Continuing the Lord of the Rings discussion, here’s an interesting insight passed on to me by my friend Rachel Kranz about my last entry. I was interpreting my adolescent fondness for Gimli the dwarf as an indication that I felt myself a dwarf, hunkered down and plodding. Rachel says that she was stunned by this self-description […]
Monthly Archives: September 2009
Aspiring to Be a Dwarf
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged adolescence, Flies, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jean Paul Sartre, Lord of the Rings, Lucille Clifton Comments closed
A Legendary Elf-Dwarf Friendship
After a year’s sabbatical, I am resuming my duties, one of which includes being the advisor of the Tolkien Society. The group gathers regularly to hear talks, forge chain armor, attend masked balls (not that there are any masked balls in Lord of the Rings), and engage in other Medieval-related activities. I’ll mark the occasion […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged adolescence, fantasy, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings Comments closed
Gathering to Discuss Novels
Woman Reading, by E. Johnson For several years now I have been moderating a library book club, an experience I will reflect upon today. We read mostly novels, often alternating between past and contemporary works. From the past we have read all of Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Silas Marner, Gulliver’s Travels, King Lear, […]
Bawdy Poetry and Male Insecurity
John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester Once again the poetry of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, is proving to be a jolt to my students. I always start my course “Couples Comedy in the Restoration and 18th Century” with this 17th century libertine, and the poetry does not hold back. Rochester freely uses the “f” word, […]
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged John Wilmot, libertines, Love a Woman, male vulnerability Comments closed
