Anna Smol: A Single Leaf

Category: Publications

  • Reblog: alliterative poets today

    My recent work on Tolkien’s “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth” has had me and my co-author Gavin Foster looking closely at Tolkien’s use of alliterative metre. Over on our research site at Tolkienalliterative.ca, which is dedicated primarily to Tolkien’s alliterative verse (though not limited to Tolkien alone) we’ve posted details about two new sources that publish and…

  • Beowulf as children’s lit: 2 recent publications

    Anna Smol’s “Beowulf and Boyology,” explores the conflation of medieval stories and childhood in late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her review of a collection of essays titled “Beowulf as Children’s Literature,” highlights the volume as a valuable resource for studying medieval adaptations for young readers.

  • New Tolkien books coming soon

    I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a pile of Tolkien books in my to-read pile, but that’s not stopping me from looking forward to some new publications. Here are a few of them… The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.  Revised and Expanded Edition.  HarperCollins, 2023. The letters have been a staple of Tolkien…

  • New book on Tolkien’s The Homecoming

    Over at my other website, Tolkien and Alliterative Verse, we’ve announced a new book forthcoming from HarperCollins in 2023: J.R.R. Tolkien, The Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, edited by Peter Grybauskas. For more information, check out this Woven Words blog post: https://tolkienalliterative.ca/2022/12/02/new-book-on-maldon-homecoming-and-more/

  • Mallorn now an open-access resource for Tolkien fans and researchers

    A new resource has opened up for anyone interested in Tolkien fandom and research. The journal Mallorn is now open access and free (except for the last two years as part of a rolling paywall). As I was browsing the issues I couldn’t help noticing the range of articles and fan creations, including discussions about…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Seers and Singers: Tolkien’s Typology of Sub-creators

    I was very pleased to have an essay recently published in A Wilderness of Dragons: Essays in Honor of Verlyn Flieger, edited by John D. Rateliff and published by Gabbro Head Press, not only because I’m in fabulous company – take a look at the table of contents! – but mainly because I’m a great…

  • Tolkien as Artist and Writer

    Family and friends joined me in the Tolkien Birthday Toast on January 3rd, a global event sponsored by the Tolkien Society. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that your own toast is part of a continuing wave of glasses raised around the world every hour at 9 p.m. local time. This year, I was fortunate…