ROME – “On 2 September 1973 the life of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, writer, academic and philologist, avid scholar but above all creator of invented worlds in which, however, eternal values are realized. Today he is rightly considered one of the most conspicuous personalities of world fiction, far beyond the fantasy genre in which attempts have been made to ‘enclose’ his work several times”. This was declared by the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano. “Exactly 50 years after his death, his stature as an author is unanimously recognized. He was a convinced Catholic who exalted the value of tradition, of the community and of the history to which he belongs, a true conservative one would say”, adds the minister . According to Sangiuliano, Tolkien’s work opens “the heart to the vision of something that goes beyond the prosaic nature of everyday life. Universal and timeless symbols, values that whisper within us. Tolkien summarizes everything with a famous phrase in the Lord of the Rings: “The roots depths do not freeze…”. He has produced something very ancient and new at the same time, that is, a universal mythology. His books, translated into dozens of languages, – he concludes – transmit generation after generation the value of human solidarity, of the defense of the community and of identity, as well as of nature”. Tolkien will be remembered with a major exhibition in Rome, the first of this size in Italy, strongly desired by Sangiuliano who announced it last July at the Fratelli d’Italia youth festival at the Eur lake, to applause from the public. But a series of new books are also on the way, including the expanded edition of a critical and militant essay by Wu Ming 4, new editions of cult volumes, as well as seminars, conferences, meetings. The master of fantasy John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa, of English parents, considered one of the founding writers of right-wing culture, idolized by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni but appreciated in the USA by hippies in the seventies, has Michela Murgia is also very passionate and very left. Loved across the board, he continues to speak to all generations. And fifty years after his death on September 2, 1973, and the Italian release of The Hobbit, he is celebrated with an avalanche of events that will last throughout the year. The key appointments are organized by the Italian Association of Tolkenian Studies are in Lucca and Dozza (Bologna) where La Tana del Drago is located, the first Italian study center dedicated to the figure of the Oxford Professor. The maestro will be remembered today at the Teatro di Dozza with the show of readings taken from his works The Great Stories never end and with, among other things, a speech by Andrea Tramontana, senior editor of Bompiani, dedicated to 50 years of publications, the unusual publishing history of JRR Tolkien. In Lucca a Journey through the landscapes in the life of JRR Tolkien with Cecilia Barella and Roberto Arduini, a harp concert by Arthuan Rebis, author of a very Tolkienian novel entitled Helughèa – the tale of a Leaf Star and the meeting A tea with Tolkien which will be attended by Eterea Edizioni, a reference point for Tolkienians in Italy. But the great expectation is for the exhibition JRRTolkien 1973-2023 Man-Professor-Author, by Alessandro Nicosia who curates it with Oronzo Cilli, member of the British Tolkien Society and president of the Associazione Tolkeniani Italiani, which opens on 14 November at the Galleria National of Modern Art in Rome promoted by the Ministry of Culture with over 150 works including photos, documents, films and virtual reconstructions where you can also see first editions of Tolkien’s books and then comics, animated series and games dedicated to him. The author of the Lord of the Rings saga that the Beatles dreamed of becoming a film directed by Stanley Kubrick interpreted by them, from which the blockbuster fantasy trilogy by New Zealand director Peter Jackson was taken and then many films and TV series, has sold since 2000 in Italy well over a million copies for Bompiani, its Italian publisher. And precisely for Bompiani this year the Lord of the Rings retranslated by Ottavio Fatica was released in a single volume, first published in three separate volumes. The medieval poems, with unpublished material, by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have just arrived in the bookstore in a new translation by Luca Manini. And the lost road and other writings (Bompiani) will be released on October 25 in the translation of Edoardo Rialti and Stefano Giorgianni, the fifth volume of the History of Middle-earth which contains the first myths and legends that led to the drafting of the epic tale of Tolkien’s War, The Silmarillion. Also on 25 October, a new piece of the great literary mosaic of the writer arrives in Italy for the first time: The Lai of Aotrou and Itroun (Bompiani), a journey into Celtic myths and legends, between loves, chivalry and curses. In addition to the essay JRR Tolkien Artist and Illustrator (Bompiani) by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull, translated by Alberto Gallo, a celebration of the writer’s artistic talent through the reproduction of 200 works including paintings, watercolours, drawings and sketches. In the Marietti1820 catalog you can find Tolkien: the man and the myth by J. Pearce; Tolkien by B. Rosebury, a study of the work from a literary aesthetic point of view, The Hobbit. A journey towards maturity by WH Green and The Broken Scythe on the themes of The Lord of the Rings. Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA
