Tolkien and the Kalevala

This book explores J. R. R. Tolkien’s unique and warm relationship to the Kalevala, a poem usually hailed as the Finnish and Karelian national epic, compiled, edited and partly revisioned from older folk poetry by Finnish scholar Elias Lönnrot in the 19th century. J. R. R. Tolkien, an Oxford academic and the greatest author of the 20th-century fantasy, creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was fascinated from early on by the Kalevala. Tolkien himself described the Kalevala as ＂a germ＂ of his fantasy fiction.

Jyrki Korpua, PhD, is a researcher of literature at the University of Oulu. His books include Alussa oli Sana - Raamattu ja kirjallisuus (＂The Bible and Literature＂, 2016, in Finnish), New Perspectives to Dystopian Fiction (2020, edited with Saija Isomaa & Jouni Teittinen) and The Mythopoeic Code of Tolkien: A Christian Platonic Reading of the Legendarium (2021). His research interests include theological literary history, utopian and dystopian studies, Tolkien studies and mythopoetic game studies.