"'A Kind of Elvish Craft': Tolkien as Literary
Craftsman"
John D. Rateliff
Thursday, October 4, 2007
4:00 p.m.
Raynor Library Conference Center
Beaumier Suites B-C (Lower Level)
All students, faculty, and staff are invited to hear MU grad John Rateliff (Ph.D., '90, English) talk
about his research on J.R.R. Tolkien. Dr. Rateliff earned his doctorate in English from Marquette
and has worked with the Tolkien manuscripts at Marquette for over 25 years. HarperCollins
recently published his 2-volume The
History of the Hobbit: Mr. Baggins (vol.1) and Return to Bag-End (vol. 2).
A native of Magnolia, Arkansas, Rateliff was in junior high school when he discovered a copy
of The Lord of the Rings at his public library. Over the next few years Rateliff
"tracked down everything I could find that Tolkien had ever published, even out-of-print
poems." He also began investigating myth and medieval English literature, such as
Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. As an
undergraduate he petitioned his college to offer a course on J.R.R. Tolkien, and he selected
Marquette for graduate studies because of the manuscripts preserved within the Department of
Special Collections and Archives.
A question and answer session and book signing will immediately follow the presentation.
The event is free and open to all. A Marquette ID card is required to enter Raynor Library;
members of the general public are welcome, but must pre-register at least 24 hours in advance of
the program. Phone: 414-288-5901 or e-mail: matt.blessing@marquette.edu. Questions
concerning the event may be addressed to Matt Blessing.
Dr. Rateliff's appearance is sponsored by the Raynor Memorial Libraries' Tolkien Archives Fund.
The event is part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the
acquisition of the Tolkien
manuscripts. |
