The Enchanted Island of Yew by Lyman Franck Baum

1903

Artist : Fanny Y. Cory

Group F Round 1

[image ID: the first image is of the book cover of The Enchancted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum. the color of the cover is gray, and it depicts a woman with dark hair, in an updo, and large flowers on the side of her head. she's wearing a pinkish, sleeveless dress with her right leg completely exposed, the material also reminiscent of flower petals. the cloth of her dress is raising with her up-stretched arms to frame the title. she's standing in a white flower, and her feet are bear, but around her right ankle is a piece of the same material of her dress. she's holding a long, black stick, like a fairy wand, that emits a glowing yellow light on the end. the second image is the book cover of He, She, & It by Marge Piercy. it depicts a woman with loose, dark hair, her collarbones and shoulders bare, against a yellow sky and rolling fields. there is lightning striking in the sky. end ID]

The High Ki of Twi

it’s never really made clear whether they’re a single person that operates two bodies in perfect synchronity or two different people with two different consciousnesses that share a mental link so deep they always act the exact same and to be honest i’m not sure which is worse. primary ruler over a country (twi) entirely composed of doubles like them. also on that note “ki” is a title that denotes a ruler (as seen in the secondary rulers, the ki and the ki-ki) and it’s not said whether or not they have an actual name. they were once separated physically and mentally due to a magic spell gone awry (and managed to cause a whole civil war before they got it fixed a few days later) and boy if that didn’t fuck with my head the first time i read it. the author is pretty fond of fucking with identity like that. this one wasn’t even because of dismemberment like they usually are. also worth noting that they are by all means a girl and only use they/them pronouns because they’re like. two girls actually. it’s all very confusing

Malkah

Malkah is a brilliant scientist -- she codes the AI for a cyborg golem to protect her small town from dystopian threats both physical and virtual. She parents a daughter, a granddaughter (our main character), at least one cyborg, and at least one cat. She is a well respected member of her ecosocialist community, though she is seen as a bit odd. She at one point describes her granddaughter as "disappointingly heterosexual," and herself has multiple relationships with people of varying genders while presenting as variously a man or woman depending on the relationship.

Everyone always mentions Ozma in terms of Baum’s gender queer stuff (as they should) but not enough talk about my love Prince Marvel 🩵

what should i watch / read if Im beginning to get into the wizard of oz??

ive watched the movie and a weird black and white sequel when i was younger.. idk if the latter was a fever dream or not though.

Sorry for the late reply! I got your question just as I was heading out to my night shift. I wanted to wait until I got home to answer, since doing so on my computer would make linking things easier.

The main Oz canon is referred to as the Famous Forty. Those are the main books that others are inspired by or reference. Of those forty, fourteen were written by L. Frank Baum. Of those fourteen, only the first six (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, and The Emerald City of Oz) form what could be considered a single overarching story. These books are:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Marvelous Land of Oz

Ozma of Oz

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

The Road to Oz

The Emerald City of Oz

This is important to keep in mind, because after those six, continuity in the books gets really contradictory and surreal. If you want a good place to start reading, start with these.

You can find pretty much all the original fourteen books online for free, since they are in the public domain. The links I posted are all from Gutenberg. Gutenberg has online versions of them, complete with the original illustrations. Here is the online version of the first book. Gutenberg has multiple versions of the same books, though, so you may have to search through a couple versions before getting the ones with pictures.

It's also worth noting that Baum connected a lot of his stories together, so there are quite a few non-Oz books that are worth checking out. These include:

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, which introduce the Forest of Burzee, a location that is home to numerous Immortals and fairy folk that influence the world of Oz. You can watch the Rankin-Bass adaptation of this story, too.

The Sea Fairies and Sky Island, which introduce Trot and Cap'n Bill, who become regular characters in Oz.

Queen Zixi of Ix, which introduces the Land of Ix. Zixi herself is an interesting character--a centuries-old witch who rules over her own land and leads her armies into battle wearing golden armor (despite being centuries old, she uses magic to remain physically sixteen).

The Enchanted Island of Yew, which is about a fairy girl who becomes a boy and goes on adventures as a knight. The island is located near Oz.

It probably goes without saying that these are old books. As a result, they have not aged well in places. It's important to keep that in mind when reading them.

The black-and-white movie you're thinking of is definitely a thing. There were a lot of black-and-white Oz movies before the famous musical. I don't think it was a sequel, though--not a sequel to the musical, at least. There is a sort-of sequel to the MGM film by Disney called Return to Oz, which adapts the following two books after the first one. It's honestly a pretty good movie, though it may be a bit more intense for younger viewers.

Hope this helps! Anyone else who sees this, feel free to add on.

Gonna come up with a whole set of OCs and stories for the Oz Books in EAH (as well as The Enchanted Island of Yew because I love that one even if no one else seems to know it). Just have to get my thoughts in order

This Date In Manka Bros. History - November 18, 1940

This Day in Manka Bros History - Nov. 18, 1940:

Because of MGM’s incredible success with ‘The Wizard Of Oz,’ Manka Bros. quickly produced and released a film based on another L. Frank Baum property ‘The Enchanted Island Of Yew.’ The film was… not a success.

mankabros.com

#WizardOfOz #Hollywood #HollywoodStudios #MGM #LFrankBaum #ChildrensBooks

ROUND 1 MASTERLIST—

1. pizzahead (pizza tower) v. lio fotia (promare)

2. max mayfield (stranger things) v. scaramouche wanderer (genshin impact)

3. jim kirk (star trek: the original series) v. elliott (stardew valley)

4. mk (lego monkie kid) v. hinata shouyou (haikyuu)

5. riddle rosehearts (disney twisted wonderland) v. prince marvel (the enchanted island of yew)

6. mulan (mulan) v. saihara shuichi (danganronpa 3)

7. nagisa (assassination classroom) v. alice yabusame (your turn to die)

8. apollo justice (ace attorney) v. cesario (twelfth night)

9. yuu (creamy mami) v. driller killer (slumber party massacre 2)

10. kaidou shun (the disastrous life of saiki k) v. kirishima eijirou (my hero academia)

11. gus porter (the owl house) v. will graham (nbc hannibal)

12. brian/green (monster prom) v. magnus bane (shadowhunters TV 2019)

13. magnus burnside (the adventure zone) v. goro akechi (persona 5)

14. james (pokémon) v. deuce gorgon (monster high)

15. yamato (one piece) v. marshall lee (adventure time)

16. finn mertens (adventure time) v. sea hawk (she-ra and the princesses of power)

17. diluc ragnvindr (genshin impact) v. peppino spaghetti (pizza tower)

18. midoriya izuku (my hero academia) v. tiger (kipper and tiger)

19. kipper (kipper and tiger) v. adrien agreste (miraculous ladybug)

20. aki hayakawa (chainsaw man) v. hunter noceda (the owl house)

happy voting!!

Oz Books: Oz was a land enchanted by the fairy Lurline.

Queen Zixi of Ix: The Queen of the Fairies is named Lulea.

The Enchanted Island of Yew: The Forest of Lurla is home to fairies.

Lurline, Lulea, Lurla… I’m sensing a pattern here... 

I watched You’ve Got Mail with my mom and sisters this week and was struck, as I always am, by the books in the sets, especially the Oz books.

They show up a lot in this movie! Specifically editions by Books of Wonder, a New York bookstore/publisher specializing in children’s books and listed in the credits as among the many who donated books.

You can see them most prominently on the shelves nearest the door in The Shop around the Corner.

In addition to the books on the shelves, above them are the first several books in the series (plus Dorothy of Oz by Roger S. Baum) between Oz bookends, and a pile of six Oz mugs.

The books on shelves are primarily the Oz series, with a few of Baum’s non-Oz or Oz-adjacent fantasies, plus Oz continutations by other authors, as published by Books of Wonder or their imprint Emerald City Press. 

Top to bottom and left to right: Little Wizard Stories, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Tik-Tok of Oz, The Royal Book of Oz (Ruth Plumly Thompson), Rinkitink in Oz, The Scarecrow of Oz, Sky Island, The Sea Fairies, The Enchanted Island of Yew, Kabumpo in Oz(?) (Thompson), The Master Key, The Runaway in Oz (John R. Neill), The Wonder City of Oz (Neill), The Scalawagons of Oz (Neill), [one I couldn’t identify], Merry Go Round in Oz (Eloise Jarvis McGraw and Lauren McGraw Wagner), The Glass Cat of Oz (David Hulan), Queen Ann of Oz (Karyl Carlson and Eric Gjovaag), How the Wizard Came to Oz (Donald Abbott).

We never hear Kathleen mention Oz, but she seems to have a connection to it, judging from this prominent display and the ruby slippers ornament she hangs on the shop’s Christmas tree. Perhaps Oz represents the dreamy nostalgia her character is prone to.

When she visits Fox Books after losing her shop, she sits near a display that features some familiar looking titles (in the top left of the shot):

Ozma of Oz, The Road to Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, and maybe Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (mostly hidden).

There’s a sense of continuity in seeing these books again. Even though Kathleen has lost her shop, the books that she loves are still available to readers, still ready to bring children joy.

And when she’s sick, the book on her bed that she’s clearly been reading recently, is The Scarecrow of Oz.

A source of comfort? I’m not sure what the choice of this particular Oz book says about Kathleen or the story--although it is one of the few Oz books to feature a romance (albeit one played for parody). The characters in the story undergo adventures that take them irrevocably far from home, resulting in apparent loss of everything they’ve ever known, but Trot, Cap’n Bill, and Button-Bright don’t seem too bothered by this. Maybe it’s refreshing for Kathleen, struggling with the devastating effects of change, to escape to a world where such concerns don’t really matter in the face of adventure and wonderment.

And of course the song played in the final scene of the film is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” neatly tying up the Oz references.

Group F Round 2

[image ID: the first image is of Miyauchi Rena, a girl with light brown hair and brown eyes, wearing pearl ornaments in her hair. she wears a combination yellow-and-blue-plaid and black satin dress. it features a bones motif--on her chest, hands, and knee-high black socks--and glowing cutaways on her waist. the sleeves are puffy, as is the bustle. the second image is of Tiger of the Wind, a horned blue and white wolf with yellow eyes. the third image is of the book cover of The Enchancted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum. the color of the cover is gray, and it depicts a woman with dark hair, in an updo, and large flowers on the side of her head. she's wearing a pinkish, sleeveless dress with her right leg completely exposed, the material also reminiscent of flower petals. the cloth of her dress is raising with her up-stretched arms to frame the title. she's standing in a white flower, and her feet are bear, but around her right ankle is a piece of the same material of her dress. she's holding a long, black stick, like a fairy wand, that emits a glowing yellow light on the end. end ID]

Miyauchi Rena

shes a magical girl in plaid with a bone laurel and bone gloves and a hula hoop she beats you up with. shes a canon lesbian and heavily autistic coded. she became a magical girl to save the life of her first love. she failed and she doesnt know. she lost her memories while hidden from the apocalypse and didnt question the empty school on the island in a sea that stretched for forever. she wants her memories back but more than that she wants to know why she lost them.  [additional propaganda 1]

Tiger of the Wind

Pretty sure he was my furry awakening if we're being honest.

The High Ki of Twi

it’s never really made clear whether they’re a single person that operates two bodies in perfect synchronity or two different people with two different consciousnesses that share a mental link so deep they always act the exact same and to be honest i’m not sure which is worse. primary ruler over a country (twi) entirely composed of doubles like them. also on that note “ki” is a title that denotes a ruler (as seen in the secondary rulers, the ki and the ki-ki) and it’s not said whether or not they have an actual name. they were once separated physically and mentally due to a magic spell gone awry (and managed to cause a whole civil war before they got it fixed a few days later) and boy if that didn’t fuck with my head the first time i read it. the author is pretty fond of fucking with identity like that. this one wasn’t even because of dismemberment like they usually are. also worth noting that they are by all means a girl and only use they/them pronouns because they’re like. two girls actually. it’s all very confusing

ultimate single word island names list

as you all know i loved single word town names on new leaf.. whilst ive been brainstorming names for my new horizons island i’ve compiled the ultimate single word island names list!

enjoy!

Ocean/water words: • Brook • Bay • Boat • Canal • Coral • Cove • Creek • Current • Deep • Dock • Drench • Driftwood • Drip • Drain • Gulf • Kelp • Lake • Marine • Pond • Reservoir • River • Rinse • Rill • Rockpool • Sail • Sailboat • Scuba • Spring • Snorkel • Stream • Sea • Seaweed • Seabed • Surf • Swamp • Tarn • Tide • Tidepool • Water • Yacht

Summer/Beach words: • Coast • Conch • Dock • Dune • Harbour • Palmtree • Pier • Summer • Sand • Sandcastle • Shell • Seaside • Shore • Sunburn • Sunscreen • Wharf • Vacation • Voyage

Fish/Aquatic animal words: • Barnacle • Clam • Carp • Crab • Eel • Fin • Flounder • Herring • Limpet • Lobster • Mackerel • Otter • Oyster • Plankton • Salmon • Scallop • Shark • Shrimp • Starfish • Stingray • Squid • Sunfish • Tadpole • Trout

Animal/habitat words: • Antler • Ant • Anthill • Burrow • Bee • Beehive • Bumble • Barn • Bat • Bug • Cobweb • Den • Fleece • Fur • Gull • Hive • Hornet • Honeybee • Ladybug • Ladybird • Nest • Paddock • Raven • Roost • Rook • Seagull • Snail • Toad • Web

Plant/flowers words: • Aloe • Bud • Bamboo • Bloom • Clover • Cosmos • Daffodil • Fern • Heather • Lily • Lilypad • Leaf • Lotus • Orchid • Orchard • Palm • Petal • Primrose • Rose • Stem • Seed • Sprout • Tulip • Wilt • Wilted

Forest words: • Acorn • Birch • Branch • Bramble • Bark • Chestnut • Elm • Elder • Fir • Grove • Juniper • Maple • Oak • Sycamore • Stump • Sap • Sapling • Spruce • Tree • Twig • Thicket • Wood • Yew

Other outdoor words: • Acre • Bury • Barren • Cavern • Cave • Cliff • Coal • Dale • Dell • Earth • Field • Fossil • Garden • Hill • Henge • Hedge • Isle • Island • Lawn • Leaves • Mountain • Meadow • Marsh • Moor • Moss • Nature • Peak • Pebble • Rock • Root • Stone • Shire • Thorn • Uproot • Vale • Valley • Vineyard

Food words: • Avocado • Berry • Butter • Chai • Cider • Cake • Coffee • Coconut • Currant • Egg • Eggshell • Eggnog • Fig • Fudge • Honey • Honeycomb • Icecream • Jam • Jelly • Lemon • Mushroom • Muffin • Mocha • Nut • Pancake • Pear • Pea • Pie • Peanut • Pickle • Popsicle • Radish • Rice • Raisin • Rum • Sesame • Sushi • Syrup • Toast • Walnut

Herb/spices names: • Basil • Chive • Cinnamon • Clove • Dill • Fennel • Herb • Mustard • Nutmeg • Parsley • Saffron • Sage • Spice • thyme

Calm words: • Airy • Away • Awe • Aura • Calm • Drowsy • Dream • Hope • Haven • Haze • Lazy • Lull • Nurture • Quiet • Relax • Rest • Safe • Soft • Serene • Slumber • Silent • Yawn

Cosy Words: • Blanket • Boots • Cotton • Cosy • Cinder • Flannel • Glove • Knit • Knitted • Mitten • Quilt • Raincoat • Sweater • Slipper • Teapot • Teacup • Warmth • Weave • Woven • Yarn

Cute words: • Adore • Blush • Bonny • Cupid • Cuddle • Dainty • Delicate • Ethereal • Fluff • Giggle • Glitter • Lovely • Precious • Sweet • Wonder

City/Town/Building words: • Cabin • Camp • Campsite • Cottage • Home • House • Igloo • Inn • Loft • Mill • Market • Park • Road • Shelter • Street • Tunnel • Tavern • Village • Ville

Weather/time of day words: • Blizzard • Dusk • Dawn • Draft • Drizzle • Downpour • Fog • Flood • Flurry • Gust • Hail • Humid • Mist • Misty • Midnight • Noon • Night • Overcast • Rain • Rainfall • Raindrop • Rainbow • Rise • Storm • Soleil • Sunset • Sun • Season • Sleet • Typhoon • Thunder • Weather • Wind

Seasonal words: Spring/Easter: • April • Crisp • Dew • Dewdrop • Easter • Farm • Farmyard • Floral • Florist • Flourish • Grow • Growth • Hatch • June • Plantpot

Autumn/Halloween: • Afraid • Bale • Bonfire • Cackle • Casket • Creep • Coffin • Costume • Carve • Cemetery • Chilling • Disguise • Eerie • Fall • Fright • Frighten • Firework • Grave • Ghoul • Ghost • Grim • Gore • Hay • Harvest • Howl • Haunt • Haunted • Halloween • Lantern • Morbid • November • Phantom • Rake • Strange • Scream • Scare • Spook • Tomb • Trick • Wicked • Witch • Warlock • Zombie

Winter/Christmas: • Arctic • Chill • Carol • Elf • Festive • Frost • Frostbite • Firewood • Gift • Garland • Holly • Holiday • Ice • Iced • Icy • Icicle • Jingle • Jolly • Merry • Noel • Nativity • Ornament • Present • Reindeer • Rudolph • Scrooge • Sleigh • Snow • Skate • Snowman • Snowball • Stocking • Tinsel • Winter • Wreath • Yule • Yulelog

Mystical words: • Amulet • Cauldron • Chalice • Conjure • Coven • Charm • Cherub • Enchant • Fairy • Fairies • Gargoyle • Goblet • Goblin • Golem • Gnome • Hidden • Hex • Imp • Myth • Nymph • Potion • Spirit • Sprite • Spell • Secret • Shadow • Siren • Wand • Wander

Gem stone words: • Amethyst • Amber • Jasper • Jade • Onyx • Opal • Sapphire • Topaz • Quartz

Colour words: • Bronze • Blush • Fuchsia • Hazel • Ivory • Linen • Ochre • Pale • Peach • Pewter • Sepia • Seafoam • Tawny

Space words: • Aurora • Asteroid • Cosmic • Crescent • Eclipse • Gravity • Luna • Mercury • Meteor • Moon • Nebula • Orbit • Planet • Solar • Star • Venus • Zodiac

Direction words: • Around • Across • Above • East • Far • North • Over • South • Under • West

Other words: • Ash • Ablaze • Beam • Backpack • Dust • Ever • Edge • End • Echo • Cranny • Comb • Frail • Gutter • Hole • Lune • Lush • Letter • Nimble • Nook • Old • Plain • Paper • Rinse • Range • Ridge • Rust • Rusted • Rot • Rotted • Silk • Set • Settle • Sponge • Swelter • Swell • Smog • Urn • Umbrella • Vain • Vile • View • Way • World

Poetry/ Script Writing Influences (Beyond Beckett) T.S Eliot - Ash Wednesday, Ezra Pound - And the days are not full enough, Boris Pasternak - Hamlet

I Because I do not hope to turn again Because I do not hope Because I do not hope to turn Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope I no longer strive to strive towards such things (Why should the agèd eagle stretch its wings?) Why should I mourn The vanished power of the usual reign? Because I do not hope to know The infirm glory of the positive hour Because I do not think Because I know I shall not know The one veritable transitory power Because I cannot drink There, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there is nothing again Because I know that time is always time And place is always and only place And what is actual is actual only for one time And only for one place I rejoice that things are as they are and I renounce the blessèd face And renounce the voice Because I cannot hope to turn again Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something Upon which to rejoice And pray to God to have mercy upon us And pray that I may forget These matters that with myself I too much discuss Too much explain Because I do not hope to turn again Let these words answer For what is done, not to be done again May the judgement not be too heavy upon us Because these wings are no longer wings to fly But merely vans to beat the air The air which is now thoroughly small and dry Smaller and dryer than the will Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death Pray for us now and at the hour of our death. II Lady, three white leopards sat under a juniper-tree In the cool of the day, having fed to sateity On my legs my heart my liver and that which had been contained In the hollow round of my skull. And God said Shall these bones live? shall these Bones live? And that which had been contained In the bones (which were already dry) said chirping: Because of the goodness of this Lady And because of her loveliness, and because She honours the Virgin in meditation, We shine with brightness. And I who am here dissembled Proffer my deeds to oblivion, and my love To the posterity of the desert and the fruit of the gourd. It is this which recovers My guts the strings of my eyes and the indigestible portions Which the leopards reject. The Lady is withdrawn In a white gown, to contemplation, in a white gown. Let the whiteness of bones atone to forgetfulness. There is no life in them. As I am forgotten And would be forgotten, so I would forget Thus devoted, concentrated in purpose. And God said Prophesy to the wind, to the wind only for only The wind will listen. And the bones sang chirping With the burden of the grasshopper, saying Lady of silences Calm and distressed Torn and most whole Rose of memory Rose of forgetfulness Exhausted and life-giving Worried reposeful The single Rose Is now the Garden Where all loves end Terminate torment Of love unsatisfied The greater torment Of love satisfied End of the endless Journey to no end Conclusion of all that Is inconclusible Speech without word and Word of no speech Grace to the Mother For the Garden Where all love ends. Under a juniper-tree the bones sang, scattered and shining We are glad to be scattered, we did little good to each other, Under a tree in the cool of day, with the blessing of sand, Forgetting themselves and each other, united In the quiet of the desert. This is the land which ye Shall divide by lot. And neither division nor unity Matters. This is the land. We have our inheritance. III At the first turning of the second stair I turned and saw below The same shape twisted on the banister Under the vapour in the fetid air Struggling with the devil of the stairs who wears The deceitul face of hope and of despair. At the second turning of the second stair I left them twisting, turning below; There were no more faces and the stair was dark, Damp, jaggèd, like an old man's mouth drivelling, beyond repair, Or the toothed gullet of an agèd shark. At the first turning of the third stair Was a slotted window bellied like the figs's fruit And beyond the hawthorn blossom and a pasture scene The broadbacked figure drest in

blue and green Enchanted the maytime with an antique flute. Blown hair is sweet, brown hair over the mouth blown, Lilac and brown hair; Distraction, music of the flute, stops and steps of the mind over the third stair, Fading, fading; strength beyond hope and despair Climbing the third stair. Lord, I am not worthy Lord, I am not worthy but speak the word only. IV Who walked between the violet and the violet Whe walked between The various ranks of varied green Going in white and blue, in Mary's colour, Talking of trivial things In ignorance and knowledge of eternal dolour Who moved among the others as they walked, Who then made strong the fountains and made fresh the springs Made cool the dry rock and made firm the sand In blue of larkspur, blue of Mary's colour, Sovegna vos Here are the years that walk between, bearing Away the fiddles and the flutes, restoring One who moves in the time between sleep and waking, wearing White light folded, sheathing about her, folded. The new years walk, restoring Through a bright cloud of tears, the years, restoring With a new verse the ancient rhyme. Redeem The time. Redeem The unread vision in the higher dream While jewelled unicorns draw by the gilded hearse. The silent sister veiled in white and blue Between the yews, behind the garden god, Whose flute is breathless, bent her head and signed but spoke no word But the fountain sprang up and the bird sang down Redeem the time, redeem the dream The token of the word unheard, unspoken Till the wind shake a thousand whispers from the yew And after this our exile V If the lost word is lost, if the spent word is spent If the unheard, unspoken Word is unspoken, unheard; Still is the unspoken word, the Word unheard, The Word without a word, the Word within The world and for the world; And the light shone in darkness and Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled About the centre of the silent Word. O my people, what have I done unto thee. Where shall the word be found, where will the word Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence Not on the sea or on the islands, not On the mainland, in the desert or the rain land, For those who walk in darkness Both in the day time and in the night time The right time and the right place are not here No place of grace for those who avoid the face No time to rejoice for those who walk among noise and deny the voice Will the veiled sister pray for Those who walk in darkness, who chose thee and oppose thee, Those who are torn on the horn between season and season, time and time, between Hour and hour, word and word, power and power, those who wait In darkness? Will the veiled sister pray For children at the gate Who will not go away and cannot pray: Pray for those who chose and oppose O my people, what have I done unto thee. Will the veiled sister between the slender Yew trees pray for those who offend her And are terrified and cannot surrender And affirm before the world and deny between the rocks In the last desert before the last blue rocks The desert in the garden the garden in the desert Of drouth, spitting from the mouth the withered apple-seed. O my people. VI Although I do not hope to turn again Although I do not hope Although I do not hope to turn Wavering between the profit and the loss In this brief transit where the dreams cross The dreamcrossed twilight between birth and dying (Bless me father) though I do not wish to wish these things From the wide window towards the granite shore The white sails still fly seaward, seaward flying Unbroken wings And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices In the lost lilac and the lost sea voices And the weak spirit quickens to rebel For the bent golden-rod and the lost sea smell Quickens to recover The cry of quail and the whirling plover And the blind eye creates The empty forms between the ivory gates And smell renews the salt savour of the sandy earth This is the time of tension between dying and birth The place of solitude where three dreams cross Between blue rocks But when the voices shaken from the yew-tree drift away Let

the other yew be shaken and reply. Blessèd sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden, Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still Even among these rocks, Our peace in His will And even among these rocks Sister, mother And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea, Suffer me not to be separated And let my cry come unto Thee.

And the days are not full enough And the nights are not full enough And life slips by like a field mouse Not shaking the grass.

The murmur quietens down. I walk out onto the stage.

Leaning against the door-post,

I catch a distant echo

What will happen in my century.

The darkness of the night is trained on me

by a thousand binoculars.

If it be only possible, Abba, Father,

carry this cup past me.

I love your stern master plan

and agree to play this part.

But now another drama is taking place,

and this time let me be discharged.

The order of acts is forethought,

and the end of the way cannot be turned back.

I am alone. Everything drowns in Pharisaism.

Living life is not like crossing a field.

Irmo, also called Lorien

The Dream-Ruler, Master of Desires, Master of Visions and Dreams

Other names:  Olofantur, Fulmur, Losfan, Glurim, Luriel

In the Silmarillion, Irmo is a Vala and one of the Feanturi (Masters of Spirits) together with his brother Namo/Mandos. His sister is Nienna, and he dwells with his wife Este in the Gardens of Lorien in Valinor, where many spirits serve them. Irmo is the youngest sibling in the mind of Illuvatar, and his brother and sister are both counted among the Aratar, the 8 most powerful Valar, while he is not. His gardens are the most beautiful in Arda, and the elves and even other Ainur come there for rest and refreshment. Irmo is more commonly known as Lorien, even though this is actually the name of his dwelling. His power is less physical than other Valar such as Ulmo, Yavanna, or Aule; he sends dreams and visions to provide hope and guidance to the elves. Originally, when the Sun and Moon were created, it was Varda’s intention that they should journey together across the sky, so that their lights would mingle like those of the Two Trees. Lorien and Este intervened, stating that the combined light had caused sleep and rest to vanish from the earth and had dried up the gardens. Thus, Varda changed her design so that each would rest below the earth while the other traveled across the sky to allow for a time of night. After the elf Miriel gave birth to Feanor, she became weary of the world and was taken to Lorien and Este for rest and recovery. However, her spirit departed from her body to the Halls of Mandos and refused to return; Este’s maidens continued to tend and preserve Miriel’s lifeless body. This was a shocking event for both the Valar and the elves as it was essentially the first death to occur in Valinor.

In The Book of Lost Tales Lorien is a more detailed and prominent character. His halls are south of the mountains of Aman and the large gardens wind around until they come near the silver tree Telperion. Yavanna gave Lorien many species of yews, cedars, and pines for his gardens that gave off a soothing fragrance that made one drowsy. He is also mentioned using poppies in his “enchantments” which have hallucinogenic properties in the “real” world.

Here Lorien’s relationship to the Moon is more established: a servant of Lorien named Silmo is tasked with watering Telperion in the same way Arien is in charge of watering Laurelin, the dews of Telperion are collected into a cauldron called Silindrin which is kept in Lorien’s gardens, and after the death of the Two Trees Lorien and Vana try to use the dews of Silindrin to revive them while the other Valar chase after Melkor. It was said that Lorien would gaze into Silindrin and see many strange and mysterious visions in the waters. Lorien’s servant Silmo is later a candidate for steersman of the Moon but Varda’s servant Ilinsor is chosen instead, at a point in Tolkien’s writings when the Maia Tilion didn’t exist yet. In these stories he can also be seen as a counterpart to Vana; both are associated with gardens and with the Two Trees (and eventually the Sun and Moon) and both have Maiar who become the guardians of the Sun and Moon. They also are both described as the younger sibling, and both of their sibling are counted among the Aratar while they themselves are not.

After the Fall of Numenor and the removal of Aman from Arda, Manwe has Lorien create the Olórë Mallë (The Path of Dreams) which is non-physical path that allows the spirits of elves and men to visit the gardens of Lorien while they sleep, since Manwe was unwilling to completely abandon the people of Middle-earth. During the Hiding of Valinor, Lorien placed enchantments on the island of Tol Eressea that caused mariners who set foot on it to fall into a deep slumber for eternity.

The Silmarillion states that many Maiar served Lorien and his wife Este, but doesn’t name them. There is a connection to Gandalf, whose name before he came to Middle-earth was Olorin, which comes from the same elvish root word (olor/olos) as the Olórë Mallë (Path of Dreams) that was made by Lorien, as well as Olofantur (Master of Dreams) which is an earlier surname of Lorien himself. Gandalf was known for his ability to inspire hope and courage in mortal people, a trait shared with Lorien. In earlier works, Silmo is a youthful male Maia who is “much loved” by Lorien and is in charge of watering and caring for the tree Telperion, being that trees’ counterpart to the Maia Arien. After the death of the Two Trees, Silmo begs to become the steersman of the Moon but the Valar pick Ilinsor for this task because of his close association with the sky and Varda. Both of these characters are absent from The Silmarillion and are replaced by Tilion, a Maia of Orome who loves Arien.