Nonfiction & Research
Attainable Vistas: Historical Bias in Tolkien's Legendarium as a Motive for Transformative Fanworks
Published on 1 September 2016 | Article
The Silmarillion was constructed as a pseudohistorical text and contains evident biases. Motivated as they often are by a desire to correct their source texts, Tolkien fanfiction authors use this bias as a motive for creating fanworks. However, this is not a universal impulse, and survey data coupled with data from Tolkienfic archives illustrates key cultural differences between Tolkienfic communities. Published in the Journal of Tolkien Research.
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Topic: Fandom Culture, Historical Bias, Historiography and Tolkien, Tolkien Studies
Characters: No characters listed.
The Borders of the (Fictional) World: Fan Fiction Archives, Ideological Approaches, and Fan Identity
Published on 16 July 2016 | Conference Paper
This paper, cowritten and co-presented at the 2016 New York Tolkien Conference with Janet McCullough John, looks at how the various archives used by Tolkienfic writers created both fragmentation in the fandom and also allowed for distinct cultures to develop within those archives. We explore cultural differences within the various archives and the historical context of the wider Tolkien fandom in which these cultures arose.
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Topic: Fandom Culture, Fandom History
Characters: No characters listed.
Character Biography: Pengolodh
Published on 1 March 2016 | Essay
Pengolodh is the most important character never mentioned in the published Silmarillion. This essay discusses what he would have known of the history he wrote about and how that impacts interpreting The Silmarillion for fanfiction.
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Topic: Character Study, Historiography and Tolkien, Tolkien Studies
Characters: Pengolodh
The Loremasters of Fëanor: Historical Bias in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Transformative Works
Published on 13 June 2015 | Conference Paper
Tolkien's Silmarillion contains a pseudohistorical narrator who brings his bias to bear on much of the Quenta Silmarillion. Tolkienfic writers often prefer the characters disfavored by the narrator, using their fanworks to construct an alternate and sometimes corrective narrative from the points of view of characters subject to negative bias.
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Topic: Fandom Culture
Characters: No characters listed.
Fictional Scholarship: How the Peter Jackson Films and Fandom Archives Make Tolkien Fan Fiction Writers into Competent Critics
Published on 21 March 2015 | Article
Fanfiction functions critically for its writers, and two features of the Tolkienfic fandom--the predominance of Peter Jackson's movies and its variety of Tolkien-specific archives--have helped to hone these critical faculties. Published in Mythprint.
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Topic: Fandom Culture, Fandom History
Characters: No characters listed.
We Are Fëanor? Thoughts on Reading Moral Ambiguity into the Characterizations of the Fëanorians
Published on 8 March 2015 | Essay
Reflecting on my experiences as a teacher at an alternative school and my fascination with the Fëanorians, I conclude that the question of what turns a person to violence is one of the most pressing--and frightening--to explore in fiction.
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Topic: Personal Essay, Tolkien Studies
Characters: Fëanor
In a Stone House by the Sea: The Founding and Governing of the Silmarillion Writers' Guild
Published on 1 March 2015 | Essay
The history of the Silmarillion Writers' Guild and a day in the life of its owner: me.
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Topic: Fandom History
Characters: No characters listed.
Transformative Works as a Means to Develop Critical Perspectives in the Tolkien Fan Community
Published on 10 January 2015 | Conference Paper
This paper discusses how unique features of the Tolkien fanfiction community prepare its authors to function at a high level in critically discussing Tolkien's texts.
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Topic: Fandom Culture, Fandom History
Characters: No characters listed.
At the Root of the Tree of Tales: Using Comparative Myth and "On Fairy-Stories" to Analyze Tolkien's Cosmogony
Published on 15 December 2013 | Conference Paper
This paper explores the cosmogony of Middle-earth using the ideas that Tolkien put forth in "On Fairy-Stories," looking especially at how Tolkien drew from cosmogonical archetypes found throughout world mythology to make a creation myth worthy of a believable Secondary World.
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Topic: Comparative Mythology, Tolkien Studies
Characters: No characters listed.
Character Biography: Mahtan
Published on 1 February 2013 | Essay
The story of Mahtan, the father of Nerdanel, is one among many tales that illustrates the potential of knowledge to corrupt and lead to evil.
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Topic: Character Study, Tolkien Studies
Characters: Mahtan
Character Biography: Vairë the Weaver
Published on 1 May 2012 | Essay
Although barely present in the published Silmarillion, Vairë emerges in Tolkien's earlier writings as a remarkably empathetic character and an apt foil to her cold-hearted husband Námo.
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Topic: Tolkien Studies
Characters: Vairë
Character Biography: Námo Mandos
Published on 1 January 2012 | Essay
Námo Mandos occupies a common role found in world mythology: that of the god of the dead. Shrouded in mystery and beset with moral ambiguity, Námo participates in tales with parallels in other world myths, especially the Greek and the Norse.
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Topic: Character Study, Comparative Mythology, Tolkien Studies
Characters: Námo Mandos
Character Biography: Tulkas
Published on 1 November 2011 | Essay
Tulkas evolved from Tolkien's early work on the Silmarillion from a playful, youthful character to a character more associated with unapologetic violence.
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Topic: Character Study, Tolkien Studies
Characters: Tulkas
Character Biography: Vána
Published on 1 January 2011 | Essay
Barely mentioned in the published Silmarillion, Vána originally played a role as an active, assertive woman among the Valar. Her notable associations imply her role in the legendarium should be fuller than her meager mentions in the published Silmarillion suggest.
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Topic: Character Study, Tolkien Studies
Characters: Vána
A Woman in Few Words: The Character of Nerdanel and Her Treatment in Canon and Fandom
Published on 15 January 2008 | Essay | Award Winner
A review of the canon facts available on Nerdanel and discussion of why she remains so popular with fans despite her scarce appearances in the texts.
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Topic: Character Study, Fandom Culture, Gender and Tolkien, Tolkien Studies
Characters: Nerdanel
The Accidental King: Five Reasons Why Finarfin Deserves More Appreciation
Published on 3 June 2007 | Essay | Award Winner
An essay and commentary looking at the canonical facts about Finarfin in contrast to the neglect and hostility that his character is given by the Silmarillion fan fiction community.
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Topic: Character Study, Tolkien Studies
Characters: Finarfin