Tolkien? Niche? Puh-leez

Editorial Assistant Katrina Wang divulges her love for Tolkien’s Legendarium and how fans have curated a niche community that traverses worlds way beyond his renowned literary works.

I can hear you already: Tolkien? Niche? Dear writer, have you been living under a rock? The answer is very much no, but let me preface by saying, I have not met in person anyone else who has delved as unnecessarily—maybe dangerously so, like the Dwarves of Moria—deep into Tolkien's legendarium as I have. Sure, I've met Tolkien fans, Lord of the Rings (LOTR) and The Hobbit film lovers, people who have read the books and adore it, who could ramble about every behind the scenes fun fact or the way Peter Jackson transformed a literary text into a movie and the design and narrative elements that had to be adjusted to better convey Tolkien’s message. But the legendarium? 

Puh-leez.

Before the Third Age, in which The Hobbit and LOTR are set, existed the Second Age. Before that, the First and before even that, the Year of the Trees and the beginning of the universe. With its own God (Eru) and a pantheon of other gods (Valar—well, Valar for plural, Vala for singular) and what essentially is another rank of angelic beings—Maiar-plural, Maia-singular; can you tell I’m neck deep in the trenches?—of which Sauron is one, I first fell in love with the Silmarillion because of its cosmogonic myth. Then, there are the stories that happen to a cast of characters, where grief and care is boundless and tragedy and hope seep from every inked word on pale pages. There was a whole new world here, with countless characters to explore the motives, the desires and fears of; it’s the story of what happens after. What better place to research and find like-minded people than on the world wide web?

You bet I found my people. 

I find the messy unanswered fates of the expansive cast of players within the Silmarillion more compelling than LOTR. They hold stories that strike deeper into my heart, that creep and crawl their way into my mind, entwining them into my subconscious in a way that I will never let go. These stories, similar to our history, similar to what is happening now, resonate ever clearer in their unfinished and unfair ends. I have not encountered anyone else on the campus grounds, amongst my own circle of IRL friends, who have as near manic love of Tolkien's legendarium; of the various other books that make up his cosmology, of reading not just the Silmarillion but of the Unfinished Tales of Middle-Earth, Morgoth's Ring, the War of the Jewels and more. Online though, that is entirely different.

To anyone who has been in a fandom before, the site AO3 is inescapable. But, that is not the only site in which Tolkein's legendarium fans flourish, scribbling away with quills (literal in some authors’/calligraphers’ cases), tongues poking out as concepts and themes of forgiveness and hope meld into clarity, or giggling and kicking their feet as they read about two elves hate-fucking. Fanfic authors write and read it all: discussing the metaphysicality of Arda; recreating an in-depth topographical map of the lost land of Beleriand; of the theological implication of Sauron in Numenor; fanfics with heart wrenching tales of learning to forgive others, to forgive yourself, asking yourself if you can, should forgive; light-hearted comedies giving some respite to these tragic tales; uncensored debauchery that would make the devil blush. From the Silmarillion Writers' Guild to Discord to Tumblr, where events celebrating Tolkien's world are held throughout every week or month of the year, the beauty of the fandom brings us together over various stages of life and countries. 

Here, we bond over our favourite characters and world-building, over discussions on the nature of mortality and linguistics, over which new cursed romantic/sexual pairings has recently popped up, over everything about which Tolkien would be extremely proud or have a heart attack. I cannot emphasise how heartwarmingly beautiful it is, the diversity we have within this community—from nineteen- and twenty-year-olds like myself to older fans who are approaching sixty with grandchildren, to members of the LGBTQ+ community, to so many different and unique cultures; the events we create reflect it all. Characters who could be asexual week? Check. Little known female characters? Check. Sweet romance or shattering family relations? Also check.

We have our own dedicated servers and channels focusing on our own niche interests within the vast world Tolkien created, dedicated in our writing, drawing, cosplaying and various other crafts as scholars of ancient times did with philosophy and holy texts. The beauty of Tolkien's work is that in every constructed wall you find, a niche can be carved, and if you can't find a wall, you are more than welcome to make one. 

However, if this side of the fandom is not your taste—or if somehow it is not niche enough for you—well, have you yet seen the scholarly side of Tolkien? From discussing linguistic history to translating famous literary works such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Tolkien was an avid philologist and inspired many English literary students. In his own time, as an author of the twentieth century, the works he wrote were not as enthusiastically received by the existing literati. Even the genre that LOTR now occupies did not dominate in the general literary populace, not like it does now. Tolkien's works were revolutionary, as was criticized by critics, alongside many of his contemporaries like Orwell, Woolf and of course, C.S. Lewis. Many interlocking pieces inspired Tolkien and the way they interact and overlap one another is a different beast to tackle. 

In my own spare time, I have read essays, scholarly or fan-made, regarding the worlds Tolkien creates, of what influenced him. By understanding this—though not a necessary requirement, of course, to enjoy the works itself—I have gained a profound appreciation for the sheer amount of depth of Tolkien's own academic and personal interest that his writing discloses. Tom Shippey is a legend amongst Tolkien scholars for a reason. His writings peel away layer after layer on the influences of Tolkien's works, of insightful looks into linguistics, of unspoken rules of etiquette, of unlooked for humour and the drives behind Tolkien's love for Anglo-Saxon works and his attempts to recreate, to honour, to save what he perceived as England's lost literary traditions.

These writings have only deepened my appreciation of the art of writing, of reading for fun or to breakdown and analyse, gorging myself on morsel after morsel after morsel. Shippey's work Author of the Century has opened my eyes to new story-lines to follow, a new perspective to re-read Tolkien's works and a renewed interest in linguistics. I eagerly await reading his most praised work, The Road to Middle-Earth, and from there hope to branch out to other scholars like Verlyn Flieger and Michael D.C. Drout. Am I slightly insane for planning this while I am in the third, final year of my Bachelor's degree? Maybe. 

Do I care? Fuck no, give me more. 

I digress. Reading Tolkien's works is immersing yourself into the ever-changing scripts, travelling and exploring chivalric valour, of horrific deeds and sundered relations, of vengeance and guilt, of the countless unanswered questions of redemption and forgiveness; the ever hanging question of 'what comes after'. It is a process that makes you feel as if you are an ancient scholar, aged brittle pages underneath your fingertips, the scent of ink and paper lingering in the air, of flickering lights in your periphery as your eyes jump from word to word, drinking in the words even as a warm beverage is left cooling, forgotten. 

Tolkien himself is not a niche topic; certainly, how can one forget how his seminal texts have coaxed forth other stories, some exact copies of the heroic tales with wizards and young unsuspecting heroes, others homages that honour the themes through unusual mediums like video games and the literary criticisms that poke and prod at the messages that Tolkien, intentionally or not, has left behind. Of the countless fanworks, of fan essays and fanfics, of fan-made cartography and events celebrating the diversity and the forgotten characters of Tolkien's works; there are worlds within worlds, beauty within beauty as grief and love dwell between every line marked down on page or screen. But in the vast world that Tolkien could not fully explore himself, the rest of us pick up his work and turn it over to write our own. In his wide universe, we find our own little niches to scurry and settle into. We dig further into the recess to find what lies beneath. We migrate in packs or alone between the others, but sooner or later, we return back to old haunts.