* The Franciscan University of Steubenville (Pittsburgh, USA) is set to hold a Tolkien Conference in the Autumn/Fall. Titled “A Long Expected Party: A Semicentennial Celebration Of Tolkien’s Life, Works, And Afterlife”, the conference will run 22nd-23rd September 2023. Submissions of papers… “reflecting on less studied elements of Tolkien’s legendarium and recently published works” are welcomed, with a 30th April 2023 deadline.
* A listing for a French exhibition catalogue, Sur les Traces de Tolkien et de L’imaginaire Medieval (‘In the Footsteps of Tolkien and the Medieval Imagination’) reveals a large exhibition in summer 2023. The… “exhibition will feature over 250 drawings and paintings by John Howe […] concept illustrator on the two cinema trilogies The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. […] The exhibition is accompanied by authentic objects from the medieval period and punctuated by pictures that would have been contemporary for the young Tolkien, drawing notably on the works of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.” The 192 page hardcover catalogue is currently dated “21st June 2023” by Amazon UK.
* New from Word on Fire, a one-hour panel talk on YouTube… “Andrew Petiprin moderates a conversation between leading J.R.R. Tolkien scholar Dr. Holly Ordway and leading C.S. Lewis scholar Fr. Michael Ward. The pair debate and discuss J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, two Christian literary giants of the twentieth century.”
* New on Archive.org to borrow, a scan of the book War and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (2004). If the book interests, note also the course listing at Signum University for Autumn/Fall 2023, “Tolkien’s Wars and Middle-earth” with John Garth.
* And finally, a review of a recent book with chapters offering Orthodox Perspectives on Tolkien’s Fantastic Realm (2021). Among others… “Richard Seraphim Rohlins splendidly adds to the best of Tolkien scholarship by explaining in close detail the reference to medieval church architecture made by Tolkien…”.
The Spyders of Burslem 