My name is Corey Olsen. I am an English professor at Washington College and a Ph.D. in medieval literature, and I have been a student of Tolkien’s works for as long as I can remember.
I have become increasingly frustrated with the separation between academics and general readers, and I am determined to come out of the cloister and spend my own career sharing my scholarly work with the public. I founded this website because I wanted to connect with other people who are eager to be included in a thoughtful literary conversation about the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Since I launched this site in July 2009, listeners have downloaded more than 1,200,000 of my lectures.
On this website (and through my podcast feed on iTunes), I will be posting many different kinds of material, mostly in the form of digital audio files. The heart of my work on this site is my extended, in-depth lecture series on Tolkien’s major works, but I have also provided several methods through which we can enter into a more interactive conversation. All of my recorded material is completely free; I hope you have as much fun listening to them as I have making them!
If you are interested in joining me on a rich and exciting exploration of Tolkien’s stories, then…
Heard