Sarah C. Schaefer

A winter storm on the last day of the exhibition meant one final visit before we close the books on “J. R. R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript.” It was a dream to work on this project, and to meet so many stellar people in the process.

Brits: What is the appropriate response to “yallrigh”?

I know I take for granted the availability of digital surrogates for images. I did not anticipate the generative possibilities of NOT having them.

Moreover, I can't but recall that so much of JRRT's own scholarship was rooted in his study of manuscript facsimiles (only a handful of which were photographic).

When I started drawing a couple years ago, I never thought it would lead to one of the most invigorating research experiences I've ever had...

STATION

@JoelMerriner @bodleianlibs I'll be looking mostly at "non-visual" stuff (but with an eye toward the "visual" in a broader sense). I love the idea of "textual sketching"! And also just regular sketching 😁

@sarahcschaefer @bodleianlibs Obviously this is already your ballpark so you know! 😁😁

Heading to Oxford in November for a month of #Tolkien research at @bodleianlibs! Excited as hell, but also daunted––haven't been on a research trip like this since grad school, but also don't have a ton of experience in hyper-focused archival work. Any tips or recs?

@Gemma__Sharpe @bodleianlibs No photos (—> existential dread) but will def make note of this for the future!

@Trotter_Tolkien @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi @timboltonuk @bodleianlibs @asthiggins @AranelParmadil *carefully avoiding a Fëanor joke*

@AranelParmadil @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi @timboltonuk @bodleianlibs @asthiggins Oooh good tip!

@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi @timboltonuk @bodleianlibs @asthiggins @AranelParmadil This has sparked a lot of thoughts on how my archive anxiety may be a kind of Foucauldian self-policing... like, "the *real* scholars will judge me if I'm not holed up in the archives all day..." 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

@timboltonuk @sarahcschaefer @bodleianlibs @asthiggins @AranelParmadil In terms of focus, I’ve found that I work better in short sprints (say an hour) followed by a quick walk, the another sprint, etc. It’s tempting to stay in an archive for hours without breaks, but that’s a method that only gives me diminishing returns re: getting things done.

@Dr_Dimitra_Fimi @timboltonuk @bodleianlibs @asthiggins @AranelParmadil Thank you so much, this is super helpful! I'm especially grateful to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't adhere to the intense-immersion-without-rest model 🙂 But yeah, definitely mentally preparing for having to be much more diligent about note-taking...

@timboltonuk @sarahcschaefer @bodleianlibs @asthiggins @AranelParmadil the usual rules apply doubly for the Tolkien papers!) I hope some of this helps!

@timboltonuk @bodleianlibs Yes, please!

@sarahcschaefer @bodleianlibs Ok to tag in some professional advice?

😭🫡

Nope not even Meshuggah can get my SO interested in Tolkien

Showrunners really culled the Keanu canon for Celebrimbor's vision didn't they youtu.be/zt4DRx29QUM?si…