Yesterday marked the 35th anniversary of the death of J.R.R. Tolkien. In my not-so-humble opinion, Tolkien should go down as the greatest writer of English literature in the 20th Century. Nearly everyone knows about his most well-known work, The Lord of the Rings, mainly because of the massively successful Peter Jackson movies that came out a few years ago.
Unknown to most, however, is the vast array of nonfiction and academic works which really showcase the genius of the man. Among his many literary accomplishments, he was a translator fluent in several ancient European languages, and is considered to have produced some of the best translations of Beowulf, Sir Orfeo, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He produced a Middle English Vocabulary, and was a heavy contributor to the Jerusalem Bible. There are numerous other literary and lexicographical achievements that could be listed.
Tolkien was an influential member of the Inklings, along with the likes of of C.S. Lewis—who’s conversion to Christ is largely credited to the influence of Tolkien—Adam Fox, Hugo Dyson, and Lord David Cecil. The Inklings was an informal gathering of Oxford academics and friends who gathered together for literary criticism, many times critiquing one another’s works.
I’m a HUGE fantasy fiction fan, and it was Tolkien and C.S. Lewis who drew my imagination to other worlds when I was a pre-teen.
Why such vast popularity for Tolkien’s fiction over his academic works? Because story is a powerful medium. There is something about story that goes far beyond being a written work. One could quite successfully argue that storytelling is a superior form of disseminating information and teaching concepts than just about any other form of written communication. Even in the oral realm, storytelling has long been considered one of the best ways to communicate. Why do you think bards were so well regarded in many ancient, classical, and medieval cultures? Even today, we put the best storytellers (authors, script writers, movie makers, song writers) on a pedestal.
Why do you think Jesus told so many parables?
I love this quote from The Story Factor by Annette Simmonds that Darren Rowse included in a recent post on ProBlogger.
“people don’t need more information - they need ‘faith’ and that stories have the power to birth faith and trust”
Those of us who are Christ-followers are a part of the greatest story ever told. While not a work of fiction, it remains the most fantastic of stories. How you tell your story is less important than actually telling your story. You can’t tell it through a lecture. You can’t tell it by following a specific format. You tell your story by genuinely living it in front of others.
The lives we live ARE the stories we tell. Whose story are we telling?
This post is part of Watercooler Wednesday at Ethos.
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