Tolkien Language Haiku Contest on Middle-Earth News

Posted on September 20, 2015 by The Dwarrow Scholar

It is with great pride and excitement I can announce that I will be one of the judges at the first ever Tolkien Language Haiku Contest on Middle-Earth News, as part of the Tolkien Week celebrations.

Professor J.R.R. Tolkien

Professor J.R.R. Tolkien

As Middle-Earth finds its origins in the languages created by Professor J. R. R. Tolkien, I find this contest a truly unique way to honor Tolkien’s passion for languages, which in turn sparked a similar passion in my own heart.

Some time ago, during the Midsummer Moot haiku contest, by Middle-Earth News, I entered a haiku in Neo-Khuzdul. To my surprise it won the contest. Seeing that I wasn’t in it to win anything though (truth be told I just wanted to try my hand at another Neo-Khuzdul haiku and had no idea there were prizes involved), I decided to suggest to Middle-earth News they could perhaps use these wonderful prizes for a new haiku contest. To my joy they agreed.

I’ll be joined by my good friend dreamingfifi (of realelvish.net), an expert in Tolkien’s elvish languages.

It’s good to know that the contest not only allows for Tolkien’s original languages and the constructed languages based on these (such as Neo-Khuzdul), but is also allows real word languages (such as Old English, Old Norse or Gothic) used by Tolkien to render his imaginary languages (Rohirric, Dalish, etc..).

Full rules and details of the contest can be found HERE.

The winner will receive a canvas art print by artist Joe Gilronan. The winner may choose any painting from the collection (and they are stunning!). And if that wasn’t enough a lovely book too: “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles: Cloaks and Daggers.”

I look forward to judging your entries my friends, have fun creating that original haiku!

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About The Dwarrow Scholar

My fascination with Tolkien began early, with a battered copy of The Hobbit given to me by my uncle. I read it obsessively, then reread it, and when I was old enough to own a Walkman, I even recorded my own cassette version so I could listen to it while cycling to school. Long before the internet made information easy to find, I spent countless hours in libraries, hunting down anything I could about Tolkien and, in particular, his Dwarves. That early fascination never really went away. Over the years it developed into a sustained and structured engagement with Tolkien’s legendarium, especially the Dwarvish languages and cultures. Under the name The Dwarrow Scholar, I focus primarily on Neo-Khuzdul, Tolkien’s notes on Dwarves, and the careful expansion and teaching of those ideas in a way that respects both the source material and linguistic plausibility. Through www.dwarrowscholar.com , I publish articles, reference material, and language resources, and I also give structured lessons in Neo-Khuzdul to students. What began as fandom gradually grew into long-term research, teaching, and writing. When I am not working on Neo-Khuzdul or answering questions from fellow Tolkien enthusiasts, I enjoy time with my wife and son, revisiting well-worn Tolkien paperbacks, learning languages, watching a good film, or unwinding with games like The Lord of the Rings Online and other Dwarf-adjacent distractions.
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3 Responses to Tolkien Language Haiku Contest on Middle-Earth News

  1. conriocht13's avatar conriocht13 says:
    September 20, 2015 at 6:00 pm

    I noticed that in the example given, it’s in the haiku format in both English and Neo-Khuzdul. Is this a requirement, or does it only need to be in the 5-7-5 format in Khuzdul?

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