Tom Shippey
Professor Emeritus, Saint Louis University
Tom Shippey
Professor Emeritus, Saint Louis University
Tom Shippey has taught at six universities, including Oxford and Harvard, during a long academic career (1965-2008). He is best known for his books on Tolkien, but has also published very widely on medieval studies, and on fantasy and science fiction – including, in recent years, more than 200 reviews of the latter for The Wall Street Journal. His books have been much reprinted and translated, and a feature of them is a desire to reach out beyond the academic community.
three books i'm proudest of:
Constructing Nations, Reconstructing Myth: Essays in Honour of T.A. Shippey (2008)
This is the retirement or semi-official festschrift, produced by former colleagues and students, and focusing on literary contributions to Romantic Nationalism, mostly in the 19th century.
Tolkien in the New Century: Essays in Honor of Tom Shippey (2014)
This is the surprise festschrift, produced by Tolkien fans without me knowing about it, bless their hearts.
Literary Speech Acts of the Medieval North: Essays Inspired by the Works of Thomas A. Shippey (2020)
And this is the continuity festschrift, produced mostly by former students, and focusing this time on the application of “pragmatic linguistics” to early literature. (I define “pragmatic linguistics” as the art of listening to what people don’t say.)