The War to End All Wars -- That is the way writers and many people talked about WW1. However, despite the good intentions of many, we have not been able to live in peace. A major war, caused by Vladimir Putin, thunders on as I write this- The photo below was taken during the horrendous battle of the Somme in WW1. Second Lieutenant JRR Tolkien was in the battle of the Somme.
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." J. R. R. Tolkien
Photo of WW1 trench warfare by alamy.
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An Island Smaller than Kansas
"At the height of the British Empire, just after the First World War, an island smaller than Kansas controlled roughly a quarter of the world’s population and landmass. To the architects of this colossus, the largest empire in history, each conquest was a moral achievement." From a New Yorker article on the UK, Cruel Britannia, by Sunl Khilnani.
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British Field Marshal Douglas Haig,1st Earl Haig, was in command of British troops during the trench warfare of World War 1. "Two million British casualties endured under his command. The Canadian War Museum comments, 'His epic but costly offensives at the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917) have become nearly synonymous with the carnage and futility of First World War battles.'" Wikipedia
Photo: Alamy
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Tolkien and WW 1
I wondered if the ruthlessness and scale of Great Britain's conquests and arrogance influenced the brilliant mind of Tolkien. Certainly, his role as a Second Lieutenant in WW1 in the battles of the Somme, and the loss of many friends in the madness of trench warfare, must have influenced him.
I thought his books, in addition to insights and parallels to old history, were in many ways metaphors for the chaos and pain of WW I, caused by the hubris of failed oligarchies in their quests for more power.
I went to Wikipedia and found that a great many articles and books have been written on the subject of the influence of the Great War on Tolkien's writing.
"On 2 June 1916, Tolkien received a telegram summoning him to Folkstone for posting to France. The Tolkiens spent the night before his departure in a room at the Plough & Harrow Hotel in Edgebaston, Birmingham. He later wrote,'Junior officers were being killed off, a dozen a minute. Parting from my wife then... it was like a death'.".
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The Hobbit as a Parable of World War One.
"The Hobbit (1937) may be read as Tolkien's parable of World War I with the hero being plucked from his rural home and thrown into a far-off war where traditional types of heroism are shown to be futile. The tale as such explores the theme of heroism. As Janet Brennan Croft notes, Tolkien's literary reaction to war at this time differed from most post-war writers by eschewing irony as a method for distancing events and instead using mythology to mediate his experiences. Similarities to the works of other writers who faced the Great War are seen in The Hobbit, including portraying warfare as anti-pastoral: in 'The Desolation of Smaug' both the area under the influence of Smaug before his demise and the setting for the Battle of Five Armies later are described as barren, damaged landscapes. The Hobbit makes a warning against repeating the tragedies of World War One, and Tolkien's attitude as a veteran may well be summed up by Bilbo's comment: "Victory after all, I suppose! Well, it seems a very gloomy business." -- Wikipedia
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June, 1915 by Charlotte Mew
"Who thinks of June's first rose today?
Only some child, perhaps, with shining eyes and
rough bright hair will reach it down.
In a green sunny lane, to us almost as far away
As are the fearless stars from these veiled lamps of town.
What's little June to a great broken world with eyes gone dim
From too much looking on the face of grief, the face of dread?
Or what's the broken world to June and him
Of the small eager hand, the shining eyes, the rough bright head?"
Photo Credit WW1 centennial news.
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"Not all those who wander are lost." J. R. R. Tolkien
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Michael Swanwick's The Iron Dragon's Mother
I come from another era of science fiction and fantasy, an era of Clarke, Dick, LeGuin, Asimov, Heinlein, Delaney, Herbert, and others who were, by and large, grounded in an imagined future reality.
This blog provokes me into reading fantasy sci-fi that travels through realms that evoke a stronger leaning towards fantasy. Terry Pratchett does this and he is duly lauded by legions of readers. I have now gone again to Pratchett's fantasy level into the world of Michael Swanwick.
The Iron Dragon's Daughter is the third book in a trilogy. It is multi-faceted, one story comprised of many stories in a flowing narrative loaded with surprises. Power, in multiple forms, is central to the story. Dragons have now become an awesome machine of war driven in a symbiotic relationship by humans. There are a great variety of sentient life forms who interact with and without humans. I found all of the several primary characters rather fascinating, with unexpected behaviors, and skills.
Michael Swanwick's imagination knows no boundaries. There is past, present, and future for four interrelated worlds where change and power struggle is never ending. And one can't forget the dragons.
Jane Yolen described the writing in this book as, “Twisted in the right way, with tart and tricksy language you can swirl around in your mouth like good wine."
The author, Michael Swanwick, is a prominent and influential person in the world of science fiction and fantasy. He is prolific and has won multiple top awards in the field. His blog is filled with a variety of information and ideas.
Swanwick's Blog: www.floggingbabel.blogspot.com.
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"Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong.”
― Terry Pratchett
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Imaginative Independent Animation
Change The Week
Director, Ion Pons Jewell,
Executive Producers: Emmanuelle Le Chat & Jackson Forsythe
Script: Damian Le Bas
Voice, Stephen Fry, plus seven animators
Production Company, ProdCo
Link: Change the Week Time: 3.42
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Detached
Humor, surreal, stylized, bizarre.
By Emory Allen.
Music by Justin Lawes.
Production by Foreign Fauna.
Link: Detached Time: 2.10
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Deducked
Animation by Nolan J. Downs
Sound Design: Chris Kalis and Harry Brenner
Link: Deducked Time: 2.29
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Bookstores in the USA are Growing Steadily and Selling to More Diverse Readers
"More than 300 new independent bookstores have sprouted across the United States in the past couple of years, in a surprising and welcome revival after an early pandemic slump. And as the number of stores has grown, the book selling business — traditionally overwhelmingly white — has also become much more diverse." Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth a. Harris -- New York Times
Photo of Lucy YU, Owner of Yu and Me bookstore/ NYTimes.
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Millions of children across Ukraine have had to flee their homes since the war there began.
For some, it’s an even harder journey, because they don’t have their parents with them.
One children’s home on the eastern front line had to move all of their children hundreds of miles across the country to keep them safe.
Among them is 11-year-old Angelina, who’s now trying to make a new life in the western city of Lviv.
Link: Angelina Time: 2.40
Camera/editor/producer: Jewan Abdi: BBC
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The Skies Have Clouded Over
"Children around the world continue to grow up with the magic of fairytales in books, and to relish the multiple ways they are adapted, updated and put on to stage and screen. But the 'realisation of imagined wonder', which JRR Tolkien saw as the aim of the genre, isn’t always bright and shiny any more; its skies have clouded over."
The quote is an excerpt from How Fairy Tales Grew Up, by Marina Warner, author, critic, in the Guardian
Painting by Ivan Marchuk
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PAL brings comfort and joy to people through the human canine connection and devoted therapy dog owners in the greater Washington DC metro area. They serve people in locations ranging from hospice to hospitals and schools to libraries.
To learn more visit their website: PAL
The photo is of Washington school kids who are part of a PAL project
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Why Am I ?
Floyd is a happy dog with many friends. One day, though, someone asks Floyd why he is yellow . . . but Floyd had never thought about it! He doesn’t know the answer. After all, he isn’t a lemon. He isn’t a banana. He is a dog.
“Why am I yellow?” he wonders. Soon Floyd goes on a quest to find the answer, and meets up with many of his friends and other animals along the way. Why Am I?
"I loved every page of this book. This journey of discovery felt all too familiar and speaks to so many different experiences. The illustrations are extremely well done. Great gift for younger and older. Highest recommendation!" Amazon Customer Review
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Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere... Carl Sagan
Photo: NASA Webb Space Telescope
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Castle In The Mist
Castle In The Mist is the second book in the Planet Of The Dogs Series...Here is an excerpt...
"Prince Ukko’s face suddenly became red and he could barely speak. “What is that?” he demanded.
He pointed to a dense cluster of tall pines on the edge of the forest. Walking slowly out of the mist was Tok, a son of Rex, and the biggest dog to come down to planet Earth. His long winter fur of brown and white made him appear even bigger. His head was raised. He looked directly at Prince Ukko as he slowly walked to the center of the open space in front of the castle. There he stopped, raised his head and howled. And when he did, the voices of all the dogs from Snow Valley, hidden in the misty forest, howled at the same time.
Ukko, watching in horror, turned to Narro, and growled, “Stop them. They must be stopped.”
To read more, and for sample chapters from the series -- Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale -- and for more information about all of our books -- visit our Planet Of The Dogs website.
We have free copies of the Planet of The Dogs book series for therapy dog organizations, individual therapy dog owners, and librarians and teachers with therapy reading dog programs...simply send us an email at [email protected]. and we will send you the books.
The illustration of Prince Ukko is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty
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