I forget who said it, maybe Verlyn Flieger (she has said many profound and perceptive things), but the Silm was such a huge part of Tolkien's life, such a huge part of his identity, that "finishing" it would have meant finishing himself - an impossible task for any person.

I also enjoy that as the 1960s wore on, Tolkien answered fewer and fewer fan letters - can you blame him? Instead, he sent a pro forma response (paraphrased): "Thank you so much for writing. Sadly, I am working to prepare The Silmarillion for publication and cannot respond at this time." Okay, JRRT.

Clyde Kilby's book Tolkien and the Silmarillion (1976) isn't great as a whole, but his memories of trying to help JRRT put the Silm together in Summer 1966 are fantastic. He realized within days of arriving, "No way is this happening. I'm not convinced he even wants to, deep down."

If that world-champion procrastinator can finally drag The Lord of the Rings to publication, maybe there's hope for the rest of us after all.

God willing, I'll submit in early January, then my Viva (defense) sometime in March or April, then corrections, then have it all wrapped up by Summer 2026! As you might imagine, I'm rather looking forward to finishing this thing and having it ready for others to read... 😅

Thanks so much, I will certainly do so! The uni library has obtained a handful of scanned articles for me in past, but it can be a long and tedious process. I'll see if they can't manage a subscription - Glasgow does house a world-class Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic, after all.

Is there a digital edition of Hither Shore @germantolksoc.bsky.social? I've had the darndest time getting my hands on articles since Glasgow Uni library doesn't subscribe to the physical journal, but speaking as a bilingual theologian, there's a lot of great stuff in its pages.

I got to Scotland eventually, but that wouldn't have been a terrible idea. Both Toronto and Montreal are a good ways away from where my family is, but given the insane delays, it actually would've been faster and cheaper to just rent a car and drive across the border... oy gevalt.

I mean, I have a tattoo that comes from Sam watching Frodo sleep and saying "I love him, whether or no." Make of that what you will.

And let us not forget Calcifer, whomst we cannot help but stan.

Ha! That’s another one I want actually, exactly that line!

Oh same. To the point that I’m getting a tattoo of them at some point in the not so distant future - I’m just waiting for exactly the right occasion.

Old Sophie and Young Sophie are like Gollum and Sméagol if they were feisty and kind and courageous, Instead of tortured and cunning and pitiable.

In this case I’ve always read Frodo accepting the Burden as a moment of genuine humility, especially since he experiences that powerful sense of calling or even destiny immediately before he speaks his choice aloud.

Maybe, though I’ve never thought of it that way! I do think one of Frodo’s faults is the flip side of his selflessness: he doesn’t want to accept help, e.g., trying to leave the Shire on his own, or trying to cross the Anduin without Sam. And the Ring uses a person’s best impulses against them.