Hardest Poetry Book You’ll Ever Read (Probably)

Well, it’s that exciting time again when I can announce the release of a new publication! 😀

I’m super thrilled to be able to share with all of you Anarchy for the Innocents, which I’ve been working on for the past few months, and was in fact one of the reasons for not being too active here on this blog.

VIDEO: Massive Tolkien Book Collection

Hey everyone! We’ve hit the 1k subscribers mark on YouTube and, to celebrate that, here’s a video with an overview of my Tolkien book collection. Enjoy!

Anglo-Saxon historical fantasy epic poem | Crowdfunding begins!

Hey folks! Back again from the shadows 🙂

I hope you’re all sage and are having a good start to the new year.

Just dropping by for a quick shout-out to a Kickstarter campaign just launched.

As many followers of this blog may know, I wrote a book back in November 2019: Hæstingas: A retelling of the valiant fall of England in verse.

The book, a historical fantasy, 4,000-line epic poem set during one of the most turbulent times in English history, is now getting the Special Edition Hardcover treatment!

If you have an interest in Anglo-Saxon history, are a fantasy reader and love to odd-bit o’ poetry (as Samwise Gamgee would say) every now and then, your support in this endeavour would be most appreciated!

Rewards and bundles are there for the taking, so head over to the Kickstarter campaign page and take a look.

In the meantime, copies of the paperback edition of Hæstingas are still available from Amazon.com and Amazon UK.

Till next time! 😉

Stirrings and New beginnings | I’m back!

Hello again everyone! I seem to be back 😀

Although “back” is rather misleading. I was always “here”, both figuratively and literally. Following my ‘Farewell‘ post some eight months back, I kept visiting the blog and ensuring I replied to any new comments popping up every now and then on any posts.

Christopher Tolkien and Other Farewells

Photo by Charles E. Noad

For a number of years I used to think what would happen once the son and literary heir of J.R.R Tolkien would be with us no more. I questioned what would that mean to the Tolkien community, whether the experience of reading the books would change, and what would it mean for future scholarly work and publications.

“Hæstingas” | My New Book!

Well folks, this is it.

The Lay of Leofwin project I briefly posted about over the last few months, has taken a life of its own and been transformed into a book. An actual, published book!

I’m still here … re-reading Tolkien

It’s been over 3 months since my last post on this blog …

I feel as ashamed as an orc that has nothing evil to do, or an elf that has no singing to be done.

Tolkien’s Poetry | Octosyllabic Couplets + New Project Announcement

 

The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun and The Lay of Leithian are, in my opinion, two masterly-crafted long, epic poems (even though the latter, alas, remains unfinished).

I am no poetry expert, having never managed to successfully appreciate many poems (especially those of the modern sort, with free verse and all that), but there was something in Tolkien’s own poetic writings which I found accessible, instant and attractive. And while Tolkien might not be considered one of the great poetry writers, his verses seem to embody a character of their own — steeped in history and language, harking back to the style and tone of the great classical works, The Odyssey, The Divine Comedy and, naturally, Beowulf.

‘Medieval Monsters’ by Damien Kempf and Maria L. Gilbert {BookTalk}

BookTalk is a series of blog posts, where I discuss non-Tolkien books in concise and honest reviews. Read on dear reader …

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Many a time I find myself in awe at images and scans of beautifully-crafted manuscripts from the Middle Ages, often wondering what some of the strange, yet colourful creatures adorning the margins actually are or even symbolise.

This blog is 5 years old!

It’s July 8th and that means another year has passed since the creation of A Tolkienist’s Perspective!

I can’t believe how swiftly time has passed since typing my first post, which was achieve with much trepidation and doubts as to how it would be received.