Best Thread of the Month

[Bêthberry]

Here at the Barrow Downs we are very proud of the quality of our discussions, for their witty mirth and clever humour, their erudition, their unique perspective, their perceptive reading, their personable points of view. And we are also quick to acknowledge each other's merit. HerenIstarion has started a "Quote of the Day" thread and there is my own "Best Post of the Week" thread, which I must shortly bring up to date. (Thank you, Eru or Bill Gates, for my new monitor and computer which means I can now read the forum again at long last.)

Here, now, is a thread to recognise something broader and longer lasting, a thread to celebrate a discussion idea which makes a substantial contribution to our time here and to our knowledge of Tolkien. The idea was inspired by the first candidate I offer.

littlemanpoet's thread The Trickster in LotR offers one of the most substantial and original contributions I've seen here to discussion of a very old chestnut, Tom Bombadil, and it does so with a gentle respect for the reading of others. Not one to beat his own drum insistently, lmp offered up an idea and asked us to respond to it without first giving his own interpretation. Admirable courtesy and understatement! Applying the trickster motif to Tom not only takes up Tolkien's own interest in mythology, it helps give credence to a character who is often dismissed or ridiculed for being so out of synch with the rest of the story. lmp's thread also demonstrates the significance and fecundity of outside reading and how other writers and ideas can fruitfully be brought to bear on Tolkien. The movies may be passé, but for keen minds, there is no end to intelligent discussion.

I would like to offer this thread as a place where we can commend such insightful ideas and their successful direction over the duration of a discussion. It takes skill, diplomacy, and persistence to manage a good discussion, and that, too, is displayed in lmp thread.

I invite others to discuss the nomination and bring other deserving threads to the table if they wish. Please just remember to add reasons to support your nomination and try to keep tabs of which month we are in! A month is eternity in Net time. And be courteous in any disagreements. We do not always have to agree all the time (indeed, I would mistrust that), but we can always respect each other's ideas and reasoning.