Back to Middle-earth Month 2006 had been a very casual introduction to what would become an annual "fandom holiday" on the SWG. Back to Middle-earth Month 2007 was more structured but did not yet have a strong participatory component.
There was also a growing sense that, on a group called the Silmarillion Writers' Guild, the original purpose of B2MeM—maintaining the energy of the film trilogy years—wasn't entirely relevant. While activity in the Silmarillion fandom fluctuates based on film releases, there was not the same sense of nostalgia and loss, nor the dramatic drop-off in fanworks being created, as there was in the Lord of the Rings fandom at the time. In the March 2007 newsletter, Dawn wrote:
... I can't help but to feel that the spirit of B2MeM is somewhat lost for many of us. After all, we continue to journey to Middle-earth through stories, artwork, and discussion every day. So going back to Middle-earth doesn't exactly describe the journey for many of us, who feel that we have never left.
The approach to B2MeM that year on the SWG was a daily place-based quote that took SWG members on a "journey through the history of Arda." Quotes were posted to the SWG's LiveJournal.
View Back to Middle-earth Month 2007 here.
Links
- Back to Middle-earth Month 2007 text and prompts
- March 2007 newsletter (LiveJournal)
- B2MeM 2007 tag on Dreamwidth (LiveJournal)
Archivist's Notes
Progress: The original B2MeM 2007 text and the daily quotes posted throughout the month of March have been compiled unedited on the Back to Middle-earth Month 2007 page. Collection of history about the event is considered complete unless new details emerge.
A few notable changes arose in B2MeM 2007 that would shape how the event would be observed in years to come on the SWG. First was the daily component. B2MeMs to follow would often use a daily prompt. Secondly and perhaps more importantly was the shift in what the "holiday" represented. Instead of film fans whose participation in Tolkien fandom had faded "returning" to Middle-earth each March, B2MeM came to be seen as a celebration of Tolkien's world and its fandom for current active participants.
The daily quotes also represent an intentional attempt to represent The Silmarillion broadly to encourage fanworks and interest beyond the (at the time overwhelmingly popular) Noldorin Elves. More than a third of the prompts came from the Akallabêth and Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, including locations like Imladris and Gondor that overlapped with the Lord of the Rings fandom, which was still the most prolific part of Tolkien fandom at the time. While popular locations like Tirion and Mithrim were included, others, such as the Isle of Almaren and Hildórien, encouraged writing about character groups who weren't receiving much attention at the time. In coming years, B2MeM would become more collaborative and prioritize inclusivity, and in selecting quotes that welcome in Tolkien fans who may have felt underrepresented in the fandom, B2MeM 2007 begins to move in that direction on the SWG.
Participation in B2MeM 2007 was minimal. The event itself, of course, was vague in what it hoped people would do, and only fourteen of the daily quote posts on LiveJournal—less than half—have comments. Those comments were largely discussion and questions about the quotes themselves, although some people did link to fanworks they'd created or rec fanworks that fit the day's quote. No one appears to have created new work for the challenge.
B2MeM 2007 appears to have been undertaken by Dawn on her own. There is no record in her personal email or in the moderator email account of the B2MeM 2007 event being discussed with the other two moderators at the time, ford_of_bruinen and digdigil, and the moderator community on LiveJournal that would be used for discussion 2008-2017 did not exist yet.
