Anna Smol: A Single Leaf

Author: Anna Smol

  • “It depends on what you mean by use”: teaching and learning in the arts now

    I was going to write to celebrate Tolkien Reading Day (March 25) as I usually do, with a post on “Leaf by Niggle,” one of the texts recommended by the Tolkien Society for this year’s theme of Nature vs. Industry. However, as we were approaching Tolkien Reading Day, COVID-19 cases started to pop up in…

  • Tolkien Society meetings go online

    Most of our spring and summer conferences on Tolkien and on medieval studies have been cancelled, so this is a bit of good news for those who are thirsty for some discussion of Tolkien. Two of the Tolkien Society’s meetings will be available online. While we’d all like to be there in person, the online…

  • Tolkien Reading Day: Online Get-togethers

    As we’re all getting accustomed to new ways of living through this pandemic — working from home; or going to work with, hopefully, new safety procedures; or sadly for many, losing jobs completely because of shut-downs and layoffs — we need some cheering up and sense of community. Tolkien Reading Day, held every March 25,…

  • Adaptation as Analysis, part 3: “Misty Mountains” video

    This is the third post showcasing the work of some of my students in my Tolkien and medievalism class this year. You can find Part 1 and Part 2 at these links. As I’ve explained in previous posts, I give my students the option of creating an adaptation in any medium of Tolkien’s work or…

  • More calls for papers

    Tolkien studies is a busy academic field. Here are a few calls for conference papers or essays that have come my way in the past few weeks. I don’t expect to keep up with every single call, but if you’re interested, you can search for the open Facebook page “Tolkien CFPs.” You can also find…

  • Tolkien the Playwright

    We don’t often think of Tolkien as a playwright. Fantasy novelist — of course. Poet, scholar, artist – yes. But we shouldn’t forget that Tolkien also wrote one published play, “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” – let’s call it “The Homecoming” for short – which was produced by BBC Radio and has been read…

  • Ironic Silmarillion Collectibles? Adaptation as Analysis, part 2

    This is the second in a series showcasing student projects in my Tolkien and medievalism course this year. Given the option of producing an adaptation of a medieval text or a work by Tolkien, my students can sometimes surprise me in their creative choices, as did Jordan Audas, who created Silmarillion collectible “toys” — with…

  • Leeds 2020: Tolkien Society Seminar CFP and IMC program

    The city of Leeds will host a variety of Tolkien presentations this summer, from July 4th to the 9th, at both the Tolkien Society Seminar and the International Medieval Congress. The Tolkien Society Seminar has just issued its call for papers, with the theme for this annual meeting being “Adapting Tolkien.” This year, the Society…

  • Adaptation as Analysis: Student Projects on Medievalism and Tolkien, part 1

    As usual, students in my Studies in Medievalism course have created wonderful projects to demonstrate their engagement with our texts and to experience first-hand the process of adaptation, a main theme in our seminar. I’ve written about this type of assignment before in my essay “Adaptation as Analysis: Creative Work in an English Classroom” that…

  • What are Tolkien scholars talking about? Previews of spring & summer conferences

    I usually post full details of various conference programs closer to the time of the events, but for now, I’ll just post session titles for an overview of the upcoming Tolkien conference season this spring and summer. Details may change over the next few months, so always follow the links to the official programs for…