In the 18 days leading up to the publication of A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages yesterday, co-editors Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins tweeted sneak previews from the book. Here are just some of the reason why you should read the new critical edition of one of Tolkien’s most important essays.
A Secret Vice 18 tweets up to 7 April release by @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi @asthiggins #TolkiensSV @mythgardian @FiatLingua pic.twitter.com/nVC16AbUL7
— Dr. Andrew Higgins (@asthiggins) March 20, 2016
Reason #1
18 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #1: the book reveals when (to the hour!) + where #Tolkien delivered ‘A Secret Vice’ @TolkienSociety
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) March 21, 2016
Reason #2
17 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #2: #Tolkien expresses rather heretical views about sound-laws #philology @TolkienSociety @PhilSocUK
— Dr. Andrew Higgins (@asthiggins) March 22, 2016
Reason #3
16 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #3: a little-known Inkling features in a hitherto unpublished section of the talk .@HarperCollinsUK
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) March 23, 2016
Reason #4
15 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #4: a new invented language by #Tolkien revealed! @FiatLingua @mythgardian @theoneringnet @FanLit
— Dr. Andrew Higgins (@asthiggins) March 24, 2016
Reason #5
14 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #5: #Tolkien uses the term “proportional representation” – but in what context? .@TolkienSociety
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) March 25, 2016
Reason #6
13days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #6: #Tolkien references Henry Sweet (not that unexpected) &Sir Richard Paget (pretty unexpected!)
— Dr. Andrew Higgins (@asthiggins) March 26, 2016
Reason #7
12 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #7: In a draft of an Elvish poem #Tolkien wrote “Luthien he saw as a Fay from Fayland” @mythgardian
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) March 27, 2016
Reason #8
11 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #8: #Tolkien made a list of words from one of the pioneers of art-langs, #JonathanSwift @FiatLingua
— Dr. Andrew Higgins (@asthiggins) March 28, 2016
Reason #9
10 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #9: some unexpected modernists are referenced in #Tolkien’s notes! @UlyssesLives @JamesJoyceCentr
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) March 29, 2016
Reason #10
9 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #10: A Victorian farce performed in #Esperanto is mentioned by #Tolkien @FiatLingua @esperanto
— Dr. Andrew Higgins (@asthiggins) March 30, 2016
Reason #11
8 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #11: #Tolkien refers to a modern language as “fairly desiccated” – but which one? .@FiatLingua
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) March 31, 2016
Reason #12
7 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #12: some of #Tolkien‘s notes show the development of his Tree of Elvish tongues @FiatLingua
— Dr. Andrew Higgins (@asthiggins) April 1, 2016
Reason #13
6 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #13: #Tolkien exclaims ‘Let’s have lots of beautiful artificial languages’ @FiatLingua @mythgardian
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) April 2, 2016
Reason #14
5 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #14: #Tolkien calls one of #JonathanSwift‘s art-langs ‘largely an eye-joke (and not very good)’
— Dr. Andrew Higgins (@asthiggins) April 3, 2016
Reason #15
4 days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #15: #Tolkien characterises the aux-lang #Novial as ‘dreary, mass-produced’ @FiatLingua @esperanto
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) 4 April 2016
Reason #16
3days till #TolkiensSV! Sneak preview #16: variant draft examples of #Tolkien‘s earliest Elvish poem, Narqelion @TolkienSociety @FiatLingua
— Dr. Andrew Higgins (@asthiggins) April 5, 2016
Reason #17
#TolkiensSV released tomorrow! Sneak preview #17: #Tolkien refers to the Orcs as ‘stonefaces’ in a Noldorin poem @TolkienSociety @mytgardian
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) April 6, 2016
Reason #18
#TolkiensSV has just been published! Sneak preview #18: look for a mention of Homer, Beowulf and Esperanto in the same three lines! #Tolkien
— Dr Dimitra Fimi (@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi) April 7, 2016
