silwritersguild | Back to Middle Earth Month: Death

For the last full week of The Circles of the World, we look at writing and artwork about various endings common to The Silmarillion. Today's topic--Death- -is considered in Tolkien's writings to be both a curse and a gift, and creative work surrounding it is just as intriguing.

Today's selections open with an excerpt from Ellie's "The Understanding of a Father" that looks at the reactions to the re-embodiment of departed kin by those Eldar who remained in Valinor. Ranger1 writes of the Elves' first experience with the deaths of their mortal friends, and Robinka's drawing "And there will be no comfort for you" portrays one too familiar with death: Túrin Turambar. Finally, Dawn Felagund's excerpt from "Return to Me" takes us where Tolkien never did, to the re-embodiment of an Elf in Mandos.

Today's stories about Death can be found at http://www.silmaril lionwritersguild .org/b2mem2008/ death.php . On Wednesday, we continue our series on endings with Downfall.