Lord of the Rings Tribute

This maybe a bit late or out of time. But I guess in my case I think I still need to give my toast to an author I really admire so much. One who has been widely read cannot ignore the fact that J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the few literary geniuses of our time. His prodigy comes from a variety of angles: his vision, his universe, his insight into the deeply spiritual aspect of our times and his passion for the genre he helped to popularize.

Tolkien created a literary universe filled with eponymous names and archetypal characters. These literary figments have been taken from his visions of a moral and deeply spiritual cosmos. I have in mind of course his Lord of the Rings and their affiliate literary books:The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, Lays of Beleriand, Shaping of Middle Earth, Lost Tales, Unfinished Tales, etc.
When one takes the time to read through all these works, one cannot ignore the vast and deep insight Tolkien has of human nature and its implications as it is lived through the modern eyes.
Tolkien not only translates this vision but he admirably weaves a wonderful tale that no willing listener by the fireplace wouldn't ignore. A parallel world set in a different place and time with preternatural beings endowed with certain fantastic traits fill his pages. Here, he engages his readers with a creative plot to present a moral universe filled with decisions to be made by larger than life characters.

The mystical and the magical fuse in Tolkien's literary fabric as he presents the reality and corrupting power of evil (Gollum, Sauron, Feanor, Bilbo), the decisions every perosn must make and its consequences ( Galadriel, sons of Feanor, Thingol, Frodo, Aragorn), the mythological backdraft in which he sets these tales (Middlearth, Valinor, Beleriand) in order to cast a magical element and a sense of remoteness of the storyline and his commitment to fully realize his themes through creating languages, geography and culture in his imaginary universe.

I have seriously followed his lead, dropped his books only when necessary (like going to work, darn!) and tried to understand his focus. Tolkien really rules! While indeed he makes use of an English that is a bit not akin to the language spoken by my age and even the young ones I encourage to read, it is indeed a rewarding task once one takes this attempt to join the adventure with him. Tolkien is a great read. I wish children these days would grab a copy of him and pore through the pages of this Englishman. He is a master storyteller and at the same time a moral visionary fit for the electronically plugged generation of this age.