Friends are like stars

Tolkien's poetry is one of the hallmarks of the legendarium, though like poetry in general, it tends ot produce mixed reactions from readers. A poet who brings to life the musicality of Middle-earth, Flora-lass will be presenting a poem inspired by Stella Getreuer-Kostrouch's presentation, "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol" at Mereth Aderthad 2025. Anérea spoke with Flora-lass about her poetry, getting involved with fandom later in life, and the appeal of Thingol as a subject of fanworks.

You can read Anérea's interview with Flora-lass here.

Marhwini of the Éothéod is a character who exists between books. He is, in the words of his biographer Secondborn, "a representative of a people who didn’t even exist," appearing in neither The Silmarillion nor The Lord of the Rings. But as Secondborn articulates, this doesn't mean Marhwini is unimportant. Her biography of Marhwini not only compiles the details of the life of a character who is likely unfamiliar to many Tolkien fans but also explores why this character matters. Important to both the histories of Rohan and Gondor, Marhwini is a character who influences events in the legendarium from across the centuries and whose actions exemplify the essential theme of the value of friendship and allegiance.

You can read Secondborn's biography of Marhwini here.