Tolkien and Alterity edited by Christopher Vaccaro and Yvette Kisor [Review]

Tolkien and Alterity features essays dedicated to Jane Chance, who has been publishing on Tolkien since 1980. As per the book’s introduction, “[d]ifference in Tolkien’s work is an abiding concern for Chance” (pg 5). Now, I am all over the place when it comes to reading Tolkien scholarship. I may have read one or two of Chance’s articles previously but I don’t recall. What I should do is make a timeline of seminal Tolkien scholarship and work my way through classic works, building up to more recent publications like this which heavily reference that past work… but here I am, lol. These Palgrave books are so accessible and tempting to acquire when on sale. (If you have an ordered reading list for Tolkien scholarship, please do share it with me.)

Collections of this sort are often a mixed bag, and this one is no exception. Occasionally interesting, sometimes a slog to get through, other times smooth reading but devoid content which interests me.

The first two essays are bibliographies running pages 17 through 74. For the most, I enjoyed reading them. I learnt quite a few things about the realm of study. I can appreciate the value of such bibliographies for those looking to explore certain topics further or engage in their own academic writing. But the two bibliographies comprise a significant portion of the text, when what I really wanted to read was the crticism itself and not a laundry list of where I can find it.

The first bibliography, “Queer Tolkien: A bibliographical essay on Tolkien and alterity” is both the shorter and drier of the two, exploring sexuality and identity. My main takeaway from this bibliography is that there has been far less has been published on the topic than I might have guessed. It was a good reminder that there is still so much yet to be explored in Tolkien scholarship. The second bibliography, “Race in Tolkien studies: a biblographical essay”, is actually the essay which stood out the most for me in this collection. I found author Robin Anne Reid’s commentary more reflective and insightful. Her closing thoughts on areas for future work are inspiring.

The growing awareness of the sociological definiton of racism as systemic and instituitonal rather than limited to personal prejudice, and the sociological analysis of types of racisms, including unconscious or aversive attitdes, all serve to complicate the idea that authorial intentionality can be used to support the idea of the best interpretation of a text.

Tolkien and Alterity pg 55

A couple other favourite essays from this collection are “Revising Lobelia” by Amy Amendt-Raduege and “Language and alterity in Tolkien and Levinas” by Deidre Dawson. Several essays I wished were longer, (including the aforementioned “Revising Lobelia” as well “The orcs and the others: familiarity as estrangement in The Lord of the Rings” by Verlyn Flieger), as I felt like they were just scrapping the tip of an interesting argument.

As I suppose is not uncommon when a lay person picks up an academic text, I did wonder at times whether I was just not smart enough to ‘get it’. But I think what truly is the case is that some of these topics are so niche, they just aren’t of relevance or interest to most folks. For example: my eyes glossed over while trying to read “Saruman’s sodomitic resonances: Alain de Lille’s De Planctu Naturae and J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings “. That’s why you should just read the articles or journal selections or whatever which interest you and skip the rest! But I love books, so I will continue to work my way through anything that’s been compiled into a manuscript 😛

💭 The Bottom Line: An intriguing mixed bag perhaps most valuable for its bibliographies, it wouldn’t hurt to pick this up if you’re looking to dive deep into academic discussions on alterity in Tolkien’s works of Middle-earth.

Have you read any non-fiction anthologies lately?
What’s a topic you like to read about even if you don’t understand all of it? 😝