04 Jan Venn Presents | Tolkien, Fantasy, and the Arts

Welcome to the new year and the latest series of Venn Presents! This podcast expands further on some of the themes that emerge in our programmes, events, books, and monthly publication Common Ground.

In this two-part series, Sam Bloore and Andrew Shamy take a deeper dive into the life and imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien. In 2020, Andrew offered a Conversation Evening and article, titled “There and Back Again: How Reading Tolkien Can Restore the World to Us.” In his talk and article, Andrew helped us see how Tolkien’s imagination and the genre of fantasy literature offers recovery of meaning in the world, an escape or flight to reality, and consolation in the midst of our deep longings for beauty, goodness, courage, and hope. 

Now, in this conversation, Sam and Andrew continue further into the life of Tolkien, exploring the events, relationships, and deep Christian faith that shaped so much of his writing. We’ve released both episodes together so you can enjoy the full conversation during this Summer break (for those in the southern hemisphere) and Winter rest (for those in the northern hemisphere).

Be sure to subscribe to Venn Presents on Apple Podcasts or follow the show on Spotify to listen to both episodes. 

Our hope is these conversations will, in some small way, help us all to re-imagine what the gospel means for our callings and communities today. 

Arohanui,

The Venn Team