A-Z Challenge: T is for Tolkien

I'm not a big fan of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I have read them and seen the movie.  I'm not an expert or anything on the author, J.R.R. Tolkien, but I do know a little bit being that we didn't just pass over him in Children's Lit.

Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor.  A philologist is a linguist who studies written text.  He is best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I have not read The Hobbit or see the movie, but I do kind of want to because I have read Lord of the Rings.

Ten Facts about Tolkien:

• 1892, January 3 born.
• 1925-1945, Rawlison and Bosworth Professor of English Language at Pembroke College, Oxford.
• 1936 first work published with E.V. Gordon et al, Songs for the Philologist.
• 1945-1959, Merton Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College, Oxford.
• 1967, final piece published, short story, Smith of Wootton Major (not including work published posthumously). 
• 1973, September 2 died.
• J.R.R. stands for John Ronald Reuel
• Identified as the father of modern fantasy literature.
• Never liked signing his works.
• Story goes he came up with the idea for The Hobbit in the margins of a student's paper.

For JRR Tolkien's Bibliography which includes poetry, check the Wikipedia page here.

For more information check out these sites:

Wikipedia: J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien Society

Tolkien's Official Site