Disability, diversity, Frodo Baggins and Aslan

September is one of my favourite times of year. Keats called it the season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’.

It marks the start of the academic year – new school shoes and lots of enthusiasm from both teachers and students. If we’re lucky, there’s an Indian Summer beautifully balanced by that crispness in the air in the early mornings. Closer to home, it is the month of our wedding anniversary and my youngest son’s birthday; he has the distinction of being born on Hobbit Day. Hobbit Day is the 22nd September, a date chosen because it is Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ joint birthday. In the last few decades, it has become an opportunity for Tolkien fans across the globe to share their appreciation and enjoyment of Tolkien’s work.

Tolkien and diversity

This is not simply limited to people who enjoy dressing up and having hobbit-themed parties – although that sounds fun! No longer simply dismissed as genre fiction, there is a wealth of academic scholarship on Tolkien and his work. The recent Tolkien Society Summer Seminar asked contributors to submit academic papers on the theme of ‘diversity’ in Tolkien’s work, particularly how race, gender and disability, among other topics, are portrayed in his books or can be used as a lens to view his writing.