A Hobbit, a Wardrobe and a Great Film about the Great War

After watching a televised World War II movie with my father one evening (it may have been Patton or The Guns of Navarone) he turned down the volume during the film's closing credits. "People always give generals like Patton and MacArthur credit for winning World War II," he quietly commented from his recliner. "But that … Continue reading A Hobbit, a Wardrobe and a Great Film about the Great War

Tolkien, Trees and a Naturalist’s Notebook: Noticing Nature as Mordor Looms

"In all my works I take the part of trees against all their enemies," J.R.R. Tolkien wrote late in his life.  The Master of Middle Earth even referred on one occasion to The Lord of the Rings as "my own inner tree." With springtime erupting everywhere, I've been reading Humphrey Carpenter's J.R.R. Tolkein:  A Biography.  … Continue reading Tolkien, Trees and a Naturalist’s Notebook: Noticing Nature as Mordor Looms

Wander into the Wardrobe: Reasons to Return to Narnia in December

Along with the pleasure of lighting the Advent wreath, of busy preparations and programs and starry night silence, I love to return to the land of the lamp post in December, to do battle against the White Witch who made made Narnia always winter but never Christmas. I refuse to join the war between fans … Continue reading Wander into the Wardrobe: Reasons to Return to Narnia in December