J.R.R. Tolkien published his essay collection Tree and Leaf in 1964.
Tree and Leaf brought together Tolkien’s influential essay “On Fairy-Stories” and the story “Leaf by Niggle.” It also included the poem “Mythopoeia” in later editions. The volume therefore combines literary theory, fiction, and poetry in a compact presentation of Tolkien’s ideas about imagination and creation.
“On Fairy-Stories” discusses what fairy stories are, what they can do, and why adults should not dismiss them as merely childish entertainment. Tolkien famously argues that such stories can offer recovery, escape, and consolation. “Leaf by Niggle” presents a painter whose unfinished work becomes part of a larger, transformed reality.
Tree and Leaf is not a Middle-earth narrative collection in the same sense as The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. It is especially important for readers interested in Tolkien’s literary principles, including his concept of “sub-creation,” the making of coherent imaginary worlds.