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We Have a Winner! {Silmarillion Award for Best Riddling and Poetry}

Oh, hello there. It’s much too early for tea, do come back lat– Oh. Is it that time already? Well then.

*rushes onto stage*

*scans audience and clears throat*

Good morning! I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. But I am getting used to unfamiliar faces intruding upon my quiet routine, so here I am at the request of the fine folk in charge of the Silmarillion Awards.

You’ve likely already guessed it would be me presenting the Silmaril for Riddling and Poetry. For the sake of riddles, however, I’m inclined to introduce myself thusly. . .

I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air. I am he who walks unseen. I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me. I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ring-winner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider–better known as Bilbo Baggins.

It brings me great pleasure to present this award to someone nearly as skilled at riddles and rhymes as I am. Perhaps you can hazard a guess? Here’s a poetical conundrum to help you along.

Ancient I am
And enchanted too
With the power of four
I am magically imbued


With wisdom vast
I peer inside minds
Their thoughts and intentions
I sort and divide


September is when
My song will ring out
Then I hem and I haw
Then proclaim with a shout


The house you belong in
One out of four
My most famous student
I placed in Gryffindor


My name should be clear
I’m grouchy and grim
And I sing and I speak
Through a rip near my brim

*smiles a self-contented smile*

Not half bad, considering I’ve never met him–er, it–before today. Ahem. The winner of the 2016 Riddling and Poetry Silmaril is . . .

*consults a paper*

The Sorting Hat!

Congratulations, my dear fellow! You bear a striking resemblance to the hat of a grouchy wizard in my acquaintance. But that is neither here nor there. For your wise counsel to the new students of Hogwarts, and your guidance often presented in the form of poems and songs, you deserve this gleaming jewel.

Many notable poets and riddlers were contending for this award. You may be interested in seeing how they fared.

Best Riddling and Poetry
111 out of 123 voters answered this question.
The Sorting Hat (Harry Potter Series) 36 / 32%
Curdie Peterson (The Princess and the Goblin) 31 / 28%
Sir Eanrin (Tales of Goldstone Wood) 28 / 25%
Gummy (The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall) 8 / 7%
Leonard the Lightning Tongue (Tales of Goldstone Wood) 8 / 7%
Some close competition among the top three, but in the end, the famous Sorting Hat emerged the winner!
Thank you all for your participation. The Silmarillion Awards would be impossible if not for you! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve tea to steep, a pipe to smoke, and a book to read.
*awkwardly waves goodbye and retreats offstage*
Me: Thank you for taking time away from your comfy morning, Bilbo, to present this award. Congrats again to the Sorting Hat, and thanks to all of you!

Don’t forget to visit all the stops. You can see the schedule HERE. And please feel free to join the fun during the last weekend of July, during which time many of us will be celebrating with a Tolkien Party!

No veren! [Enjoy yourself/be joyous]

50 Comments

    • admin

      Neither did I! Apparently Eanrin was in the lead until the Sorting Hat and Curdie pulled a Secretariat move.

      Bilbo thanks you kindly (and so do I)! 🙂

  1. Deborah O'Carroll

    Wow, I had no idea! Congrats to the Sorting Hat (and fabulous job, Bilbo, thank you! :D). I love seeing the results there… so close!

    I imagine Eanrin is off somewhere griping at Leo for stealing his thunder, since he would have tied with the Sorting Hat if he'd gotten Leo's votes as well as his own, and that would have made a tie and caused a ruckus, which I'm sure he would have been glad of, if only to soothe his battered ego. 😉

    Awesome post, Tracey!!! 😀

  2. Abbey

    That was such a fun post, Tracey! Bilbo did such a great job presenting! I love love LOVE the poem about the Sorting Hat! That was fantastic! It's crazy how close the votes were. Congratulations to the Sorting Hat.

  3. Anonymous

    Wow, yay for the Sorting Hat! That was an amazing poem, Bilbo, and you did a lovely job of presenting as well! 🙂

  4. Anonymous

    Wonderful post! I haven't met the Sorting Hat either, Bilbo, but that is a VERY impressive poem!! Long and rhyming! *claps loudly*

    Nicely done Tracey! 🙂 (Have you ever done fan-poetry for Goldstone Wood?)

    Blessings,
    The Princess of Dol Amroth

    • admin

      Thank you!! Long and rhyming is the only way to go, especially if you hail from Middle Earth. 😉

      I haven't, no. Mostly because I've been too busy writing my own tales and poetry. 😛 But it would be fun to try my hand at it sometime. Have YOU done fan-anything for Goldstone Wood?

    • Anonymous

      Long and rhyming is the best!!

      I was curious because I knew you'd drawn some Shadow Hand fan art, (I loove the picture you drew of Nidawi, and the wolf in Daylily's eye) and since this post revealed that you write good poetry I was wondering if you'd done any for Goldstone Wood. 🙂 And yes I've done fan art and one fan poem. Only my name on those are either Rebekah L. or Rebekah K. Lawrence. 🙂
      My little poem's here if you're interested. http://anneelisabethstengl.blogspot.com/2015/09/in-arpiar-roses-bloom-rebekah-k-lawrence.html

      -The Princess of Dol Amroth

    • admin

      @Deborah: That's right! I didn't even think of those, because my mind was on "writing" and not "art." XD I drew Nidawi, Daylily's eye, and the year before I drew Rose Red next to the tombstone. 🙂

      @The Princess of Dol Amroth: Wow, I'm honored you remember those! Thank you! ^___^ That name does ring a bell… I'll have to go hunting for that fan art. Thanks for the link to the poem! Such a pretty one. I agree with the comments there: it has a song-like rhythm that makes it sound like something that would be sung around a fire when recounting that tale. 🙂

  5. Christine Smith

    Whoa! I am shocked. I was just sure Eanrin had it in the bag. But it's probably for the best. I can only imagine what winning would have done to his ego.

    A huge congrats to the Sorting Hat! Sadly, I don't really know much about the Sorting Hat… But I am positive it is amazing to beat such tough competition. So I applaud it!

    And this post was like…the most amazing thing. THE POEM. You're a great award presenter "Bilbo". 😉

    • admin

      I was too! From the look of the nominations, Eanrin was sitting pretty on a high tower of popularity. XD But you're right, if he'd won, we'd never hear the end of it!

      *strews party balloons* I…*cough*…did some research and asked a HP-fan friend of mine for some help because I didn't know much about the hat either. Yes, it must be special indeed to snag the award!

      YOU'RE TOO KIND. Bilbo would happily blow smoke rings with you next time you're in the Shire. 😉

  6. Rawls E.

    Awesome, I loved the poem and this post, Tracey! You sound like a true riddler yourself!
    Congrats to the sorting hat, and well done Bilbo for presenting! I'm surprised the hat won against the other contenders. (I imagine none of them are too pleased losing to a hat XD lol).

    • admin

      Thank you so much, Elise! ^_^

      Haha, you're probably right. An object beating "real, live" people? But the hat must be monstrously pleased right now!

    • Rawls E.

      I do think the hat is pleased. Somehow it can grin, which is strange for a hat, but it's better than that permanent frown it always had in the movie. (lol) ;D

    • admin

      I watched a clip from the first HP movie on YouTube to see the hat in action–it certainly does have a frowny face. Maybe this will make it smile. XD

  7. Blue

    *Cheers!*
    That was a clever introduction riddle. How appropriate!
    Thanks Tracey (and Bilbo)!

    (I wish I could see Eanrin's face when he discovers he lost to a hat.)

  8. Mary Horton

    BILBOOOO. *tackle-hugs* *backs off when Bilbo spills his tea everywhere* I'm so thrilled that he presented the award!!! (Also, I read this post in Bilbo's voice because it was so convincing. XD)

    I've never read Harry Potter, but gosh, The Sorting Hat sounds pretty darn awesome. Congrats to the hat! (Ha, I just realized how similar "congrats" and "hat" sound. XD)

    Oh, and did you actually make up that poem about the hat? Because I thought it was from the books until I started looking through the comments section. If so, kudos to you, girl! YOU deserve a silmaril for poetry. 😀

    • admin

      MARY, I CAN'T WITH YOUR SWEET COMMENT. XD Thank you! I'm pleased to hear it was so convincing. There have been a number of presentations that I can totally hear in my head too.

      He (it?) does sound awesome! I'm toying with the idea of reading Harry Potter sometime. (Heehee, now you're rhyming too!)

      I did make it up, yes! Oh goodness, you thought it was from the books?? Glad it came off so authentically. ^_^

    • admin

      Thank you–from both myself and Bilbo! 🙂 It was really fun to get into character, especially since Bilbo is one of my favorites.

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