Interesting Interview with the Professor in 1971...

[Periantari Andruil]

I found this interview that was first broadcasted in January 1971 on the BBC Radio 4 programme....
The interviewer's name is Dennis Gerrolt, and he talked with the Professor about his writings, what his characters could've meant, how he was inspired, and about his fondness of hobbits --these topics are just some of the things he talked about ;)
Enjoy ! =)

http://www.lordotrings.com/interview.asp

[HobbitFriend]

wow, that's pretty cool :) It's always interesting to learn how great people, such as Tolkien, accomplished their greatest things. In this case, Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He truly is an amazing author!

[Periantari Andruil]

I really like the question about Frodo...whether Tolkien thinks he's a Christ figure.. . in his letters, he includes quite a letter about whether he thinks Frodo is a hero ...
He didn't intend for a Hobbit to be a hero, just like the hobbits in the story didn't think they could do much out of the Shire...

I like the reason he gives for liking hobbits...it is quite an invention of the Professor :)

Tolkien also likes to emphasize the fact that he dislikes allegory... I'm sure that he intended LOTR to not portray what he sees in his life, but obviously every author gets his/her influence somewhere and I think he was influenced by WWI and by the Industrial Age...

[HobbitFriend]

yeah.... he said how hobbits hated industrialization.... i can't remember his exact wording... but they'd rather work in their farms and fields with their own hands and farm tools rather than big noisy tractors and such.... they didnt' like technology... quite intreresting... probably reflects his own views on industrialization (sp?)

[Cassandria]

I had to revive this old thread, for in it is an interview by the Professor that I thought would greatly interest some of our new members. ;) (See the first post for the link to the interview :) )

For those of you who truly love Tolkien and have read all of the Lord of the Rings...this quote from the interview just says it all...

I wrote the last ... in about 1949 - I remember I actually wept at the denouement.

*sigh* :rose:

[Aletheia]

Thanks for reviving this Cass! :)

I love how in the interview Tolkien admits that he's made these gramatical mistakes but he justs laughs over it jokingly. What an amiable man! I think that made me love him more, if thats even possible. Oh to be that interviewer, sitting there and talking with the Professor! I''m rather jealous now really...

[Cassandria]

I know, I'm jealous too! Finding this interview was like finding a pot of gold for me! :cool:

Heehee I'll have to admit though :blush: I loved reading about the grammatical errors. Now I don't feel so bad that I have to have everything I write edited for me. :p