All of the following quotations are by J.R.R. Tolkien
“I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which ‘Escape’ is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?”
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.”
“An author cannot of course remain wholly unaffected by his experience, but the ways in which a story-germ uses the soil of experience are extremely complex, and attempts to define the process are at best guesses from evidence that is inadequate and ambiguous.”
Love these quotes. I especially like: Not all those who wander are lost.
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Yes, it is wonderful.
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For a while, Tolkien toppled sci-fi from its pedestal in my heart. His books will always be some of /the/ best fantasy ever written. 🙂
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I agree that he is at the top!
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🙂
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Reblogged this on deborahjay and commented:
Some wonderful, intelligent quotes from the father of fantasy, with an illustration from, yes! Scotland! (The Old Man of Storr, on the Isle of Skye, to be precise)
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Thanks for these, Charles, inspiring and useful quotations, especially for those of us who write ‘escapism’.
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You are very welcome, and I completely agree with you!
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😀
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Thank you!!
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Excellent quotes. I love Tolkien’s thinking.
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Thank you!
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You’re welcome!
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Tolkien changed me from a non-reading teenager to a bookaholic. Great quotes. 🙂
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Thank you!
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Great quote, Charles. My sons, aged 15 and 12 years respectively, think that Tolkien is the greatest writer that ever lived. I am sitting right now listening to The Hobbit with Michael (again).
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Wonderful!
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My fav – it is up
To each man to decide what to do with the time he has been given.😍
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An excellent choice!
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thank you!
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All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.” definitely my favourite.
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Yes, I think it is wonderful!
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“Escape” is the same as the words “waste of time”… How exactly can one waste time when rightly or wrongly we USE it to our reinforce own needs? Likewise, how does escape cheat the unpleasantries of Life, when we always must return to it? I say the more refreshed from the temporary respite of “escape,” the better!
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I would go further–sometimes the escape takes us more powerfully to the issues of life than so-called literary fiction does.
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