Yesterday was November 11th, the day that we honor those who have served and the sacrifices they have made. It was also the feast of St. Martin of Tours. This is a favorite holiday in my family. It heralds the end of Autumn and the coming of Advent, reminding me to love my neighbor as myself. … Continue reading Martinmas (Original Retelling)
The Flaming Peacock (Original Story)
Once upon a time, there was a young man. He lived with his father and his mother in a small townhouse. One morning, as he started off to class, the car broke down. Try as he might, it would not start. Just as the lad was ready to give up, an old woman came up the road and asked ...
Tolkien and Hopkins: The Beauty of this World
Though J. R. R. Tolkien and Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote in different eras and genres, they were brothers in thought and art. Tolkien was an English professor and myth-maker, while Hopkins was a Jesuit priest and Victorian poet, but they had much in common, such as their use of the sound of words and Anglo-Saxon … Continue reading Tolkien and Hopkins: The Beauty of this World
Theoden’s Charge (Original Poem)
As a challenge, I recently decided to choose a passage from a work of classic literature and re-write it in verse. Not too surprisingly, I chose J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King -- the last paragraph from "The Ride of the Rohirrim." Such was Tolkien's skill that this bright scene has stamped … Continue reading Theoden’s Charge (Original Poem)
Innocence (Original Poem)
Give me the eyes of childhood /Unstained with blinding grime, /Through which the world shines bright and clean, /The sky so blue, the grass so green! /Oh, for the ...
The Story-maker’s Medium
Story-making is an art, and the storyteller is an artist. Like the painter or the sculptor, the true storyteller strives to craft a thing of beauty from a particular medium. Rather than using marble or paint, the storyteller works with words. There are often many words to choose from, but he knows that each word … Continue reading The Story-maker’s Medium
Anglo-Saxon and Old Icelandic in Middle Earth
J. R. R. Tolkien loved mythology and languages, and desired to be a myth-maker himself. He set about crafting Middle Earth, a world complete with its own tongues and tales. He knew that in order to become good at something, one must learn from the masters that came before. So, he borrowed many elements from … Continue reading Anglo-Saxon and Old Icelandic in Middle Earth
Welcome!
Greetings and welcome to my humble blog! Here I will write about literature, fairy tales, and mythology, though I may also touch on other related topics, such as language, philosophy, education, and even film. My articles may ponder deep questions, such as the origin of creativity, analyze a specific story or character, or simply share … Continue reading Welcome!
