- this is precisely the kind of holiday we need more of. :)

March 25 is Tolkien Reading Day

As theonering.net puts it,

"Initiated by the Tolkien Society in 2003, Tolkien Reading day helps motivate people, alone or in groups, to take time out of their busy lives to enjoy the prose and poetry of Professor J.R.R. Tolkien."

The Tolkien Society has a page with more details, as well as resources for schools, parents, and so on. This year's theme is "Tolkien's Seafarers," so readings on nautical and maritime themes are encouraged (Idril and Tuor; the flight of the Noldor; etc.).

I thought this was a cool idea, and I see that some forums on theonering.net have discussions and such, but I don't know of anything going on locally or in schools etc. (granted, I have no children and have no idea what goes on with local kids). Is anyone else taking part somehow?

Moderator? In the Green Dragon? Hardly!

More seriously, what a great idea! Many thanks, Essa.

I know in my school, there's probably one teacher who celebrates it, but for the most part I haven't seen any encouragement to read Tolkien anywhere in my community. Parents are probably afraid of the "dark magic," like they are with Harry Potter.

That is so cool. Thank you for the link. I'll probably try to do something with my toddler charges tomorrow and we'll just pretend it is today, then. Next year, pehaps something more complete will be necessary.

Oh, I missed it here!

In penitence, the first verse of Tolkien's Ofer Widne Garsecg (Over the Broad Ocean) in Old English (my translation):

Þa ofer widne garsecg weow unwidre ceald,
Sum hagusteald on lagu feoll on nicer geweald.
He legde last swa fyres gnast, he snude' on sunde fleah,
Oþþæt he mette meremenn deopen grunde neah.
(When over wide ocean blows a no less wide cold
A certain young man fell into the sea, into the monsters' realm
He pushed forward like fire's push, he swam along in flight
Until he met mermen deep near the ocean-floor.)

Wow, I wish we'd known about this a few weeks ago. We might have organized something. I used to peruse tORN.net a bit back in the day, but stopped visiting it when I got hooked on LT.

I love this part at the end! "25th March has significance to Tolkien's readers, as it is the day of the Downfall of Sauron at the conclusion of the 'War of the Ring' in The Lord of the Rings." Maybe I'll have to dip into LotR just a smidge before I sleep tonight.

Thank you, Essa.

As luck would have it, I've been reading The Hobbit to my boys before bedtime. It's the first time they've both enjoyed the same chapter book being read to them. (Usually the younger one wanders off). We've made it away from the Goblin caves but are about to run into some Wargs.

Happily, but unknowingly, I celebrated by listening to my audio version of The Fellowship of the Ring. It was even the part where Samwise was pontificating in the pub about the elves going to the Grey Havens and sailing across the sea. :)

Essa, we always love threads about Tolkien here.

How ironic that I finished reading the Return of the King on the 24th ! It was late on the 24th so I reckon it can count :)