Into the Wardrobe

Happy 115th Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
Born: 1892-01-03, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Died: 1973-09-02, Bournemouth, England

Birthday Toast 2007
January 3rd 2007 the toast will be "The Professor"! Sign up online to show you're taking part in this global celebration as fans around the world raise a glass and toast J.R.R. Tolkien's Birthday at


Perhaps in honor of the Professor, we could each say something about how his books have changed our lives or inspired us.

I'd say that Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and the rest of his works opened wider for me the door to philology, in it's truest sense meaning "the love of words." Tolkien has such a way of putting words together so that they sound pleasing, or frightening, or whatever he pleases. Even if you didn't know what a particular word meant, you could guess simply by it's harsh or soft sound. This is especially true in his alliterative poetry. Reading his works aloud is absolutely delicious!
Since reading Tolkien's works, I've come to love words simply for themselves. Thanks, Professor!

Happy Birthday, JRR! Thanks for creating Middle-Earth!

And did someone say Bloemfontein?

I'll be in the car on the way back from church at 9pm tonight, so I'll toast now.

The Professor!