Tag Archives: Geoffrey Bache Smith

An award on behalf of Tolkien, 50 years on

It’s not every day that you receive an award also given to the director-general of Syrian antiquities, the director of archaeology at Troy and the director of the Colosseum in Rome. But that day came for me on 3 September. … Continue reading

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The mood music of G.B. Smith, T.C.B.S.

In a guest post, Allan Turner, Tolkien scholar and formerly Lecturer in English at the University of Jena, Germany, provides a musical insight into A Spring Harvest, the 1918 anthology of Geoffrey Bache Smith’s poetry co-edited by his friend J.R.R, … Continue reading

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Making an ass of yourself, with Geoffrey Bache Smith

I’ve just returned from the first-ever conference focusing on Geoffrey Bache Smith, his poetry, and his influence on his great friend, Tolkien. In a previous post, I spotlighted an under-appreciated aspect of Smith: his sense of humour. In this new … Continue reading

Posted in John Garth’s writing, Research tangents | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The dream of Geoffrey Bache Smith

It’s not often you stumble upon a piece of writing by a key member of Tolkien’s school circle, the T.C.B.S. Today I am pleased as Punch to be able to present such a piece by G.B. Smith, to mark his … Continue reading

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Testing time for Tolkien, the Inklings and the T.C.B.S.

Even after 30-odd years it still happens. I’m in the middle of dusty nowhere trying to lug a broken television set across Spain, or I’m arguing with some bureaucrat who won’t let me get going, or I’m hopelessly lost in … Continue reading

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Tolkien’s ‘immortal four’ meet for the last time

Best Article, Tolkien Society Awards 2016 Also available in Spanish and Portuguese. One hundred years ago today, four young men convened in an English town, not having seen each other for some time. What makes this trivial event significant is … Continue reading

Posted in Research tangents, Tolkien in the First World War | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Why World War One Is at the heart of Lord of the Rings

It’s sixty years since the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien’s first volume of The Lord of The Rings. Why was he so inspired by the Great War—and a group of schoolfriends? War runs like iron ore through the bones of Tolkien’s … Continue reading

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