Hello,

I’ve had very little to say recently, but here comes an update. I’ve nearly finished my WW1 play, just the final draft to edit. I abandoned my Sassoon biography because I do not have the brain capacity for it right now, and I have somewhat impetuously hopped back on the train: destination PhD. The train is only beginning its journey, and I may depart before it reaches its destination, but I’m happy to simply be on the train because it is nice to be going somewhere. I have a topic; it just needs development.

One of my PhD ideas, though, was something on Tolkien, because he is just such a cool dude. However, I finally read The Hobbit, and I did enjoy it, I can understand why it is beloved and Tolkien is of course a good writer, but I didn’t enjoy it enough to want to read The Lord of the Rings, however much I love the author. I didn’t think it would be fair to Tolkien to write a PhD on him without giving his work due diligence. I did have a prior related idea, but I wasn’t sure how practical it was, and it felt too niche for a PhD.

But I propose a regular series of Tolkien posts that perhaps could one day be amalgamated into a book. I just keep reading about him. And recently I was stopping by Oxford, so I visited his grave. The ground around it has been worn down by many feet, and there are signposts in the cemetery directing you to it.

That’s my piece for now.

E