Collected and translated by Lars-Terje Lysemose
From Athelas in English 1994. Copyright Imladris - Danmarks Tolkienforening
"I know few works like Tolkien's which cause such a veritable emotional storm, which cause eyes to shine and hands to flutter enthusiastically in their attempt to describe all this land, this universe..." Inge Søbæk, Denmark.
"In this rainy autumn it was like getting a glimpse of Laurelin and Telperion when I found out that Denmark had got her own Tolkien society..." Thomas Mikkelsen, Denmark.
The Lord of the Rings is a world full of joy, friendship, loyalty and dispair; set up in fantastic contrasts. You come to love Frodo, the thoughtful hobbit, the loyal and a bit naïve Sam Gamgee, Gandalf the Grey (or White!), Aragorn, Elrond, and so on and hate Sauron, the Black Riders, the orcs, Mordor etc. whereas the views of Saruman, Smèagol and other characters are more balanced. All the characters, lands, mountains, towns, castles, towers, kings and peoples that appear in The Lord of the Rings seem overwhelming but are nothing against the sinking feeling, the immense historical and mythological space which The Silmarillion gives..." Martin Frøsig, Denmark.
"'It is true that for ever after he remained an elf-friend, and had the honour of dwarves, wizards, and all such folk as ever passed that way; but he was no longer quite respectable'. Sometimes I have felt this deep in my soul, and it has (I must admit) taken some time before I found a fitting philosophy; what can we use Tolkien for today, etc. As I have said, I find him more important than ever and have no scruples about admitting that I read 'fairy-stories' and I often draw out my 3 volumes' thick work on the S-trains..." Inge Søbæk, Denmark
"In general we are sympathetic to requests from the various Tolkien societies to quote from Tolkien's works but they should write to ask permission, addressing their letters to me in the first instance. There would normally be no problem about a society adopting a Tolkienian name..." Mary Butler, HarperCollins Publishers, United Kingdom.
"It was in the summer of 1983 when I was 11 years old that my mother gave me the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, and after that it is the same old story. I had to get all the other books. By the end of the year I had read all the Finnish editions of Tolkien's books (even Bored of the Rings, I think!) and searched for English editions in book shops. Then, my 'mania' began gradually. When I come to think of it, it is rather odd that I was taken seriously at all when I wanted to order certain books from England at an age of 12..." Mikael Ahlström, Finland.
"When other members of my smial saw your photographs, they said to me, 'all chairmen of Tolkien societies look like the same' and 'all you must be clones from an archaetipical original chairman' or, simply, 'is he your brother?' So you went to Güell's Park. Did you like it? I think it's a very interesting place, including the dragon in the main entrance. I read you went to a lot of boring museums (Picasso, Dalí...), too many in little time. I prefer the old part of Barcelona: there are hidden marvels in the Barrio Gótico such as Roman tombs and towers, old Jew streets, etc... I see you enjoyed Gaudí's buildings: I have always thought that Noldor art would be very similar to Modernism..." Pablo J. Ginés Rodríguez, Spain.
"The sort of dedication involved in a Tolkien society sometimes costs at lot in terms of effort, time, relationship, work. So be aware!" Malcolm Lindley, United Kingdom.
"Gothmog turned pale, Orodruin trembled. Minas Tirith shook to its foundations. So great was my enthusiasm when I came to know you and the Danish Tolkien Society..." Mads V. Stigaard, Denmark.
"One day towards evening it happened that I, Samhost the Brave, Knight of the Happy Dale, parked my two-wheeled steed by the foot of the proudly towered library in the town of the three falcons. After having conferred with a certain Mr Butterbur who promised to take care of my steed and give him his good wheat, I ventured into the vaults and my gaze fell on a quite beautiful looking poster. I immediately got associations to the mountainous parts of my native country and made a quick note of the address which apparently belonged to the landscape illustrated. The day after I received a letter with the following wording: 'Keep your fingers off the Danish Tolkien Society, there are already more than enough people who have witnessed my subjugation. Otherwise it will be worst for yourself. Sauron.' Of course, being a knight I cannot let that sort of threat pass without being filled with a kind of excitement. Who is this so-called Sauron and what can he have against my newfound interest in the Tolkien society? I called my good friend Dr. Watson, who long ago was occupied with some detective work together with a friend, and asked him if he knew anything about a certain Mr Sauron. Watson thought he had heard the name before but he couldn't immediately come to think of in what connection. He mentioned a certain Professor Moriarty who possibly knew something. I immediately called Miss Operator, another good acquaintance, but was informed that Professor Moriarty had been dead for quite some years. The mystery seemed insoluble if I shouldn't disregard the threatening letter and contact the Tolkien Society which was probably at the heart of the matter. I was at my wits' end and decided to sleep on it. I dreamt of a white-haired, long-bearded fellow who said his name was Gandalf. It may sound odd but in the dream he advised me to contact you folk right away. He said that Sauron was a bad fellow who has had some business with a certain Melkor and had tried to conquer the world. He failed, however, and Melkor is said to have ended up in some crevasse. Gandalf made 5 or 6 light green smoke-rings with the smoke of his pipe and then slowly disappeared. Then, I woke up and decided that it would be wisest to contact you anyway..." Thomas Mikkelsen, Denmark.
"Fancy that anyone has thought that The Hobbit was only for children between the ages of 5 and 9! I will persistently claim that Rayner Unwin has forgotten a 0 after 9! But he is forgiven. Considering the fact that he let Tolkien slip through the eye of a needle and then for only 1 shilling! My Goodness! Now I can better undstand why you said that it is a children's book. All right, but I am not over 90, yet..." Inge Søbæk, Denmark.
"I do not know much of Tolkien inspired music but I should mention Boris Grebenshchikov and Aquarium, Vyacheslav Butusov and Nautilus-Pompilius. They are known as Tolkien-fans, and some songs of theirs have a Tolkien background..." Gregory V. Grigorev, Russia.
"Tom Shippey was no doubt the brightest star of the Centenary Conference as he had already been at the Tolkien Phenomenon conference in Turku. He speaks so incredibly well... and is moreover a very nice person. In my opinion he belongs to the few people who follow a real healthy life philosophy, they say what they think and do what they want with an open mind. I'll never forget how he made us hurry to a pub one evening five minutes before it closed and afterwards came to my room with all us Finns and Jan and René of the Netherlands and told us many interesting disclosures of Christopher Tolkien..." Mikael Ahlström, Finland.
"Maybe you will have an unexpected party one of these days (or at least an unexpected present or two!). In any case, I hope the menu will show a lot more than roast mutton, but perhaps a short rest would suit you fine, while you tell a holiday story from Lapland: Over hill and under hill!! Well now, my friend, I will stop playing riddles in the dark and get to the point; out of the frying-pan into the fire, so to speak (if you take my meaning!). I have found some queer lodgings, I'm afriad it is. Flies and spiders, there are, but a bit of dustcleaning will make it nice and homely for our first meeting in the society. I have thought of putting up a sign over the door: 'Barrels out of bond'. What do you think? Or maybe you prefer that I write 'A warm welcome' on the doorstep?! Maybe you feel the heavy presure from all the work that have to be done in our society, like the gathering of the clouds? Even I sometimes feel like a thief in the night when I steel time to make phone calls when I should be working - well it's not so bad after all! I have a feeling that the clouds burst once we meet, so when you reach to the return journey, you will find that everything you hoped for has come true - and everything you feared hasn't! May the star that shines on the hour of our meeting never fall down!" Inge Søbæk, Denmark.