The Road Goes Ever On

If you’re reading this, there is a good chance that you already know a little about me, but I’ll share a bit nonetheless.

I hold many roles, such as husband, father, twin dad, Ph.D. candidate, adjunct professor, podcaster, and financial risk advisor, among others; however, my number one goal is to increasingly discover, embody, and inspire others unto a better understanding of what it means to be human. I believe in the humanities, or at least the humanities as they should have been. I believe that truth is to be found in literature, that the story of history situates the present, and that pondering great truths is imminently practical.

With certain exceptions, the humanities have largely been abandoned by the formal academy, but they now thrive in decentralized pockets of exile. It is my desire to play a role in expanding one of these pockets, but it’s not something I can do alone or something I would wish to do alone. It is my desire to contribute to a community of individuals who likewise recognize the value of letters, for it is ultimately through the Word that all being has order and origin.

With that being said, the primary focus of this newsletter for the forseeable future will be letters - specifically, the letters of J.R.R. Tolkien as compiled by Humphrey Carpenter. Whether you are a Tolkien nerd or not, these letters reveal the penetrating wisdom of a truly great Christian mind that grappled with truth on a variety of levels and applications. My plan is to provide a weekly summary and brief reflection on each of these 354 letters, so you are welcome to settle in for long while.

Primary reading on your part is not required, but it is certainly encouraged. If you decide to pick it up, I’d appreciate it if you used my affiliate link here: https://amzn.to/3VqxCaS. Also, if you don’t already listen, please be sure to subscribe to my podcast, Mythic Mind, in which I pursue wisdom through story and philosophy, which are not necessarily distinct categories. Also, be sure to check out my main website at andrewnsnyder.com. I admit that my blog has been ridiculously neglected, but I plan to revitalize it in 2023. Lastly, I welcome you to support me on Patreon at patreon.com/andrewnsnyder for exclusive content. At the moment, I’m currently wrapping up a Patreon-exclusive series on Grimms’ Fairy Tales, in which I read and reflect on these classic stories.

My goal is to start this series on Tolkien’s letters early in the new year, but I wanted to go ahead and get this system going. If you’d like to follow along, go ahead and subscribe. I look forward to the journey ahead, but, until then:

The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

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