National Tolkien Reading Day

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J.R.R. Tolkien: Master of Story and Language

“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

March 25th is National Tolkien Reading Day, and if there has ever been an author who was an imaginative master-mind at world-building, it was John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.

Though born in Bloemfontein, South Africa on January 3, 1892, Tolkien grew up in England. He had great facility for languages, not only did he master Latin and Greek, he also became competent in a number of others – both modern and ancient, including Gothic and Finnish. For fun, he began making up his own languages, a skill that served him well when he began writing about Middle-earth.

In 1915, Tolkien completed his first-class degree at Oxford and went on to become a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers, as part of which he was sent to the western front in the Somme Offensive during World War I. He contracted trench fever after four months, a typhus-like infection due to unsanitary conditions, and was hospitalized in England. All but one of his friends at the front was killed in action, and this weighed heavily on his mind for some time.

Years later, Tolkien went on to become an Oxford professor, and he served as the chair of the Merton Professorship of English language and literature at Oxford from 1945 to his retirement in 1959. J.R.R. Tolkien was a founding member of The Inklings at Oxford, and C.S. Lewis, a member of the group, became one of his closest friends. Tolkien was partly responsible for Lewis giving up atheism and returning to Christianity.

The Hobbit, which was acclaimed as an immediate success, has remained on the recommended children’s reading list since it was published in 1937. He later published The Lord of the Rings, in three parts, from 1954 through 1955 during his tenure at Oxford. The success of this story brought wealth and fame to Tolkien, so much so that he had to change his address and de-list his telephone number.

National Tolkien Reading Day was established to promote the reading of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, which are more numerous than readers realize. His landmark books are not all that he penned during his lifetime, and he is attributed with inventing eleven different languages to help him write The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The movies based on the stories have helped solidify his popularity for generations.

Tolkien's success and incredible stories have had a massive impact on the fantasy genre, resulting in books and series by other writers, movies, games, marketing, advertising, and much more. The Lord of the Rings influenced such games as Dungeons and Dragons in the 1970s. Rock and heavy metal bands have been inspired by the story and characters, with songs by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and other groups celebrating Tolkien's creations, and some groups even took the names of Tolkien's characters. Images of Gandalf the Wizard, the hobbits (Frodo and Sam), Gollum, Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, and Aragorn, continue to be celebrated throughout the world.

J.R.R. Tolkien died September 2, 1973. He and his wife Edith are buried in a Catholic grave in Wolvercote cemetery in the suburbs of Oxford, England. Their headstone reads: Edith Mary Tolkien, Luthien, 1889-1971. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Beren, 1997-1973. The symbolism of their “fictional” names will not be lost on those who revere his stories.

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