Brilliant scholarly review of THE COLLECTED POEMS OF JRR TOLKIEN

Just read John Holmes's lengthy "review" (actually, a 40-page critical essay!) on The Collected Poems of J. R. R.. Tolkien, edited by Cristina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, and all praise where praise is due -- this is one of the most lucid and enlightening articles I've ever encountered on Tolkien's verse.

It's extraordinarily well-written and, at times, even funny. It's charitable yet also appropriately critical -- personally, I get overly impatient with the vapid "thank you for existing" kinds of reviews, but Holmes provides a much-needed discussion on modern textual editing practices as well as the history of textual editing for Tolkien in particular.

This review also demonstrates a remarkable knowledgeable of medieval poetry and the history of poetry, which is a critical must for anyone trying to grasp Tolkien's verse, but something most academics are increasingly less likely to have nowadays.

This is definitely a text I'll be returning to repeatedly in the future. Check it out.

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