by Adam Linton » August 28th, 2005, 10:33 pm
For those -- shall we say? -- deeply invested:
Not counting either The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, what would you say is your favorite Tolkien writing? (For me, by the way, without question, if one does count TLotR, that would be it.)
I would say (at least now), Tree and Leaf, which combines the essay "On Fairy Stories," Tolkien's outstanding presentation of his literary philosphy, along with "Leaf by Niggle," an allegory (a truly rare thing for Tolkien, as he wasn't fond of the form) which engagingly, almost hauntingly, considers the life's work of an artist. Tree and Leaf is readily and inexpensively available in paperback, included in The Tolkien Reader.
we have not loosely through silence permitted things to pass away as in a dream