Letter 168a

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Letter 168a
Recipient	Katharine Farrer
Date	8 September 1955
Subject(s)	The O'Donnell lecture at the Oxford

Letter 168a is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded edition.

Summary

Tolkien conveys his deep fatigue following a trip to Italy, which exacerbated rather than alleviated his exhaustion. Upon returning, he has felt disinclined to engage in intellectual activities such as reading, writing, or thinking, preferring instead manual labor like cleaning and gardening.

Tolkien mentions the impending O'Donnell lecture at the University of Oxford, which he has repeatedly postponed and now dreads due to his inability to recall his intended content. He also expresses his fondness for the Welsh people and his attempts to master modern colloquial Welsh, despite limited success primarily due to a lack of opportunities to practice.