Luke Shelton, PhD

That’s awful, I’m sorry

Thanks for the mention, happy to help!

The archivist in charge of 11,000 pages of original Lord of the Rings drafts at Marquette University The journey to Middle-earth and understanding J. R. R. Tolkien begins inside Marquette University's archives, which has more than 11,000 pages of drafts for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

The journey to Middle-earth and understanding J. R. R. Tolkien begins inside Marquette University's archives, which has more than 11,000 pages of drafts for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Something something, don’t throw rocks…

Shorte filme concept:

Post-credits scenes for everye Shakespeare playe

Congratulations!

PSA.

Turn this off if you still have an Academia.edu account.

Instead, I love dealing in the thousand thousands of different interpretations.

I have written elsewhere that we should “embrace the messiness” because that is where all of the fun parts are!

Who can possibly explain all of the thoughts and feelings they have about someone they care for so dearly to another person? Who can write it?

Authors who can come close are the ones we remember and cherish. But it is never exactly right, is it?

It is never exactly as we feel.

Furthermore, this heartfelt action only underscores that not even the people closest to Tolkien, not even Christopher (his son and literary executor), could know all of the intricacies that Tolkien had in mind for the character.

To apply this to a very obvious example from Middle-earth: Tolkien decides to put “Lúthien” on Edith’s headstone.

That means that everyone who read LotR before this gesture became public had no idea the associations Tolkien was making between Edith/Luthien.

Basically, we can use “misreading” to help us understand that NO ONE will ever have the exact same reading as the author of a work.

Every reading is, therefore, to some extent a misreading.

Harold Bloom was not the greatest fan of Tolkien (even though he edited multiple collections about him/his works). But I find his concept of “misreading” really valuable when thinking about interpretations of a work.

Very excited to see this book ready for pre-order! mcfarlandbooks.com/product/Quee...

"Parma Eldalamberon 17: Words, Phrases & Passages in _The Lord of the Rings_" is available again on demand at:
The Great British Bookshop:
www.thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk/products/par...
and at:
Barnes and Noble:
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/parma-elda...

Here again are alternative and credible sources for vaccine information and guidance until sanity returns in US Public Health :
WHO - www.who.int/teams/immuni...
Canada - www.canada.ca/en/public-he...
ECDC - www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/immunisat...
U.K - www.gov.uk/government/p...

I am revisiting my PhD thesis to mine it for some upcoming things, and I am struck once again by the incredible aptitude for compassion and generosity that these young readers have.

Many congratulations!

ATTENTION! 🐰LATE FOR A VERY IMPORTANT DATE? 🐰Fear not! We're extending the Call for Papers for ONE WEEK from today, due to the high number of enquiries & excellent proposals we've received at, well, white rabbit o'clock! Missed the deadline? Now is your chance! Spread the word

Up now on JTR: 'Tolkien & Psychology'. Papers by @nicholasbirns.bsky.social, @cameronbourquein.bsky.social, @drfairylelie.bsky.social, Mareike Huber, Kris Larsen, Martin Hauberg-Lund Laugesen & Bo Kampmann Walther, Ali Mirzabayati, Dawn Walls-Thumma, & me! scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftol...

Westmoot 2025 Closing Address I was the deputy chair of Westmoot, the Tolkien Society’s recent event in the United States. This is the closing address that I gave for the event!

I have published my closing remarks for #Westmoot! luke-shelton.com/2025/05/13/w... #westmoot25 @westmoot.org

So glad you had an enjoyable time. It won’t be long before the planning starts for next year!

Westmoot 2025 Closing Address I was the deputy chair of Westmoot, the Tolkien Society’s recent event in the United States. This is the closing address that I gave for the event!

I have published my closing remarks for #Westmoot! luke-shelton.com/2025/05/13/w... #westmoot25 @westmoot.org

This year, we were spoiled with keynotes by @annasmol.bsky.social, @donatoarts.bsky.social, and @banzailibrarian.bsky.social. It will be tough to come up with a lineup any better than that! #westmoot #westmoot25

Thoughts on Post-Conference Feelings and Imposter Syndrome Hello everyone, I posted this thread on my social media sites, and it received some attention, so I thought it might be worth sharing here, and I will also elaborate a little more because I can do …

#Westmoot has been a very rewarding experience over the past few days. Now come the post-conference blues. I revisited this old blog post to give myself some important reminders, and I post it here in case someone else finds it helpful, too: luke-shelton.com/2019/08/15/t...

Thoughts on Post-Conference Feelings and Imposter Syndrome Hello everyone, I posted this thread on my social media sites, and it received some attention, so I thought it might be worth sharing here, and I will also elaborate a little more because I can do …

#Westmoot has been a very rewarding experience over the past few days. Now come the post-conference blues. I revisited this old blog post to give myself some important reminders, and I post it here in case someone else finds it helpful, too: luke-shelton.com/2019/08/15/t...

A graphic with a dark green background, the Westmoot ship logo in the lower right corner, and white text reading, “Posting from Westmoot? Please tag us using our hashtags! #westmoot #westmoot25 #intothewest”

Are you posting at Westmoot? Please tag us using our hashtags so we can see all the fun!

www.westmoot.org

#westmoot #westmoot25 #intothewest

Four images of people speaking at a podium during the Welcome at Westmoot on Friday evening.

During the Welcome this evening, we heard from #Westmoot25 Chair Asli Johnston and Deputy Chair Luke Shelton; and from Tolkien Society Chair Shaun Gunner and Education Secretary Will Sherwood. The whole evening was hosted by special guest Knewbettadobetta! What a night!

#Westmoot #intothewest