When we look at Tolkien's work today, we look at it from the vantage point of 2023. We see the trajectory of his decades of work on the legendarium. We see, within a historical context, texts that seem to respond to or even predict what would have been the breaking news of the day.
In this month's A Sense of History column, Simon J. Cook continues his series of articles on the tower analogy found in Tolkien's pivotal essay "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," considered even today to be the most important scholarship penned on Beowulf. Simon makes the case that the tower analogy present in the essay has connections to the legendarium: that the tower-builder climbs his tower to look upon the same sea that so seduces the characters of the legendarium, separating Middle-earth from Valinor. From the view from his tower, the man glimpses the wisdom of a lost world, but to do so requires imagination.
In 1936, when he delivered "Monsters and the Critics" (and was also in the midst of some of his most productive work on the "Silmarillion" materials), Tolkien would have been grappling with a world again on the brink of war and all of the fear and uncertainty that provoked. Much like the Beowulf-poet and the man and his tower, he turned to the past for answers and for courage.
SWG News
New Challenge: Bollywood
This month's challenge offers songs, films, and tropes from Bollywood, the world's largest film industry based out of India, as prompts for fanworks.
Cultus Dispatches: Fandom Chocolate … or Authors Love Comments
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data provides insight into how comments benefit authors and which authors are most impacted by a lack of comments, with a digression on authors' perspectives one-click feedback like kudos.
A Sense of History: Passing Ships
As Tolkien's characters in various texts gaze out to the sea, what do they see? What is brought by the ships coming out of the West?
New Challenge: Funky '70s
We've compiled lists of '70s-themed prompts to inspire your fanwork in the June-July challenge.
Fandom Voices: Commenting and Feedback
We are collecting fan experiences related to giving and receiving feedback on Tolkien-based fanworks.
A Project for Oshun
In last week's issue, we reported that Oshun, a longtime SWG member, lead biographer, and dear friend to many of us, has been experiencing significant health issues. Many of us want to show our love, care, and appreciation for someone who gave so much of herself to this community while asking so little in return. Elfscribe and polutropos have arranged a project to send messages to her. If you'd like to send a message to Oshun—whether a few words or something longer—they will be recording and compiling messages that she will be able to access.
How to Share a Message
If you are comfortable recording audio, you can record your message and send it to us. (Hit "Reply" on this message or email moderator@silmarillionwritersguild.org directly.) We'll make sure audio files make it to the volunteer who is compiling them for Oshun.
If you'd rather your message be recorded for you, send your written text to Elfscribe or to the SWG mods, using the same procedure as above.
The due date for audio and written messages is August 20.
How to Get Updates
This project will be planned and updates/announcements shared on the #for-oshun channel on the SWG Discord. If you are not already a member, you can join our Discord here. We will continue to send out weekly updates in this newsletter, so watch this space as well.
New Fanworks
No Time Have I by by Flora-lass [Writing]
A Silmarillion acrostic.
Read more ...Lament for the Singer by by daughterofshadows [Writing]
A short thing about Maglor, death and grieving.
Read more ...All of you by by chrissystriped [Writing]
Elrond and Celebrían celebrate their anniversary with their family.
Read more ...Eä's Redemption by by AaronAzrael [Writing]
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously thought on the matter who the Ainur are, who Eru is, how he matches our own religious pantheon, and this has been conducted after serious research of many esoteric teachings of our own planet's heritage.
Read more ...Map of Valinor by by Aprilertuile [Artwork]
My newly drawn map of Aman, as complete as I could make it.
Read more ...Fair as the First Snowdrop in Spring by by StarSpray [Writing]
The first time Elrond saw Celebrían he forgot how to breathe.
Read more ...Temper, temper... by by Aprilertuile [Writing]
Read more ...Maglor hit some musical difficulties and snaps.
Updated Fanworks
I called it Fate that I should fail by by AdmirableMonster [Writing]
Nimruzimir, a natural philosopher recently out of his apprenticeship, hardly considers himself very important to anyone, least of all his colleagues. When his strange, prophetic fits bring him to the attention of the High Priest, however, he may find that his existence is less superfluous than he had originally thought.
Read more ...
Cosmological Poems of Arda by by AaronAzrael [Writing]
I would like to share my revelations of Tolkien's Universe in the form of narrative and emotional poems.
Read more ...Around the World and Web
Fellowship of the Fics: Summer Stories 2024
Fellowship of the Fics offers four weeks of summer-themed prompts during the month of July.
July challenge at tolkienshortfanworks posted
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for July has been posted to the Dreamwidth community. The thematic challenge is: original character or unnamed canon character; the formal challenge: fixed length of multiple of 50 words. New participants welcome.
July 2024 Call for Papers and Proposals
Conferences and publications that have open calls for papers and proposals in July 2024.
Teitho June/July Challenge: Mentor
The June/July prompt for the Teitho challenge is "mentor" and invites fanworks about this relationship in Tolkien's works.
Scribbles & Drabbles 2024
A chill Tolkien event, where artists make art, and authors write little stories in response. Begins in June and ends in November.
Mythcon 53: Fantasies of the Middle Lands
Mythcon 53 will be held 2-5 August 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the theme "Fantasies of the Middle Lands."
Elrond Week 2024
Elrond Week is a fandom event dedicated to Elrond Peredhel that will run from July 10th to July 16th on Tumblr.
Forgotten Ground Regained: Call for Submissions
Forgotten Ground Regained is looking for alliterative poetry on the themes of love, devotion, and desire for their upcoming fall issue.
Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang (TRSB) 2024
Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang is an annual event where authors create a story of at least 5,000 words in response to an artwork created for the event.
Acorns and Oak Leaves: A Year of Bagginshield
Throughout 2024, the Bagginshield community Acorns and Oak Leaves offers monthly prompts to encourage new creations of all kinds.
