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China Mieville on Tolkien and Epic/High Fantasy
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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 1217142" data-attributes="member: 177"><p>No, actually the statement, "I am not interested in Tolkien's intentions -- his intentions have nothing to do with the interpretation of his book," sounds like dismissal. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And this is a point I don't agree with. We can evaluate interpretations according to how well they correspond to author's statements, we just have to keep our brains in gear while doing so. </p><p></p><p>We must keep in mind how much we trust the author. By description, I wouldn't trust what China says about his own work, as he seems to be trying very hard to hype himself. I'd trust Tolkien more, but only to a point. From what I've read, Tolkien was a very private man, uncomfortable with the spotlight his work focused upon him. I'd expect some of his statements to be colored by his modesty and wish to remain off center stage.</p><p></p><p>The other thing we must remember is that the artist does not see and know everything there is to be seen and known about a work. The author knows quite a few things, but is also very close tot he work, and has ego wrapped up in the mess. That can tend to put blinders on. In addition, the author is not the only participant in the reading. Art is about both the artist and the audience.</p><p></p><p>So, the author is not paramount, but neither are they irrelevant. Heck, I'd say that among the hallmarks of a good author is the ability to engage the reader fully, and still get the intended messages across. And you cannot tell if that's happening if you ignore whatthe author intended.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Yea and verily, it is so <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 1217142, member: 177"] No, actually the statement, "I am not interested in Tolkien's intentions -- his intentions have nothing to do with the interpretation of his book," sounds like dismissal. :) And this is a point I don't agree with. We can evaluate interpretations according to how well they correspond to author's statements, we just have to keep our brains in gear while doing so. We must keep in mind how much we trust the author. By description, I wouldn't trust what China says about his own work, as he seems to be trying very hard to hype himself. I'd trust Tolkien more, but only to a point. From what I've read, Tolkien was a very private man, uncomfortable with the spotlight his work focused upon him. I'd expect some of his statements to be colored by his modesty and wish to remain off center stage. The other thing we must remember is that the artist does not see and know everything there is to be seen and known about a work. The author knows quite a few things, but is also very close tot he work, and has ego wrapped up in the mess. That can tend to put blinders on. In addition, the author is not the only participant in the reading. Art is about both the artist and the audience. So, the author is not paramount, but neither are they irrelevant. Heck, I'd say that among the hallmarks of a good author is the ability to engage the reader fully, and still get the intended messages across. And you cannot tell if that's happening if you ignore whatthe author intended. Yea and verily, it is so :) [/QUOTE]
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