John Rateliff Delves into the History of "The Hobbit"

I’m no Middle Earth scholar, but everything I know about J.R.R. Tolkien tells me The Hobbit was written carefully, over a long period of time, and regularly revised. 

Tolkien scholar John Rateliff documents precisely how that happened. 

 

First, something of a confession. I bought Rateliff’s The History of the Hobbit last year, ordering it online. I was so excited I didn’t pay attention to the number of pages. 

 

Including the index, it’s 938 pages. That doesn’t include the 41-page introduction.

 

To read a nearly 1,000-page volume requires determination and time. I had the former but not the latter. For several months, the book rested on my desk, almost staring at me in a kind of silent reproach. The only path forward in tackling it was the one I eventually followed. 

 

I read it gradually and in spurts, until I could finally read it straight through.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Some Tuesday Readings

 

Winter Grief – revised poem by David Whyte.

 

The Word in the Wilderness, a Journey through Lent – Malcolm Guite.

 

“A Light Snow-Fall After Frost” by Thomas Hardy – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

“Requiem” by Robert Louis Stevenson – Joseph Bottum at Poems Ancient and Modern. 

Overlap – poem by Rachel Donahue at Rabbit Room Poetry.