January 3
Today is the birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien born 1892. One day, while grading exams, he discovered that a student had left one whole page in his examination booklet blank. Tolkien, for reasons unknown even to him, wrote on the page, "In a hole ...in the ground there lived a hobbit." This single line turned into a bedtime story that he told his children, and from there, a book: The Hobbit (1937). The original cover is shown here.
I remember discovering The Hobbit when I was around 16. I can't remember how I got the book. I was a voracious reader andI devoured it, my mouth agape, having never read anything quite like it before. When I finished, I read it again. Hungry for more, I read Lord of the Rings. People often talked about how great LOTR was, but I always preferred Bilbo Baggins's adventures in The Hobbit. I haven't seen Peter Jackson's film on The Hobbit yet, but I will. I thrilled to the Ring trilogy. Peter Jackson clearly is passionate about the book and all its vivid imagry. I think ol' Tolkein would have approved of Jackson's fiilms.
Interesting that both the author, Tolkein, and the filmmaker who brought the story to life on screen, Jackson, were transfixed by their vision of the story. Yet both approached the story with very different backgrounds. Tolkein studied classics, language, and literature at Oxford. When Jackson was 16 years old, he left school and began working full-time as a photo-engraver for the local newspaper. For the 7 years he worked there, Jackson lived at home with his parents so he could save as much money as possible to spend on film equipment.
Makes one wonder if genius comes as a spark in life from some outer source, or if one is simply born with it? Do we need formal training to develop ideas, or do we need instead to be disciplined enough to allow the creativity to flow out?
I remember discovering The Hobbit when I was around 16. I can't remember how I got the book. I was a voracious reader andI devoured it, my mouth agape, having never read anything quite like it before. When I finished, I read it again. Hungry for more, I read Lord of the Rings. People often talked about how great LOTR was, but I always preferred Bilbo Baggins's adventures in The Hobbit. I haven't seen Peter Jackson's film on The Hobbit yet, but I will. I thrilled to the Ring trilogy. Peter Jackson clearly is passionate about the book and all its vivid imagry. I think ol' Tolkein would have approved of Jackson's fiilms.
Interesting that both the author, Tolkein, and the filmmaker who brought the story to life on screen, Jackson, were transfixed by their vision of the story. Yet both approached the story with very different backgrounds. Tolkein studied classics, language, and literature at Oxford. When Jackson was 16 years old, he left school and began working full-time as a photo-engraver for the local newspaper. For the 7 years he worked there, Jackson lived at home with his parents so he could save as much money as possible to spend on film equipment.
Makes one wonder if genius comes as a spark in life from some outer source, or if one is simply born with it? Do we need formal training to develop ideas, or do we need instead to be disciplined enough to allow the creativity to flow out?
