Verlyn Flieger (born 1933) is an author,
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, o ...
, and Professor Emerita in the Department of English at the
University of Maryland at College Park, where she taught courses in comparative
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
, medieval literature, and the works of
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and '' The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawl ...
. She is well known as a
Tolkien scholar, especially for her books ''
Splintered Light
''Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World'' is an 1983 book of literary criticism by the leading Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger, in which she argues that light is a central theme of Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology, in particu ...
'' and ''A Question of Time''. She has won the
Mythopoeic Scholarship Award four times for her work on Tolkien's
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...
writings.
Biography
Flieger holds a master's degree (1972) and doctorate (1977) from
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
, and has been associated with the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...
since 1976. In 2012, retiring from teaching at Maryland, Flieger began teaching
Arthurian studies online at
Signum University
Signum University is a non-profit, online graduate school based in New Hampshire, granting the degree of Master of Arts in Language and Literature. Its founder and president is Corey Olsen.
Signum's master's degree program has four areas of co ...
.
Her best-known books are ''
Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World'' (1983; revised edition, 2002), which argues that
light is a central theme of Tolkien's
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...
mythology; ''A Question of Time: J. R. R. Tolkien's Road to Faerie'', which won the 1998
Mythopoeic Award for
Inklings
The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who ...
studies; and ''Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien's Mythology'' (2005). The Tolkien scholar
Bradford Lee Eden describes ''Splintered Light'' as "the most important and influential book on both language and music in Tolkien's works", discussing how the two are interwoven as "central themes" throughout ''
The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel ...
''.
She won the
Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies a second time in 2002 for ''
Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth'', which she co-edited with
Carl Hostetter; J. S. Ryan, reviewing the book for ''VII'', called it a "luminous companion" to the 12 volumes of ''
The History of Middle-earth
''The History of Middle-earth'' is a 12-volume series of books published between 1983 and 1996 that collect and analyse much of Tolkien's legendarium, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. The series shows the development over ti ...
'', and "clearly indispensable".
Ryan stated that it "pays a much merited tribute"
to
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 16 January 2020) was an English academic editor, becoming a French citizen in later life. The son of author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien edited much of his father' ...
's six decades or more of work on his father's writings, indeed from his childhood as one of the original audience for ''The Hobbit''. Ryan describes the 14 essays as "carefully argued", noting among other things Bratman's description of the 4
styles Tolkien used in the Legendarium as "Annalistic, Antique, Appendical, and Philosophical".
In 2013 she won the Mythopoeic Award again for ''Green Suns and Faërie: Essays on J. R. R. Tolkien'', and in 2019, for a fourth time, for ''There Would Always Be a Fairy Tale: More Essays on Tolkien''.
Flieger has written two
young adult fantasies, ''Pig Tale'' and ''The Inn at Corbies' Caww'', a collection of
Arthurian
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...
stories, ''Arthurian Voices'', and some short stories.
With
David Bratman and
Michael D. C. Drout, she is co-editor of ''
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review''.
Books
Scholarly
; written
* 1983 ''
Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World'' (2002 edition )
* 2001 ''A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien's Road to Faerie'', 2001,
* 2005 ''Interrupted Music: The Making Of Tolkien's Mythology'',
* 2012 ''Green Suns and Faerie: Essays on J.R.R. Tolkien'',
* 2019 ''There Would Always be a Fairytale: More Essays on Tolkien'',
; edited
* 2000 ''
Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth'' (with
Carl Hostetter),
* 2005 ''
Smith of Wootton Major'' by J.R.R. Tolkien, extended critical edition,
* 2008 ''Tolkien on Fairy-stories'' by J.R.R. Tolkien (with
Douglas A. Anderson),
* 2015 ''
The Story of Kullervo'' by J.R.R. Tolkien,
* 2016 ''
The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun'' by J.R.R. Tolkien,
Fiction
* 2000 "Avilion" in ''The Doom of Camelot'', ed. James Lowder
* 2002 ''Pig Tale'',
* 2005 "Green Hill Country" in ''Seekers of Dreams'', ed.
Douglas A. Anderson
* 2011 ''The Inn at Corbies' Caww'', Kitsune Books,
* 2020 ''Arthurian Voices'', The Gabbro Head Press,
References
External links
Tolkien Studies bibliographic information at Muse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flieger, Verlyn
1933 births
Living people
Tolkien studies
American academics of English literature
Catholic University of America alumni
University of Maryland, College Park faculty
American short story writers