I feel like we're seeing that moment so many of us have had as a young writer where we 1) do things because we've watched enough other writers to know we're supposed to and 2) eventually come to realize that we don't actually have to.
I'm not even sure it's that (or only that). I think part of is also simply a change in personal taste as Tolkien moved further and further away from Romantic Victorian literature and delved into the actual medieval material that inspired a lot of it, and realised how far apart they are and that he happens to prefer the original. I'm sure he did like the image of a ceiling made of bats' wings back in 1917. (IIRC, Edith was very fond of Victorian-style fairies, so that might also have been a bit of an influence...)
I love the idea of a community fund or resource shop that's been raised in other comments. It won't solve all problems with the inequity in fandom, but it could be a move in the right direction.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-09-24 04:59 pm (UTC)I'm not even sure it's that (or only that). I think part of is also simply a change in personal taste as Tolkien moved further and further away from Romantic Victorian literature and delved into the actual medieval material that inspired a lot of it, and realised how far apart they are and that he happens to prefer the original. I'm sure he did like the image of a ceiling made of bats' wings back in 1917. (IIRC, Edith was very fond of Victorian-style fairies, so that might also have been a bit of an influence...)
I love the idea of a community fund or resource shop that's been raised in other comments. It won't solve all problems with the inequity in fandom, but it could be a move in the right direction.