Books and other printed materials >> TCG Review - The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond
12
TCG Review - The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond
11 September
(edited)
2024-9-11 11:00:05 PM UTC
2024-9-11 11:00:05 PM UTC
Review by Urulókë, onthetrail, Mr. Underhill and Trotter.
This review is based on a review copy very kindly sent to us by HarperCollins Publishing. The opinions are our own.
The case for some books, perhaps most, when they are published, they have to fight for an audience, in the case of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien this is not the case. Readers with decades long interest in Tolkien's writings, scholars, content creators, new readers who become interested in Tolkien on a daily basis, and of course collectors of books, all clamour for new works by Tolkien, and new books about him, with updated designs, and above all, new contents which they are yet to read. The pressure that unique expectation presents, to get it right, on the publisher and editors alike can not be underestimated. Before we go into more detail about this collection, those reading this review need not worry. This work represents a monumental moment in Tolkien publishing. This new collection not only treats Tolkien's fans to new and hard to find works, it is also an indispensable study on Tolkien's poetry, his life and interests.
We are introduced to Tolkien's collected Poems through a long introduction by the editors, Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, known collectively at this website as Findegil. The introduction is as noted, long, very long in fact, and some readers might peek through these pages and decide to skip them, which is of course ones choice. After all, the wonders awaiting the reader are worth rushing to come to. But the introduction is vital and interesting. It sets Tolkien's poetry, especially his earliest examples to the context of his life. Following this informative introduction we are given a chronology of Tolkien's poetic output, with focus on what we would expect for such a collection, when Tolkien wrote and revised poems contained in these three volumes. This chronology is of much interest and help. That information is of course presented within the commentaries of the poem, but having it to hand in the chronology offers a quick and easy way to check a date.
We are then presented with the first of 195 entries, with appendices to follow, more on those later. The poems are in chronological order, the first being from 1910. We cannot here give details on all of the poems but as an example of how the entries are presented, we will focus on the first.
I 'Morning' . 'Morning Song'.
A sensitive piece written to his love interest Edith Bratt.who of course would later become his wife and the mother of his four children.[2] At this time Tolkien had been forbidden from seeing or writing to Edith by his guardianFather Francis Morgan[3] except he was given permission to write her a letter in March 1910. They would not speak or write until they were reunited following Tolkien's 21st birthday in 1913. The entry, like all, opens with a commentary on the circumstances of the poems existence, with biographical information and details about the poem (in this instance, on Tolkien's relationship with Edith). We are then given four versions of the poem (when more than a single poem is contained in an entry, the editors use [A], [B], and so on), with clear and helpful notes, often with details to other variant versions, coming at the end of each entry. The commentary, as one would expect, is informative, and often revelatory and the notes are easy to follow.
As is so often the case with works edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, one comes away with a long reading list of sources that were an inspiration to Tolkien. Among the commentaries are essential mentions to works that were certainly an inspiration both in style and substance to him. For one such example, see entry 7. 'A Fragment of an Epic', pp. 28-37 where the editors give Tolkien's 198 line poem with detailed examples of texts from a range of works, going back as far back as the thirteenth-centuries Itinerarium Regis Ricardi ('Travels of King Richard').
When this collection was announced, the editors were somewhat coy about exactly how many poems there are in total, and how many of those were unpublished, and reading through these three volumes one begins to understand why.
Entry 1 has two titles noted in the contents, 'Morning' and 'Morning Song', so one would expect two poems, but we are offered four versions, with notes to a further two or three variants, plus the fascinating commentary. This approach continues throughout, with many entries containing more poems, or versions of them than are noted in the contents. The editors describe there being 195 entries which would contain approximately 240 "discrete poems".
Our count suggests there are roughly 550+ poems (inc. variant versions, which the editors described as instances in private correspondence) addressed directly, with many more in the notes and mentioned throughout the fantastic commentary. We have not tried to count all of these but it is an incredible number. There are five appendices, with five limericks, 6 clerihews (App. I), 15 short 'Latin adages' (App. II) and a poem entitled 'Bealuwérig' which is presented in its own appendix (App. V) as it became known too late to be inserted into the chronological format of the 195 entries. 'Poem lists' (App. III) and 'Word lists' (App. IV) are also included and these are not a list of poems and words from the editors, but by Tolkien himself. The poem lists are as expected, lists of poems and are of immense interest to help the reader understand how Tolkien had planned to handle various poems in collections. And the word lists were made by Tolkien and include words and phrases that Tolkien found specially interesting. Words from Chaucer, Keats, Shakespeare and others are included. After the appendices we are presented with a glossary covering archaic words, broken into 'General words', 'Nature words', and 'Names in Tolkien's Mythology'. A bibliography contains works by JRRT, other printed books, and archival sources, and the book is closed out with an index.
In their introduction, the editors note they "have included the earliest and latest versions of each poem, if extant and legible, as well as any significant intermediate texts, either in full or in summary, as seemed best for each individual work."p. lxiii[4]
So what of unpublished material? Firstly, there is a lot of it, and as we have had but a few days to write this review, we will not attempt to list them all at this time. But some poems which will please readers are 'The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf', 'The Children of Hurin', the complete 'Grey Bridge of Tavrobel', in fact two versions of it, and much more. We dare not hazard a guess on how many, but including the variant versions, it is many more than were reported.77 was the number given.[5]
This collection is of course primarily a collection of poems, but the informative commentaries also contain much new biographical and bibliographical information. The editors note on p. lxiii that "readers who find that the occasional date, or other statement, given here conflicts with one we gave in our J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide will appreciate that we have had much greater access to Tolkien’s poetry for the present book than we did earlier, and this has sometimes led us to different conclusions."
Another serious consideration when one thinks about the value of this publication, is one of old out of print texts. Out of print texts which are now joyfully not out of print. Tolkien's poems found in Songs for the Philologists have floated around collectors in different facsimile editions, but officially out of print since being included in that 1936 collection. (Readers can find them in entries 76-85, and 97-99.) Poems found in annuals, with many, if not all of them becoming much searched for collectors items, commanding extreme prices, are now found between these covers and readers who cannot justify hunting down and spending a small fortune on a single short annual can now own these poems.
This section of the review relates to the UK editions from HarperCollinsPublishers.
The books were delivered in a publisher supplied cardboard box to hopefully give extra protection during shipping. My copy ordered from the HarperCollins website arrived without any damage. The boxed set is nicely made and seems quite strong and it is also very easy to get the books in and out of the box, very happy with the slipcase sizing.
As the only member of our review who has received his physical books so far, Trotter notes that "I love the design of both the boxed sets and the covers of the books, very Tolkienesque. I think the publishers were correct not to include dust-jackets for this set as the books are very sturdy and feature Tolkien's illustrations, the designs really stand out."
And that "the books are printed in Italy by Rotolito S.p.A., I like the paper that is used and the nice touch of blue ribbon-markers in each of the three volumes. Each volume has dark blue end-papers and a double-sided coloured plate at the start of each book, a very nice touch."
Illustrations
Christina and Wayne have published information on how this book came into being on their blog:
The Contents have been published online by the editor's The Weblog of Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull - Contents (PDF)
The volumes contain:
#69 Iúmonna Gold Galdre Bewunden - The Hoard, pp. 504-20
Like many, I have been quite interested in this poem for ages. Tolkien rewrote portions of it many times (there are five versions included in this book), published in The Gryphon in 1923, Oxford Magazine in 1937, he read a version of it in his Beowulf lectures in the 1930s, and eventually in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1962 where most of us first discovered it. In a previously unpublished letter to Mrs. Eileen Elgar (portions of which are reproduced here on pp. 517-8) Tolkien makes clear just how connected this poem has always been to Middle-earth, drawing her attention to the links with the Valar, Eru, Melko/Morgoth, the tale of Túrin and Mîm the Dwarf, and Nargothrond. The history of this poem is fascinating, and well documented here by Scull and Hammond, and the gathering of materials from extremely scarce publications is invaluable for those interested in Tolkien's development of this work over many decades.
#192 My Heart Is Not in This Land Where I Live, pp. 1353-4
My heart ached, and my eyes teared, as I read this poem for the very first time this week. It is very short (15 broken lines in the first version, and a small prose paragraph rewrite), as Tolkien lays bare his longing for his remembered childhood country, which has been destroyed forever by modern advances and war. It amazes me how much emotion is in these few lines, which I closely associate with ents - one of my favorite parts of The Lord of the Rings.
#133 Bleak Heave the Billows, pp. 1006-7:
Many years ago when I began to research unpublished material of Tolkien's, namely to find and transcribe Tolkien's letters, I came upon a description among the Tolkien-Gordon Collection at Leeds University archives from a poem called 'Bleak Heave the Billows'. It's short description, "Poem written in pen and ink about a lonely beach and the masts of ships seen through the mist." instantly intrigued me. I am an ocean dweller, it is in my DNA, and those like me know the scene all too well that Leeds describe.
Over successive years I planned a trip to Leeds to read the poem but for various reasons it never happened. So naturally, when this collection was announced, this was my most hoped for title. I had mentioned this title to the editors, and they had rightly remained tight-lipped, but upon their publishing online the contents of the poems, I looked for it, and there it was. Eureka!
Enormous thanks to the editors for including this short but wonderful poem of 18 lines, fulfilling my wish to read it at long last.
Appendix IV. Word Lists, pp. 1391-1401:
The contents of App. IV is a surprise, a welcome one, and when one comes to these word lists it is understood immediately what they are. Word lists, written by Tolkien covering some of his favourite words and phrases. The first, 'SOME MAGNIFICENT WORDS (& PHRASES) (AND THEIR AUTHORS)' contains a long list of words or phrases used by authors. Many we will recognize, and others not, but these lists demonstrate the seriousness with which Tolkien took his reading. As one would expect, names such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Thompson, and Tennyson are listed, among others.
#16 The Voyage of Éarendel the Evening Star, pp. 86
In the early autumn of 1914, at the beginning of a war that would engulf the entire world for the next four years and change the then twenty two-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien's life forever, he would compose what is arguably the first poem connected to what would become his sub-created legendarium:
It originated from a seed planted in Tolkien's mind. Possibly from Crist 1, the line "Eala Earendel engla beorhtast!" (Hail Earendel Brightest of Angels!), possibly a blend of other imagery from Beowulf and Greek mythology, which were major influences for the young Tolkien at the time. These are also present in and embedded throughout it. This poem would form the basis for one of Tolkien's most important characters in what would become his life's work- the ever-evolving Silmarillion. The call that Eärendil the Mariner hears in Tirion upon his arriving in the city to plead for the free peoples of Middle-earth echos back to the earliest form of this poem from his youth:
The poem would take on many names and have several versions. Like much of Tolkien's work, he never stopped tinkering with it. From the 1914 iteration all the way through to 1962 when a seventy year old J.R.R. Tolkien considered it for inclusion in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
I highly recommend going to page 86 and finding Hammond and Scull's tremendous tracing of this historically important Middle-earth poem.
#90 Pearl pp. 645
If Tolkien had not written a single word on his sub-created world, he would still be remembered (although perhaps obscurely) as one of the leading philiogists and archaic language scholars of his day. His work on Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight alone would have earned him his place in academic history. Tolkien also had a keen interest in the- most likely through his work on Sir Gawain -dialect in which it and another poem were written: the West Midlands dialect of Middle English.
Remarkably, Tolkien translated Pearl, a complex poem of unorthodox verse forms and stanzas in an regional form of Middle English into Modern English. This poem is about crossing over a river into a land of fairy to visit those who have since passed on to the other side. One can see the early seeds of Valinor and Lothlorian as well as Leaf by Niggle and Smith of Wootton Major. The section that Hammond and Scull have chosen to include couldn't be more appropriate to illustrate this point.
I would describe this poem as strangely beautiful and Tolkien must have thought the same to continually come back to it for inspiration throughout his life. Flip to page 645 in volume 2 and you'll see what I mean.
#27 Goblin Feet pp. 159
Some people, OK probably only me, consider Goblin Feet to be one of Tolkien's finest poems, and it is a real highlight for me to see the attention given to this poem in The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Scull and Hammond describe the various states of the poem (A) and (B), and the textual changes for both. They describe the printing history of the poem, and also mention this poem in the introduction to the book. It was widely held that the poem was written for Edith and that she liked it, but it appears that may not be the case.
There follows some insightful discussion of critical reviews of the poem, and an attempt to work out when and why Tolkien came to this opinion on the poem
I was very gratified though to find from this new book that I am not the only one who likes this poem.
#185 The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf pp. 1304
Prior to the release of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf, had only been published in translation by the German publishing house Klett-Cotta, in the anniversary volume Das erste Jahrzehnt 1977–1987: Ein Almanach. It was published as Mîm's Klage. Unofficial translations back to English have existed but the value of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien is to read the original versions of the poem.
It is revealed that this Mîm has some differences to Mîm in The Book of Lost Tales. The poem has two revisions [A] and [B], with extensive discussion on the history of the poem and a thorough analysis of the changes. It is great to finally be able to read this poem in English in a published form.
In conclusion, the above suggestion that this is a "monumental moment in Tolkien publishing" does not do these three volumes justice. They are packed full of new material and brilliant commentary. A must for all readers of Tolkien's works. It is testament to the work of Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond that when onthetrail suggests this as their crowning achievement, Mr. Underhill asks "but what about the Companion and Guide?" That work, as this, will stand for decades as the very best books on J.R.R. Tolkien and we all owe the editors our deepest thanks for bringing yet another essential work to our bookshelves and desks.
The answer to why you should buy this book is to support research and editing of a very high standard and to be able to read Tolkien's fantastic poetry and commentary. This really is an essential set of volumes to add to your Tolkien library.
We extend our thanks to HarperCollins Publishers for providing a review copy of the text from which we have based this review, to Findegil (Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond) for editing another essential and well-researched Tolkien publication and finally to the memory of Christopher Tolkien for giving the green light to produce this fantastic work. To the Tolkien Estate, for their continued support of the project and for allowing the editors to include what were personal poems from Ronald to Edith, and of course, to J.R.R. Tolkien himself, who wrote these extraordinary poems.
A final word on the editors: as remarked on in their introduction, the earliest development of this collection dates back to April 2016 when they were invited to meet with Chris Smith and David Brawn from HarperCollins. At that time they were contracted to update and expand their incomparable The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide as well as being invited to produce this work. They first provided the text of C&G before turning to the Collected Poems. Once the work had started, the editors worked on concepts for the project, which were shown to Christopher Tolkien in early 2019 and he approved those concepts, without changes. Sadly in 2020 he died, leaving the editors to complete the project without his opinions, advice, and encouragement. Matters of this project were complicated by various factors, not least the Covid-19 pandemic and as remarked on in their blog post, Wayne G. Hammond retired early from his career as a rare books librarian. He had not planned to retire at that time, and had he not, none of us would be holding our books at this time. We should all extend our most sincere thanks to both Wayne and Christina for their commitment to this work. Thank you both from the TCG team and all those who are excitedly reading brand new Tolkien today.
FOR RONALD AND EDITH
UK Trade
US Trade
UK eBook
US eBook
This review is based on a review copy very kindly sent to us by HarperCollins Publishing. The opinions are our own.
Introduction
The case for some books, perhaps most, when they are published, they have to fight for an audience, in the case of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien this is not the case. Readers with decades long interest in Tolkien's writings, scholars, content creators, new readers who become interested in Tolkien on a daily basis, and of course collectors of books, all clamour for new works by Tolkien, and new books about him, with updated designs, and above all, new contents which they are yet to read. The pressure that unique expectation presents, to get it right, on the publisher and editors alike can not be underestimated. Before we go into more detail about this collection, those reading this review need not worry. This work represents a monumental moment in Tolkien publishing. This new collection not only treats Tolkien's fans to new and hard to find works, it is also an indispensable study on Tolkien's poetry, his life and interests.
We are introduced to Tolkien's collected Poems through a long introduction by the editors, Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, known collectively at this website as Findegil. The introduction is as noted, long, very long in fact, and some readers might peek through these pages and decide to skip them, which is of course ones choice. After all, the wonders awaiting the reader are worth rushing to come to. But the introduction is vital and interesting. It sets Tolkien's poetry, especially his earliest examples to the context of his life. Following this informative introduction we are given a chronology of Tolkien's poetic output, with focus on what we would expect for such a collection, when Tolkien wrote and revised poems contained in these three volumes. This chronology is of much interest and help. That information is of course presented within the commentaries of the poem, but having it to hand in the chronology offers a quick and easy way to check a date.
We are then presented with the first of 195 entries, with appendices to follow, more on those later. The poems are in chronological order, the first being from 1910. We cannot here give details on all of the poems but as an example of how the entries are presented, we will focus on the first.
I 'Morning' . 'Morning Song'.
Come, dawn goes palely up the skies!
O! come from shadowed sleep ariseRevision D of the poem Morning, pp. 7 The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond © 2024 The Tolkien Estate Limited and/or The Tolkien Trust and by C.R. Tolkien[1]
A sensitive piece written to his love interest Edith Bratt.who of course would later become his wife and the mother of his four children.[2] At this time Tolkien had been forbidden from seeing or writing to Edith by his guardianFather Francis Morgan[3] except he was given permission to write her a letter in March 1910. They would not speak or write until they were reunited following Tolkien's 21st birthday in 1913. The entry, like all, opens with a commentary on the circumstances of the poems existence, with biographical information and details about the poem (in this instance, on Tolkien's relationship with Edith). We are then given four versions of the poem (when more than a single poem is contained in an entry, the editors use [A], [B], and so on), with clear and helpful notes, often with details to other variant versions, coming at the end of each entry. The commentary, as one would expect, is informative, and often revelatory and the notes are easy to follow.
As is so often the case with works edited by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, one comes away with a long reading list of sources that were an inspiration to Tolkien. Among the commentaries are essential mentions to works that were certainly an inspiration both in style and substance to him. For one such example, see entry 7. 'A Fragment of an Epic', pp. 28-37 where the editors give Tolkien's 198 line poem with detailed examples of texts from a range of works, going back as far back as the thirteenth-centuries Itinerarium Regis Ricardi ('Travels of King Richard').
How many poems does this collection contain?
When this collection was announced, the editors were somewhat coy about exactly how many poems there are in total, and how many of those were unpublished, and reading through these three volumes one begins to understand why.
Entry 1 has two titles noted in the contents, 'Morning' and 'Morning Song', so one would expect two poems, but we are offered four versions, with notes to a further two or three variants, plus the fascinating commentary. This approach continues throughout, with many entries containing more poems, or versions of them than are noted in the contents. The editors describe there being 195 entries which would contain approximately 240 "discrete poems".
Our count suggests there are roughly 550+ poems (inc. variant versions, which the editors described as instances in private correspondence) addressed directly, with many more in the notes and mentioned throughout the fantastic commentary. We have not tried to count all of these but it is an incredible number. There are five appendices, with five limericks, 6 clerihews (App. I), 15 short 'Latin adages' (App. II) and a poem entitled 'Bealuwérig' which is presented in its own appendix (App. V) as it became known too late to be inserted into the chronological format of the 195 entries. 'Poem lists' (App. III) and 'Word lists' (App. IV) are also included and these are not a list of poems and words from the editors, but by Tolkien himself. The poem lists are as expected, lists of poems and are of immense interest to help the reader understand how Tolkien had planned to handle various poems in collections. And the word lists were made by Tolkien and include words and phrases that Tolkien found specially interesting. Words from Chaucer, Keats, Shakespeare and others are included. After the appendices we are presented with a glossary covering archaic words, broken into 'General words', 'Nature words', and 'Names in Tolkien's Mythology'. A bibliography contains works by JRRT, other printed books, and archival sources, and the book is closed out with an index.
In their introduction, the editors note they "have included the earliest and latest versions of each poem, if extant and legible, as well as any significant intermediate texts, either in full or in summary, as seemed best for each individual work."p. lxiii[4]
New texts (old texts) and new information
So what of unpublished material? Firstly, there is a lot of it, and as we have had but a few days to write this review, we will not attempt to list them all at this time. But some poems which will please readers are 'The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf', 'The Children of Hurin', the complete 'Grey Bridge of Tavrobel', in fact two versions of it, and much more. We dare not hazard a guess on how many, but including the variant versions, it is many more than were reported.77 was the number given.[5]
This collection is of course primarily a collection of poems, but the informative commentaries also contain much new biographical and bibliographical information. The editors note on p. lxiii that "readers who find that the occasional date, or other statement, given here conflicts with one we gave in our J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide will appreciate that we have had much greater access to Tolkien’s poetry for the present book than we did earlier, and this has sometimes led us to different conclusions."
Another serious consideration when one thinks about the value of this publication, is one of old out of print texts. Out of print texts which are now joyfully not out of print. Tolkien's poems found in Songs for the Philologists have floated around collectors in different facsimile editions, but officially out of print since being included in that 1936 collection. (Readers can find them in entries 76-85, and 97-99.) Poems found in annuals, with many, if not all of them becoming much searched for collectors items, commanding extreme prices, are now found between these covers and readers who cannot justify hunting down and spending a small fortune on a single short annual can now own these poems.
Publication
This section of the review relates to the UK editions from HarperCollinsPublishers.
The books were delivered in a publisher supplied cardboard box to hopefully give extra protection during shipping. My copy ordered from the HarperCollins website arrived without any damage. The boxed set is nicely made and seems quite strong and it is also very easy to get the books in and out of the box, very happy with the slipcase sizing.
As the only member of our review who has received his physical books so far, Trotter notes that "I love the design of both the boxed sets and the covers of the books, very Tolkienesque. I think the publishers were correct not to include dust-jackets for this set as the books are very sturdy and feature Tolkien's illustrations, the designs really stand out."
And that "the books are printed in Italy by Rotolito S.p.A., I like the paper that is used and the nice touch of blue ribbon-markers in each of the three volumes. Each volume has dark blue end-papers and a double-sided coloured plate at the start of each book, a very nice touch."
Illustrations
- Morning (no. 1, text A)
- Over Old Hills and Far Away (no. 43, text C) plate 1
- Kortirion among the Trees (no. 40, text A) plate 2
- The Song of Ælfwinë (no. 74, fine copy) plate 3
- The Bumpus (no. 105, text A) plate 4
- The Sea-Bell (no. 134, text G) plate 5
- List of poems for publication (App. III, text D) plate 6
Christina and Wayne have published information on how this book came into being on their blog:
Contents
The Contents have been published online by the editor's The Weblog of Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull - Contents (PDF)
The volumes contain:
- Volume One (1910-1919)
- Introduction
- Chronology
- 1 Morning
- . . .
- 63 The Motor-cyclists
- Volume Two (1919-1931)
- 64 Light as Leaf on Lind · As Light as Leaf on Lindentree · The Tale of Tinúviel
- . . .
- 129 The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son
- Volume Three (1931-1967)
- 130 The Children of Húrin (rhyming couplets)
- . . .
- 195 For W.H.A.
- Appendix I. Limericks and Clerihews
- Appendix II. Latin Adages
- Appendix III. Poem Lists
- Appendix IV. Word Lists
- Appendix V. Bealuwérig
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Our picks from the Poems
Urulókë
#69 Iúmonna Gold Galdre Bewunden - The Hoard, pp. 504-20
Like many, I have been quite interested in this poem for ages. Tolkien rewrote portions of it many times (there are five versions included in this book), published in The Gryphon in 1923, Oxford Magazine in 1937, he read a version of it in his Beowulf lectures in the 1930s, and eventually in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1962 where most of us first discovered it. In a previously unpublished letter to Mrs. Eileen Elgar (portions of which are reproduced here on pp. 517-8) Tolkien makes clear just how connected this poem has always been to Middle-earth, drawing her attention to the links with the Valar, Eru, Melko/Morgoth, the tale of Túrin and Mîm the Dwarf, and Nargothrond. The history of this poem is fascinating, and well documented here by Scull and Hammond, and the gathering of materials from extremely scarce publications is invaluable for those interested in Tolkien's development of this work over many decades.
#192 My Heart Is Not in This Land Where I Live, pp. 1353-4
My heart ached, and my eyes teared, as I read this poem for the very first time this week. It is very short (15 broken lines in the first version, and a small prose paragraph rewrite), as Tolkien lays bare his longing for his remembered childhood country, which has been destroyed forever by modern advances and war. It amazes me how much emotion is in these few lines, which I closely associate with ents - one of my favorite parts of The Lord of the Rings.
onthetrail
#133 Bleak Heave the Billows, pp. 1006-7:
Many years ago when I began to research unpublished material of Tolkien's, namely to find and transcribe Tolkien's letters, I came upon a description among the Tolkien-Gordon Collection at Leeds University archives from a poem called 'Bleak Heave the Billows'. It's short description, "Poem written in pen and ink about a lonely beach and the masts of ships seen through the mist." instantly intrigued me. I am an ocean dweller, it is in my DNA, and those like me know the scene all too well that Leeds describe.
The winds have waned,
a wanderer has passed
to seas unsoiled by men.
Over successive years I planned a trip to Leeds to read the poem but for various reasons it never happened. So naturally, when this collection was announced, this was my most hoped for title. I had mentioned this title to the editors, and they had rightly remained tight-lipped, but upon their publishing online the contents of the poems, I looked for it, and there it was. Eureka!
Enormous thanks to the editors for including this short but wonderful poem of 18 lines, fulfilling my wish to read it at long last.
Appendix IV. Word Lists, pp. 1391-1401:
The contents of App. IV is a surprise, a welcome one, and when one comes to these word lists it is understood immediately what they are. Word lists, written by Tolkien covering some of his favourite words and phrases. The first, 'SOME MAGNIFICENT WORDS (& PHRASES) (AND THEIR AUTHORS)' contains a long list of words or phrases used by authors. Many we will recognize, and others not, but these lists demonstrate the seriousness with which Tolkien took his reading. As one would expect, names such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Thompson, and Tennyson are listed, among others.
Mr. Underhill
#16 The Voyage of Éarendel the Evening Star, pp. 86
In the early autumn of 1914, at the beginning of a war that would engulf the entire world for the next four years and change the then twenty two-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien's life forever, he would compose what is arguably the first poem connected to what would become his sub-created legendarium:
For the Ship of the Moon from the East comes soon, From the Haven of the Sun. Collected Poems of JRR Tolkien, Volume One
It originated from a seed planted in Tolkien's mind. Possibly from Crist 1, the line "Eala Earendel engla beorhtast!" (Hail Earendel Brightest of Angels!), possibly a blend of other imagery from Beowulf and Greek mythology, which were major influences for the young Tolkien at the time. These are also present in and embedded throughout it. This poem would form the basis for one of Tolkien's most important characters in what would become his life's work- the ever-evolving Silmarillion. The call that Eärendil the Mariner hears in Tirion upon his arriving in the city to plead for the free peoples of Middle-earth echos back to the earliest form of this poem from his youth:
Hail Eärendil, bearer of light before the Sun and Moon! Splendor of the Children of Earth, star in the darkness, jewel of the sunset, radiant in the morning! The Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter Twenty Four
The poem would take on many names and have several versions. Like much of Tolkien's work, he never stopped tinkering with it. From the 1914 iteration all the way through to 1962 when a seventy year old J.R.R. Tolkien considered it for inclusion in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
I highly recommend going to page 86 and finding Hammond and Scull's tremendous tracing of this historically important Middle-earth poem.
#90 Pearl pp. 645
If Tolkien had not written a single word on his sub-created world, he would still be remembered (although perhaps obscurely) as one of the leading philiogists and archaic language scholars of his day. His work on Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight alone would have earned him his place in academic history. Tolkien also had a keen interest in the- most likely through his work on Sir Gawain -dialect in which it and another poem were written: the West Midlands dialect of Middle English.
The dubbement dere of doun and dale, Bylde in me blys, abated my bale. Collected Poems of JRR Tolkien, Volume Two
Remarkably, Tolkien translated Pearl, a complex poem of unorthodox verse forms and stanzas in an regional form of Middle English into Modern English. This poem is about crossing over a river into a land of fairy to visit those who have since passed on to the other side. One can see the early seeds of Valinor and Lothlorian as well as Leaf by Niggle and Smith of Wootton Major. The section that Hammond and Scull have chosen to include couldn't be more appropriate to illustrate this point.
The wondrous wealth of down and dales, My mirth makes mount: my mourning fails. Collected Poems of JRR Tolkien, Volume Two
I would describe this poem as strangely beautiful and Tolkien must have thought the same to continually come back to it for inspiration throughout his life. Flip to page 645 in volume 2 and you'll see what I mean.
Trotter
#27 Goblin Feet pp. 159
Some people, OK probably only me, consider Goblin Feet to be one of Tolkien's finest poems, and it is a real highlight for me to see the attention given to this poem in The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Scull and Hammond describe the various states of the poem (A) and (B), and the textual changes for both. They describe the printing history of the poem, and also mention this poem in the introduction to the book. It was widely held that the poem was written for Edith and that she liked it, but it appears that may not be the case.
And yet, in a letter of 1 May 1915 Tolkien asked her: ‘Why didn’t you like the first of the “Goblin feet” verses darling? Too mothy and batty? Fairies especially some kinds are very mothy and batty’ (Bodleian Library; the flittermice of line 3 are bats, compare German Fledermaus)
There follows some insightful discussion of critical reviews of the poem, and an attempt to work out when and why Tolkien came to this opinion on the poem
Late in life, replying to yet another request to include Goblin Feet in an anthology, Tolkien wished that ‘the unhappy little thing, representing all that I came (so soon after) to fervently dislike, could be buried for ever’ (1971; quoted in The Book of Lost Tales, Part One, p. 32).
I was very gratified though to find from this new book that I am not the only one who likes this poem.
#185 The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf pp. 1304
Tolkien had introduced Mîm in The Book of Lost Tales as ‘an old misshapen dwarf who sat ever on the pile of gold [of the dragon Glórund] singing black songs of enchantment to himself’ (The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two, p. 113).
Prior to the release of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf, had only been published in translation by the German publishing house Klett-Cotta, in the anniversary volume Das erste Jahrzehnt 1977–1987: Ein Almanach. It was published as Mîm's Klage. Unofficial translations back to English have existed but the value of The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien is to read the original versions of the poem.
It is revealed that this Mîm has some differences to Mîm in The Book of Lost Tales. The poem has two revisions [A] and [B], with extensive discussion on the history of the poem and a thorough analysis of the changes. It is great to finally be able to read this poem in English in a published form.
Why you should buy this book?
In conclusion, the above suggestion that this is a "monumental moment in Tolkien publishing" does not do these three volumes justice. They are packed full of new material and brilliant commentary. A must for all readers of Tolkien's works. It is testament to the work of Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond that when onthetrail suggests this as their crowning achievement, Mr. Underhill asks "but what about the Companion and Guide?" That work, as this, will stand for decades as the very best books on J.R.R. Tolkien and we all owe the editors our deepest thanks for bringing yet another essential work to our bookshelves and desks.
The answer to why you should buy this book is to support research and editing of a very high standard and to be able to read Tolkien's fantastic poetry and commentary. This really is an essential set of volumes to add to your Tolkien library.
Acknowledgements
We extend our thanks to HarperCollins Publishers for providing a review copy of the text from which we have based this review, to Findegil (Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond) for editing another essential and well-researched Tolkien publication and finally to the memory of Christopher Tolkien for giving the green light to produce this fantastic work. To the Tolkien Estate, for their continued support of the project and for allowing the editors to include what were personal poems from Ronald to Edith, and of course, to J.R.R. Tolkien himself, who wrote these extraordinary poems.
A final word on the editors: as remarked on in their introduction, the earliest development of this collection dates back to April 2016 when they were invited to meet with Chris Smith and David Brawn from HarperCollins. At that time they were contracted to update and expand their incomparable The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide as well as being invited to produce this work. They first provided the text of C&G before turning to the Collected Poems. Once the work had started, the editors worked on concepts for the project, which were shown to Christopher Tolkien in early 2019 and he approved those concepts, without changes. Sadly in 2020 he died, leaving the editors to complete the project without his opinions, advice, and encouragement. Matters of this project were complicated by various factors, not least the Covid-19 pandemic and as remarked on in their blog post, Wayne G. Hammond retired early from his career as a rare books librarian. He had not planned to retire at that time, and had he not, none of us would be holding our books at this time. We should all extend our most sincere thanks to both Wayne and Christina for their commitment to this work. Thank you both from the TCG team and all those who are excitedly reading brand new Tolkien today.
FOR RONALD AND EDITH
I clasp thee to me little one
and the day again's begun
in thy morning kiss of love.Revision A of the poem Morning, pp. 4 The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond © 2024 The Tolkien Estate Limited and/or The Tolkien Trust and by C.R. Tolkien[6]
- Press Release
COLLECTED POEMS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN TO BE PUBLISHED FOR FIRST TIME
London, Tuesday 12 March
HarperCollins has announced it is to publish The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond, in September 2024.
Poetry was the first way in which Tolkien expressed himself creatively and through it the seeds of his literary ambition would be sown. Out of one of his earliest poems, The Voyage of Éarendel the Evening Star, begun in 1914, would appear the character, Eärendil, and from him would spring the world of ‘the Silmarillion’, and then The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, each of whose stories are enriched with poems both humorous and haunting, magical and moving.
The world-renowned Tolkien scholars, Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond, provide the stories behind, and analysis of, each poem, as well as revealing the extraordinary amount of work that Tolkien devoted to every one, creating a landmark new publication which confirms that J.R.R. Tolkien was as fine a poet as he was a writer.
Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond say: ‘It has been an honour to prepare, at Christopher Tolkien’s invitation, these volumes of his father’s poems, putting into print many previously unpublished works and ensuring that Tolkien’s talent for poetry becomes more widely known. Charged at first to review only his early poems, we soon saw the benefits of examining his entire poetic opus across six decades, vast though it is with hundreds of printed and manuscript sources, and of showing its evolution with comments in the manner of Christopher’s magisterial History of Middle-earth series. Not long before his death, we were able to send Christopher a trial portion of the book, which he praised as “remarkable and immensely desirable”.’
Chris Smith, Publishing Director, says: ‘Poetry runs like a vein of mithril through all the books that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote. He delighted in language and storytelling, and the almost 200 poems contained in this collection reveal him at his creative best in verse. Within this new three-volume set, there are worlds in miniature to be discovered and revelled in, populated with unforgettable characters and settings both familiar and full of wonder.’
The Hobbit was first published in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954–5. Each has since gone on to become a beloved classic of literature, and an international bestseller in more than 70 languages, collectively selling more than 150,000,000 copies worldwide. Published in 1977, 40 years after The Hobbit first introduced the world to Tolkien’s Middle-earth, The Silmarillion sold more than one million copies in its first year of publication and has gone on to be translated into almost 40 languages. It was the first of seventeen Middle-earth books produced by J.R.R. Tolkien’s son, Christopher, who was his father’s literary executor and who died in 2020, aged 95, after a lifetime dedicated to curating his father’s work for publication.
Issued by: Philippa Cotton, Publicity Director
Notes to Editors:
J.R.R. TOLKIEN was born on 3rd January 1892. After serving in the First World War, he embarked upon a distinguished academic career and was recognized as one of the finest philologists in the world. He is best known as the creator of Middle-earth and author of the classic and extraordinary works of fiction, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. His books have been translated into more than 70 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide. He died on 2nd September 1973 at the age of 81.
ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS
HarperCollins Publishers is the second largest consumer book publisher in the world, with operations in 17 countries. With 200 years of history and more than 120 branded imprints around the world, HarperCollins publishes approximately 10,000 new books every year in 16 languages, and has a print and digital catalog of more than 200,000 titles. Writing across dozens of genres, HarperCollins authors include winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals and the Man Booker Prize. HarperCollins, headquartered in New York, is a subsidiary of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) and can be visited online at corporate.HC.com.
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1 Revision D of the poem Morning, pp. 7 The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond © 2024 The Tolkien Estate Limited and/or The Tolkien Trust and by C.R. Tolkien ↩
2 who of course would later become his wife and the mother of his four children. ↩
3 Father Francis Morgan ↩
4 p. lxiii ↩
5 77 was the number given. ↩
6 Revision A of the poem Morning, pp. 4 The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond © 2024 The Tolkien Estate Limited and/or The Tolkien Trust and by C.R. Tolkien ↩
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