Raise a Toast to the Professor!

It's J. R. R. Tolkien's birthday today, his 128th to be precise. A great intellect, a creative mind, and a man of faith; a humble man whose impact on our culture has become almost incalculable.

A man whose legacy seems to be in danger, to me, now that his son Christopher has retired from being conservator and gatekeeper. At least in the old days, writers who wanted to "expand" the Legendarium had to use some kind of obvious disguise; now expansions will operate with the shield of licensing. What will the new stories from Amazon about the Second Age contain? Will they contradict Tolkien's own philosophies and creations?

Frankly, I don't care. I don't plan on expending any time or resources on it. Only if something different is published from Tolkien's own files do I expect to buy any more Tolkien books. Or a volume containing his work on Finn and Hengest, The Old English Exodus, and The Ancrene Riwle, with perhaps his Middle English Dictionary from 14th Century Verse and Prose included. Now that would be worth having.