Letter 294b

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Letter 294b
Recipient	Donald Swann
Date	20 March 1967
Subject(s)	The Road Goes Ever On, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight & Pearl

Letter 294b is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded edition.

Summary

In this letter to Donald Swann Tolkien addresses his delayed contribution to The Road Goes Ever On, for which the deadline had passed on 1st March. Tolkien expresses relief that Swann did not harshly criticise him for the delay.

Tolkien reveals that working on the Elvish songs and scripts, a task he thoroughly enjoys, unfortunately coincided with pressing commitments. He has been preoccupied with finalizing Gawain and Pearl, and now has the proofs of the revised edition of the Middle English text of Gawain on his table, which require careful consideration. This dual focus has led to his failure to satisfy either project, leaving him feeling as though he has disappointed everyone involved.