Sub-creating Arda: World-building in J.R.R. Tolkien's Work, its Precursors and its Legacies

by Dimitra Fimi (Editor), Thomas M. Honegger (Editor)

Overview

J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary cosmos may not be the most elaborate of the imaginary worlds in existence, it is certainly the most influential. The posthumous editorial work of Tolkien’s son Christopher has also shown that Arda remains unrivalled in its consistency and complexity. Additionally, the re-publication of Tolkien’s Andrew Lang lecture ‘On Fairy-stories’ (originally delivered 1939) and its interpretation within the discourse of literary fantasy has further strengthened his position as one of the foremost proponents of literary world-building or, as he himself preferred to call it, (literary) subcreation.

The contributions to this volume by Tom Shippey, John Garth, Mark J.P. Wolf, Kristine Larsen, Andrew Higgins, Allan Turner, Gergely Nagy, Renée Vink, and a dozen other scholars, discuss not only Tolkien’s theoretical concepts as well as his literary work but also explore the relationship between Tolkien’s approach with that of other ‘literary world-builders’ whose imaginary worlds have attracted readers and scholars alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783905703405
Publisher:	Walking Tree Publishers
Publication date:	02/15/2019
Series:	Cormarë , #40
Pages:	490
Sales rank:	431,207
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.99(d)

Table of Contents

Dimitra Fimi & Thomas Honegger - Introduction

Mark J.P. Wolf - Concerning the "Sub" in "Subcreation": The Act of Creating Under

Allan Turner - One Pair of Eyes: Focalisation and Worldbuilding

Massimiliano Izzo - Worldbuilding and Mythopoeia in Tolkien and post-Tolkienian Fantasy Literature

Péter Kristóf Makai - Beyond Fantastic Self-indulgence: Aesthetic Limits to World-building

N. Trevor Brierly - Worldbuilding Design Patterns in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien

John Garth - Ilu's Music: The Creation of of Tolkien's Creation Myth

Gergely Nagy - On No Magic in Tolkien: Resisting the Representational Criteria of Realism

Renée Vink - Tolkien the Tinkerer: World-building vs Storytelling

Jonathan Nauman - Composition as Exploration: Fictional Development in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Anahit Behrooz - Temporal Topographies: Mapping the Geological and Anthropological Effects of Time in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium

Robin Markus Auer - Sundering Seas and Watchers in the Water: Water as a Subversive Element in Middle-earth

Michaela Hausmann - Lyrics on Lost Lands: Constructing Lost Places through Poetry in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Hamish Williams - Mountain People in Middle-earth: Ecology and the Primitive

Timo Lothmann, Arndt Heilmann & Sven Hintzen - Then Smaug Spoke: On Constructing the Fantastic via Dialogue in Tolkien's Story Cosmos

Maureen F. Mann - Artefacts and Immersion in the Worldbuilding of Tolkien and the Brontës

Brad Lee Eden - Sub-creation by any Other Name: The Artist and God in the Early Twentieth Century

Kristine Larsen - A Mythology for Poland: Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher Fantasy Series as Tolkienian Subcreation

Andrew Higgins - More than Narrative: The Role of Paratexts in the World-building of Austin Tappan Wright, J.R.R. Tolkien and Ursula K. Le Guin

Tom Shippey - The Faërie World of Michael Swanwick

Łukasz Neubauer - Absence of gods vs. Absence of God: The Spiritual Landscapes of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and George R.R. Martin's Westeros