We end Season 3 by welcoming Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull to the podcast! This renowned husband-wife team have co-authored some of the most essential books in Tolkien studies. In addition to several volumes on Tolkien’s art (such as J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator) they’ve given the world The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, the recently-expanded J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, and much more. We talk about their many award-winning publications, hear how it feels to be given a special project by Christopher Tolkien himself, and receive a comforting reminder that anyone can make a mistake.
To find out more about the many projects currently underway for Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, please visit their Tolkien Society Award–winning blog Too Many Books and Never Enough at https://wayneandchristina.wordpress.com/
The addenda and corrigenda to The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and other publications by Hammond & Scull can be found on their website here: http://www.hammondandscull.com/
Recommended Reading:
So after listening to this episode, there is one question that remains in my mind: what books, papers, essays, blogs, etc. should a new Tolkien fan focus on? How does one determine that something is worth my while to read to gain a deeper understanding (or man, even a basic understanding) of the legendarium? I realize that this can be highly subjective but there is also probably a sizable “canon”, so to speak, that is available as well. Thoughts?
That is a very difficult question to answer, hopefully the PPP will cover this in an episode at some point, for instance, they mentioned some books to avoid by a certain individual, but can not mention the name of that individual.
This Amazon review is worth having a look at to get an independent view on one author who writes on Tolkien, https://www.amazon.com/review/R2SBK9KKU1R5WN/ref=cm_cr_rev_detmd_pl?ie=UTF8&asin=0684839792&cdForum=Fx3UW3NBJ0HQKYH&cdMsgID=Mx3LVUA73BHCLK5&cdMsgNo=5&cdPage=1&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=Tx11RAW40EDUFA6&store=books#Mx3LVUA73BHCLK5.
The PPP has an official library as well, those books are all worth reading.
Thanks for that input, Trotter, and for bumping this comment up.
Laura, I seem to have missed your initial comment (sorry!) but it is indeed a hard question to answer, and a tricky situation for a newcomer to navigate. We do try to use quality sources for the PPP, so our Official Library is a good place to start: https://theprancingponypodcast.com/official-library-new/
The other suggestion I have is to check the websites of organizations devoted to Tolkien research, like the Tolkien Society (https://www.tolkiensociety.org/), Mythopoeic Society (http://www.mythsoc.org/) and Mythgard Institute (https://mythgard.org/). Take note of the people who have been recognized by these organizations and who have appeared at their events. Those are generally the people who have done important research and analysis, and their bibliographies will open doors to other works.
Thank you too Shawn! I may have put this comment up while you were at Tolkien 2019 so no worries! I will definitely be checking out the links you provided as well.
Thank you Trotter! I figure it is a difficult question to answer, even Mr. Hammond and Ms. Scull seemed to portray the difficulty of it in their interview with their mention of the rise of self-publishing, the internet, and Tolkien’s works finally gaining traction as a viable area for graduate study. I think the PPP is a great place to start but, as a newbie myself, I was just wondering about other resources.