Jason Fisher is a

Tolkien scholar The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his High fantasy, fantasy writings. These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with Tolkien's legendarium, his legendarium t ...

and winner of multiple Mythopoeic Scholarship Awards, including one in 2014 for his book ''Tolkien and the Study of His Sources: Critical Essays''. He served as the editor of the

Mythopoeic Society The Mythopoeic Society (MythSoc) is a non-profit organization devoted to the study of mythopoeic literature, particularly the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis. These men were all members of The Inklings, an informa ...

's monthly '' Mythprint'' from 2010 to 2013. He is the author of many book chapters, academic articles, and encyclopedia entries on

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

Biography

Jason Aldrich Fisher was born in 1970. He lives in Dallas, Texas. He is a software developer. He has worked since 2002 as an independent scholar specialising in the work of

, his literary circle

the Inklings The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who prai ...

, and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

more widely. Fisher has contributed to the '' J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia'' (including on '

Mythology for England England and Englishness are represented in multiple forms within J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings; it appears, more or less thinly disguised, in the form of the Shire and the lands close to it; in kindly characters such as Treebeard, Far ...

', '

Family Trees A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations o ...

', and '

Palantír A palantír (; ) is one of several indestructible crystal balls from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy, epic-fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. The word comes from Quenya 'far', and 'watch over'. ''The Lost Road and Other Writings'', p ...

i'), to the ''

Tolkien Studies The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his High fantasy, fantasy writings. These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with Tolkien's legendarium, his legendarium t ...

'' journal, to the '' Literary Encyclopedia'', and to

journal ''

Mythlore ''Mythlore'' is a biannual (originally quarterly) peer-reviewed academic journal founded by Glen GoodKnight and published by the Mythopoeic Society. Although it publishes articles that explore the genres of myth and fantasy in general, special a ...

'', among other journals and websites, as well as chapters of Tolkien criticism. He has been interviewed on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

about Tolkien's 1937 book ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

''.

Reception

''Tolkien and the Study of His Sources''

Reviewing ''Tolkien and the Study of His Sources'' for ''

'', Mike Foster writes that Fisher, and

Tom Shippey Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...

who wrote the book's introduction, are right in pursuing Tolkien's sources, despite the author's objections; the book usefully clarifies Tolkien's approach for readers not familiar with early 20th century adventure stories and medieval stories of the saints. In Foster's view, while scholars have long ago picked the "low-hanging fruit", the book "proves that ... plenty of fruit still remains for the picking". Emily Auger, reviewing the same work in ''

Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982 is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts. Its principal ac ...

'', writes that "Fisher ... not only explains what source studies are, he explains how good source studies should be done".

Works

Books

* 2011 (editor) ''Tolkien and the Study of His Sources: Critical Essays'',

McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tert ...

. * 2012 (editor, with Salwa Khoddam and Mark R. Hall) ''C.S. Lewis and the Inklings: Discovering Hidden Truth'',

Cambridge Scholars Publishing Cambridge Scholars Publishing (CSP) is an academic book publisher based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is not affiliated with the University of Cambridge or Cambridge University Press. It began as the hobby project of a Cambridge alumnus ...

. * 2015 (editor, with Salwa Khoddam and Mark R. Hall) ''C.S. Lewis and the Inklings: Reflections on Faith, Imagination, and Modern Technology'',

Awards and distinctions

* 2010 Best Scholar Paper, 13th Annual C.S. Lewis and Inklings Conference * 2011 Best Scholar Paper, 14th Annual C.S. Lewis and Inklings Conference * 2012 Best Scholar Paper, 15th Annual C.S. Lewis and Inklings Conference * 2013 Best Scholar Paper, 16th Annual C.S. Lewis and Inklings Conference * 2014 Best Scholar Paper, 17th Annual C.S. Lewis and Inklings Conference * 2014 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Jason Tolkien scholars 1970 births Living people