But she never considered publishing her poetry? I wish that so many more could have access to it.
As wonderful as it is, and as respectful of Tolkien as it is, I don't think her poetry could be published as long as it is illegal to publish pieces based on works still under copyright. Just as Tolkien fanfic can't be published, neither can poetry based on Tolkien. Unless they have changed the laws since I last looked. :)
I have to say, there is a real and tangible vacuum there too, in what is available online, in the sense that 95% or so of the creative force online is veered toward the sexual exploration of Tolkien's characters. I don't mind it as such, I just long for more of what *I* take from Lord of the Rings, which is so much more than that. Jan-u-wine's poetry has spoken to my longing, and like you say, she is so close to the characters and she brings us into that closeness. She does not give stones to those who ask for bread, if you will excuse a biblical saying.
I don't know what's out there in Tolkien fanfic, Eandme. I have read mostly romantic stories myself, but not that many of any sort. But when I used to look for stories at West of the Moon, it seemed to me that there were *tons* of stories and poems in the "Gen" section. This would include stories portraying Frodo in heterosexual relationships, but these were very few. Most of the stories in the Gen section--going by the posted ratings--had no erotic content.
I could be wrong, but I suspect that what you yearn for, and what Jan's writing satisfies, is a thirst for truly adult Tolkien-based literature. By "adult" I mean works written about adult themes in an adult manner. I don't equate "adult" with "eroticized". A story can be NC-17 and still be very childish in its perspective, making Tolkien's largely adult themes trivial or non-existent. Some Gen fic can be just as childish and far from Tolkien's original.
I think an "adult" work is adult according to its perspective and what it chooses to touch upon in any given story setting, whether it depicts a heated tryst or a hobbit putting out lettuce seedlings. No matter its surface subject, an adult story is going to be threaded through with adult themes, all of which thread through Tolkien's work: loss and the passing of time, the fading of what is beautiful, dealing with failures and uglinesses and sorrows, and learning to experience joy in ordinary things. I think this theme is very strong in Jan's work. This joy can be evoked by the turn of a head, the green-glossy back of a beetle, the sight of a favourite cup set out upon the tea tray when any vessel might have been offered. I think Jan's poem's capture the spirit of this joy--so keen and poignant touching upon small things--and make it a lucid, poignant experience for the reader.
I think she shows in her poetry the "old soul" Frodo is said to have, "old" not because he is prematurely aged or broken down or astonishingly wise, but in the way he exemplifies this "adult" attribute I am trying to describe. In spite of, or because of, what he has been through, he emerges with a keener (rather than dulled) sense for perceiving and rejoicing in these little things. When I was a child I ran heedless across lawns or fields, trampling little flowers and plants in order to get to whatever was the Great View. I still love a great view, but now I can appreciate the less spectular things to see and smell and touch along the way. Frodo seems to have been able to see these things, in an acute way, from early on. Or he does in our imaginations, and certainly in Jan's poetry. His early sensibility only seems to grow--it is not extinguished by what life has dealt him, or, he doen't *let it* become extinguished.
Well, I have rambled on! But thanks for the goad, Eandme. You make me think. :)
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As wonderful as it is, and as respectful of Tolkien as it is, I don't think her poetry could be published as long as it is illegal to publish pieces based on works still under copyright. Just as Tolkien fanfic can't be published, neither can poetry based on Tolkien. Unless they have changed the laws since I last looked. :)
I have to say, there is a real and tangible vacuum there too, in what is available online, in the sense that 95% or so of the creative force online is veered toward the sexual exploration of Tolkien's characters. I don't mind it as such, I just long for more of what *I* take from Lord of the Rings, which is so much more than that. Jan-u-wine's poetry has spoken to my longing, and like you say, she is so close to the characters and she brings us into that closeness. She does not give stones to those who ask for bread, if you will excuse a biblical saying.
I don't know what's out there in Tolkien fanfic, Eandme. I have read mostly romantic stories myself, but not that many of any sort. But when I used to look for stories at West of the Moon, it seemed to me that there were *tons* of stories and poems in the "Gen" section. This would include stories portraying Frodo in heterosexual relationships, but these were very few. Most of the stories in the Gen section--going by the posted ratings--had no erotic content.
I could be wrong, but I suspect that what you yearn for, and what Jan's writing satisfies, is a thirst for truly adult Tolkien-based literature. By "adult" I mean works written about adult themes in an adult manner. I don't equate "adult" with "eroticized". A story can be NC-17 and still be very childish in its perspective, making Tolkien's largely adult themes trivial or non-existent. Some Gen fic can be just as childish and far from Tolkien's original.
I think an "adult" work is adult according to its perspective and what it chooses to touch upon in any given story setting, whether it depicts a heated tryst or a hobbit putting out lettuce seedlings. No matter its surface subject, an adult story is going to be threaded through with adult themes, all of which thread through Tolkien's work: loss and the passing of time, the fading of what is beautiful, dealing with failures and uglinesses and sorrows, and learning to experience joy in ordinary things. I think this theme is very strong in Jan's work. This joy can be evoked by the turn of a head, the green-glossy back of a beetle, the sight of a favourite cup set out upon the tea tray when any vessel might have been offered. I think Jan's poem's capture the spirit of this joy--so keen and poignant touching upon small things--and make it a lucid, poignant experience for the reader.
I think she shows in her poetry the "old soul" Frodo is said to have, "old" not because he is prematurely aged or broken down or astonishingly wise, but in the way he exemplifies this "adult" attribute I am trying to describe. In spite of, or because of, what he has been through, he emerges with a keener (rather than dulled) sense for perceiving and rejoicing in these little things. When I was a child I ran heedless across lawns or fields, trampling little flowers and plants in order to get to whatever was the Great View. I still love a great view, but now I can appreciate the less spectular things to see and smell and touch along the way. Frodo seems to have been able to see these things, in an acute way, from early on. Or he does in our imaginations, and certainly in Jan's poetry. His early sensibility only seems to grow--it is not extinguished by what life has dealt him, or, he doen't *let it* become extinguished.
Well, I have rambled on! But thanks for the goad, Eandme. You make me think. :)