I did ask him, as we began, one of the question that has burned in my mind since starting this project--is it pronounced "Tol-kin" or "Tol-keen". I found out that the later is the correct way. If I pick up nothing else this summer--at least I'll get the name right now!
It reminded me of one of my favorite passages from Frederick Buechner:
‘Buechner is my name. It is pronounced Beekner. If somebody mispronounces my name in some foolish way, I have the feeling that what’s foolish is me. If somebody forgets it, I feel that it’s I who am forgotten. I can’t imagine myself with any other name – Held, say, or Merrill, or Hlavacek. If my name were different, I would be different. When I tell you my name, I have given you a hold over me that you didn’t have before. If you call it out, I stop, look, and listen whether I want to or not. In the book of Exodus, God tells Moses that his name is Yahweh and God hasn’t had a peaceful moment since‘.
It was a delightful hour and a half of conversation and insight with my tutor. I left with an assignment--my first paper in, I don't know, at least 15 years. I think I can still double space and enlarge the font to disguise my ignorance! The topic will be "Overcoming The Temptation Of The Ring". Five characters in The Lord Of The Ring refuse the ring. I want to focus on Samwise Gamgee who is able to give up the ring because he is profoundly located in a particular place. The kicker is that in the Oxford system not only do I have to write said paper, I have to read it out loud to Dr. Caldecott in our next meeting and receive immediate feedback. Think of me next Wednesday!
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