Editorial

[page 24] EDITORIAL by greg shaw I recieved a letter recently from Dave Hall, which read in part: Dear Greg, Sorry to poop out on you and ENTMOOT like this. I'll still give spiritual support, but I don't really feel that I either want to devote the effort needed for it, not being that interested (though THE LORD OF THE RINGS is my favorite novel, to me it remains one novel to be considered among a great multitude; I don't think I'd like to put out a fanzine devoted to any one author, not on a regular basis), nor at all able to take it (or anything) very seriously, nor very competent to the task (anything I put out would be too sloppy, as I have no linguistic talent, douldn't @couldn't@ render the symbols; and further am unwilling to study the esoterics in a hundred different directions. Besides I feel that such of my talents as I have are much less eupherial than Tolkien's). This is what I meant, more than the "trend-hounds" getting him. That disocuraged me; everybody's an expert. I think that ENTMOOT will pull down some criticism from outsiders, but it can be safely ignored. They aren't the people we -- or rather you -- are writing for. The seriousness distracted from my interest, but there's no other tack to take, really, if you want to be successful. Trend-hounds, also, bore me and irritate me, and I don't want to be labelled as one. _You_ don't need to worry about that; you know what you're doing. But I've not got the talent -- or aptitude -- in the area to be an expert. I mean you stand a better chance of being an expert, or at least knowing what you're doing enough to handle it, but I don't. Nor do I know the people in the field. My issues would be crippled. So I'm still interested in ENTMOOT, but I don't think I should continue as an editor. I mean, good luck and all that; I think you can do a better job than I can. So now I'm sole editor, and I suppose it'sbest @it's best@ that way, for the reasons Dave points out, though I am sorry to lose him. I hoped his tendency to take Tolkien very lightheartedly as opposed to my tendency to take him seriously would make a pleasant mixture -- and it probably would have, if we lived closer together and could actually work together as coeditors. So now my serious policies will predominate, which I suppose is all right, since that's what Tolkien fandom seems to want right now. I react with great interest to one of Dave's statements. I, as much as Dave, and probably more so, seldom take things seriously. But I find myself almost unable to enjoy Tolkien _without_ taking him seriously, so I tend to indulge myself and splurge all my seriousness on him. And strangely enough, while I'm happiest otherwise, not taking things seriously, the more serious I am when dealing with Tolkien, the more enjoyment I get out of it and the happier I am. I don't know why it affects me that way, but I suppose it's just as well since it qualifies me greatly as an editor for a Tolkien fanzine. [page 25] In my article in ENTMOOT 2 I neglected to explain a couple of things which have since been brought to my attention by readers. I shall now clear up these misunderstandings. (1)In table #2 many of the tehtar look like boxes or squares with various signs above or below them. _THESE SQUARES ARE NOT PART OF THE LETTER_. They are merely to show the position of the tehtar in question with relation to the consonant they modify, which is represented by the box. For example, the "iu" --"here" shows a box with a dot above and a dot below. Many readers in attempting to use this sign placed the entire configuration above the consonant. The correct way would be to place a dot above the consonant and a dot below it. Okay? (2) June Koningsberg brought up a point I should have mentioned, regarding the shape of the tehtar. The shape is a very loose thing. As long as the general characteristics of the tehtar are preserved, it can be written many different ways. For example the u-curl can be written <a symbol consisting of a straight and curved half branching from a center at the bottom of the letter> or <a symbol almost mirroring the first except the curve moves out from the letter rather than in toward it> or <a mirror of the first symbol except both halves have a counter-clockwise curve> or any other way you want to write it as long as it curls to the left. Thus, through the u-curl on the cover lastish was drawn thusly: <a single line curling to the left> it could as easily have been written: <a line that curves first to the right and then the left>. The precise shapes of any of the letters or tehta of the tengwar is a very flexible thing. Compare, for example, the ring inscription and the title page Tengwar. The letters are the same but it takes careful scrutiny to arrive at that conclusion. (3) I have been asked about how one would write actual Elvish words as given in Lord of the Rings with this system, and still indicate the frequent apostrophes, accent marks and diaereses, which could be easily confused with and terribly difficult to write with the tehtar. After some deliberation I came to the conclusion, as have Dan Alderson and others, that for the writing of Elvish words the Mode of Beleriand, as shown in the West-gate inscription, must be used. In this system, the vowels are represented by regular letters in series with the consonants, just as in English, and thus the various phonetic signs can easily be placed above. The mode of Beleriand is very easy to work with. The same letters of the regular Tengwar can be used, though they are formed slightly differently on the West-gate inscription. If you are interested enough you can easily figure it out from the inscription if not the plain old Tengwar is OK to use. The vowel signs can also be derived from perusal of the various writings on the West-gate, but for your convenience I'm listing them below: (a) is <a letter that looks like a "c"> (b) is <a letter that looks like a stylized capital "alpha"> (#35 of the Tengwar) (i) is <a letter that looks like a lowercase "j"> (the short carrier) (o) is <a letter that looks like a "c" connected to a lowercase "r"> (#23 of the Tengwar) (u) is <a letter that is circular like an "o"> (#36 of the Tengwar) And I think that clears up everything. If you have any further questions, please ask them. ##The Valar be with you, until next issue, be kind to animals, and watch for I PALANTIR 4, which I understand may come out this year....