Rare J. R. R. Tolkien interview posted

[Extollager]

http://efanzines.com/Niekas/index.htm

Niekas #18 (1967) contains a 6-page transcript of Henry Resnik's interview (by phone) with the Professor. Resnik summarized information from the interview in his 1966 Saturday Evening Post article, but the transcript contains some nuggets that he did not include. The interview transcript is followed by questions and responses relating to the interview, from a Tolkien Society of America meeting that Resnik attended.

One hopes that further issues of this outstanding fanzine will be scanned, as well as issues of other Tolkien-related fanzines from, say, the years between the original publication of LOTR and the launching of Ballantine Books' Fantasy series in 1969.

 

[Grimward]

Thank you Ex. That was a great read. Glad someone was able to rescue and scan that document before it degraded beyond legibility.

 

[Extollager]

It really is remarkable that one of the best Tolkien interviews appeared in a fanzine, something that very few of Tolkien's fans will ever have heard of....

 

[Grimward]

Especially one that's been out of print for almost 15 years. If Meskys and Rolfe (or whomever is actually managing that site) have more gems like that one, I hope they keep scanning and updating their site.

 

[Boaz]

Extollager, thank you very much for the link. I think Tolkien's comment about Sam becoming upset over Gollum's repentence was outstanding. We tend to get smug and about our own imporantce and comfortable with our place in society to the point that we become exclusionary... especially to those who need grace and mercy the most. Sometimes these moments in literature slip by me without any application. Sometimes I need the author to hit me over the head with a dwarven mallet!