In 1931, on a cold dark evening in Oxford, J.R.R. Tolkien gave a lecture on the art of language invention and the relation between myth and language to the Samuel Johnson Society at Pembroke College.
In 2016 Tolkien scholars Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins came to Pembroke to give a talk on Tolkien’s essay, 85 years later, on the exact same location and date.
Earlier this year Dimitra and Andrew published the first ever critical study of the essay, reproducing it alongside a new essay and drafts from Tolkien’s manuscripts, accompanied by detailed editorial notes and introductory material.
The J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature 