Finding the Glitter in the Gold

Hannah comes to this episode with a lot of other people's opinions about Tolkien's poetry in Lord of the Rings, and Zoe comes to the episode with a lot of love in her heart for the poetry in Lord of the Rings. We attempt an analysis and also get side-tracked by things like the names for metrical feet and more Tolkien poetry recitations. Music Credits (via Free Music Archive): Intro/Outro - ‘Bagopolier Freylekhs’ by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

In this second part of our series on translating Tolkien, Hannah and Zoe talk about some of the stories around translating the Lord of the Rings trilogy into different real-world languages. We also discuss copyright law around translations, fanfiction, derivative works, and the performance arts (specifically, circus). Music Credits (via Free Music Archive): Intro/Outro - ‘Bagopolier Freylekhs’ by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Zoe and Hannah talk about some of the stories around translating The Hobbit into different real-world languages, including Swedish, Russian/Belarusian, Hebrew, Latin, and more! And Zoe sings a spontaneous song! Also, we did have to take a quick mid-episode research break to check the history between Armenia and the USSR, so look forward to hearing us attempt to self-educate in real time. Music Credits (via Free Music Archive): Intro/Outro - ‘Bagopolier Freylekhs’ by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash

Zoe discusses famous dragons of Middle Earth and Hannah has middle-grade dragon book recommendations if you want to email her for suggestions! A time well-spent discussing all the cool flying fire lizards of Middle Earth. Music Credits (via Free Music Archive): Intro/Outro - 'Bagopolier Freylekhs' by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash Background Music - ‘Downfall’ and ‘Sentinel’ by Kai Engel

Hannah talks with Zoe about the ways Tolkien inspired Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld books! Hannah talks about how satire can lead to some deep worldbuilding, too, and the ways Pratchett explored a lot of human issues with fantasy characters. Music Credits (via Free Music Archive): Intro/Outro - "Bagopolier Freylekhs" by Alicia Svigals/Lauren Brody Klezmer Mash Background Music - ‘Sentinel’ and ‘Homeroad’ by Kai Engel Water/stream sound effect from Free Sounds Library