Promo Posts by Himring  

Summary: Father Christmas Letters is an edited version of a series of letters that Tolkien wrote to his young children in the run-up to Christmas, for an impressive number of years (1920 to 1943). It is an elaborate take on the tradition that Father Christmas is real and receives children’s letters. Tolkien writes his answers in the name, voice, and hand of Father Christmas, and later also adds contributions by FC’s chief friends and helpers to the correspondence, North Polar Bear and the elf Ilbereth. This elaborate game of make-believe keeps growing more complex over the years, gradually building up a story ‘verse of Father Christmas’s life and adventures at the North Pole. The edited originals are real hand-written letters received by the children, with envelopes, hand-drawn illustrations, and hand-drawn stamps. The letters also remain responses to actual messages from the children, although their letters are not included.

Why should I check out this canon? Many reasons! Father Christmas and his growing number of friends are charming and fun, and their adventures get increasingly elaborate and exciting. There is a peppering of Tolkienian jokes. The artwork and calligraphy are wonderful (they also get increasingly colourful and complex). If you are looking for insight into Tolkien’s mind, while he was writing The Hobbit and The Lord of Rings, there are all sorts of tantalizing links to the Legendarium and related bits of lore (which of course just are asking for even more fic crossover to happen!) If you are interested in Tolkien’s conlangs (and his linguistic interest in Finnish and in writing systems), there are bits of that, too! If you are looking for insight into the experiences of Tolkien and his children, there are all sorts of touching and heart-warming hints and clues. There are bits of light verse, too, if you like Tolkien’s poetry.

Chapter End Notes

Link to the full promo post, as posted to Tumblr on 13 July 2025

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Summary: The Fall of Arthur is a narrative poem in alliterative metre by Tolkien. It takes elements from different Arthurian works and sources and recombines them in a way that is all Tolkien's own. As the title says, the subject is the collapse of Arthur's rule through betrayal and his death. It is not complete but reached quite a fair length (a bit less than 1000 lines, in 5 cantos), and there are some of Tolkien's working notes for the unwritten end included in the edition.

Why should I check out this canon: As a kind of crossover, this work is likely to be especially interesting to those who have an interest in Arthur, Gawain, and the other Arthurian characters more generally. Tolkien is partly inspired by some less well-known medieval sources, so it may be a fresh angle on Arthurian lore to readers for that reason, too. Particularly interesting and original is the complex shading of Tolkien's portrait of Guinevere. The work will also appeal to those who like Tolkien's other narrative poems or read works in modern alliterative verse. There is some great storm imagery and description in there, for instance. The piece is also interesting as demonstrating one of the sources of inspiration for Tolkien that have received less attention than the Germanic tradition. The poem could both inspire further Arthuriana and crossovers with Tolkien’s non-Arthurian works.

Chapter End Notes

Link to the full promo post, as posted to Tumblr on 20 July 2025.

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Summary:

The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien is an edition by Tolkien experts Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. It covers all the poetry Tolkien wrote in his lifetime, published and unpublished, poetry belonging to the Legendarium, early lyrics, humorous poetry for personal occasions, poetry translations, and all manner of verse in between, in several languages. That said, this edition does not include all the verse from Tolkien’s Legendarium. In fact, the most well-known longer poetic Legendarium texts and texts of the translations and adaptations are discussed here but published only in extract, as their full text was felt to be sufficiently available elsewhere. On the other hand, there are about seventy poems in this edition that were previously unpublished and about half a dozen that had not been fully published yet (counts vary here depending on criteria). In fandom, a particularly well-known example of a previously unavailable text is the English original of “The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf”.  Due to the earlier editing efforts of Christopher Tolkien, most of the new poems are not directly set within the Legendarium. However, there is previously unseen material on Doriath, the Children of Hurin, Gondolin and Scatha the Worm. There are also many poems that are adjacent to previously known work of Tolkien’s in different ways. All these poems are carefully edited, very often in multiple versions, with extensive commentary, throwing a great deal of light on Tolkien’s writing process and creative life.

Why should I check out this canon:

The Collected Poems are of interest from different angles, depending on your interests.

First, there are the previously unpublished poems or those that were previously published but difficult to find. These are a mixed bag and invite different approaches. You may wish to home in on the Legendarium poems and the details they add to the Legendarium and its development. You may wish to look at other new material and draw out connections with the Legendarium, of which there are plenty. Or you may prefer to look at some of these new poems simply in their own right. Some of them are funny, some invoke beautiful imagery, and some reflect movingly on their author. If you want to nominate any of these for Innumerable Stars, either by themselves or for crossovers, more detailed information and instructions are scheduled to follow tomorrow.

But also, beyond that, the volume has plenty to appeal to readers interested in Tolkien’s poetry. The history of many beloved poems is documented here in detail not seen before. Some information was already available in The History of Middle-earth (or in editorial prefaces) but Christopher Tolkien was mainly concerned with tracing the development of the Legendarium; here the poems’ history can be studied in their own right. You may find the different versions of such poems inspiring for Innumerable Stars, even if you will need to nominate the poem in question for a different canon than The Collected Poems.

Chapter End Notes

Link to the full promo post as posted to Tumblr on 29 July 2015, with beautiful art created by Anérea (for full view: separate link to art)

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