Okay! Here’s the final schedule with dates, which can also be found in the TORN
Calendar link in my footer.
Follow the usual drill: put the weeks you want in the subject line of your post
so everyone can see what’s taken. I signed myself up for Week 12 so far, so
everything else is open. As I said before, I think there are more than enough
weeks for everyone to sign up for two to start; then we’ll go from there.
Have a great Friday and a great weekend, everyone!!
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Week 1 (6/6/05): letters 1-17 (24 pages) – early letters; early university
years; illustrations for The Hobbit and its publication.
Week 2 (6/13/05): letters 18-28 (12 pages) – reception of The Hobbit and
beginning of a sequel.
Week 3 (6/20/05): letters 29-38 (9 pages) – progress on LOTR; German inquiry
into his race.
Week 4 (6/27/05): letters 39-57, less letters 43 & 49 (12 pages) – letters to
Michael Tolkien; war, politics & misc.
Week 5 (7/4/05): letters 43 & 49 (9 pages) - Tolkien’s primary letters on
marriage.
Week 6 (7/11/05): letters 58-72 (17 pages) – progress on LOTR; Inklings
readings; WWII is like using the Ring on Sauron.
Week 7 (7/18/05): letters 73-80 (8 pages) – Kelevala as source of Sil; decline
of civilization.
Week 8 (7/25/05): letters 81-89 (11 pages) – progress on LOTR; war;
eucatastrophe.
Week 9 (8/1/05): letters 90-97 (9 pages) – progress on LOTR; Sam as a hero; CS
Lewis, the Christian story and the moment of Gollum’s repentance.
Week 10 (8/8/05): letters 98-109 (12 pages) – war; response to Raynor’s
comments on LOTR; LOTR as allegory.
Week 11 (8/15/05): letters 110-122 (9 pages) – comments on The Hobbit;
Tolkien’s theory of criticism; Farmer Giles.
Week 12 (8/22/05): letters 123-130 (9 pages) – Tolkien’s efforts to leave
Raynor & Unwin and get the Sil published; revisions to The Hobbit and different
versions. Altaira
Week 13 (8/29/05): letter 131 Part I (5 pages) - Tolkien's introduction up to
the end of the First Age. Tolkien's introduction up to the end of the First
Age.
Week 14 (9/5/05): letter 131 Part II (4 pages) – Second Age, LOTR and Tolkien's
closing statements.
Week 15 (9/12/05): letters 132-152 less letter 144 (17 pages) – Tolkien returns
to Raynor & Unwin; comments & issues with publishing LOTR; the place of
Catholicism in LOTR.
Week 16 (9/19/05): letter 144 (7.5 pages) – Answers to numerous questions on
LOTR from a reader.
Week 17 (9/26/05): letter 153 (8 pages) – Elves immortality; origin or Orcs;
who is Bombadil.
Week 18 (10/3/05): letters 154-156 (11 pages) – the valar, wizards and Gandalf.
Week 19 (10/10/05): letters 157-165, 199, 257 (19 pages) – autobiographical
info & how Tolkien came to write LOTR.
Week 20 (10/17/05): letters 166-180 & 182 (11 pages) – geography of
Middle-earth; where in England is The Shire; LOTR & The Sil.
Week 21 (10/24/05): letters 181, 191, 192 (7.5 pages) – Frodo’s moral failure;
Elves & the three rings; differences & similarities between Elves & Men.
Week 22 (10/31/05): letters 183-197 less letters 191, 192-194 (16 pages) -
comments on W.H. Auden’s LOTR review; themes of LOTR; work on maps &
illustrations; foreign translations; Frodo’s pacifism.
Week 23 (11/7/05): letters 193, 194, 198, 201& 202 (5 pages) – BBC production
and plans to do an animated version.
Week 24 (11/14/05): letter 207 & letter 210 (4 pages) - up to comment #15 in
letter #210 including the Eagles, contracting time, Faramir, Gandalf and many
comments about how irritated Tolkien was.
Week 25 (11/21/05): letter 210 (3.5 pages) - Remainder of Letter 210 including
Orcs, Balrog, Galadriel, Lembas, Treebeard, etc. along with more comments on
his disgust.
Week 26 (11/28/05): letters 200-209 less letters in week 23-25 (11 pages) –
nature of the Valar, Maiar, Elves & Men; death as a theme of LOTR; thoughts on
philology.
Week 27 (12/5/05): letters 211 & 212 (10.5 pages) – numerous answers to fans
questions.
Week 28 (12/12/05): letters 213-216 (11 pages) – Shire customs; The Hobbit vs.
LOTR; Tolkien is a Hobbit.
Week 29 (1/2/06): letters 217-230 (9 pages) – Numenor; various comments on
questions about LOTR.
Week 30 (1/9/06): letters 231- 243 (14 pages) – publication of Adventures of
Tom Bombadil; answers to questions on words in LOTR.
Week 31 (1/16/06): letters 244, 245, 247 (5 pages) – Eowyn & Faramir’s love;
mortality of Elves; material left out of LOTR; origin of Ents.
Week 32 (1/23/06): letter 246 (7.5 pages) – Frodo, Sam, Gollum and the showdown
at the Sammath Naur.
Week 33 (1/30/06): letters 248-268 less letter 257 (16 pages) – Tree & Leaf;
memories of C.S. Lewis; fate of Shadowfax.
Week 34 (2/6/06): letters 269-293 (17 pages) – orcs irredeemable; work on Sil &
Sir Gawain; misc. (not a whole lot here)
Week 35 (2/13/06): letters 294-298 (16 pages) – comments on a magazine article
about him; origin of names in LOTR; history of The Inklings.
Week 36 (2/20/06): letters 299-310 (12 pages) – publication of Smith; detailed
account of Switzerland trip; musings on Catholicism; God and the purpose of
life.
Week 37 (2/27/06): letters 311-325, 348, 353 (11 pages) – etymology of
“hobbit;” source for glittering caves; Galadriel; specifics of what happens
when sailing to Aman.
Week 38 (3/6/06): letters 326-338 (8 pages) – why Tolkien wrote LOTR; labeling
authors & their motives; being a cult figure; the Entwives.
Week 39 (3/13/06): letters 339-354 less 348 & 353 (12 pages) – Tolkien’s love
of trees; Edith’s death & their gravestone; use of Quenya vs. Sindarin; final
letters.
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Koru: Maori symbol representing a fern frond as it opens. The koru reaches towards the light, striving for perfection, encouraging new, positive beginnings.
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TORN 101
TORN Calendar
