I'd be interested to read that letter though. Where could I find that?
As for The Ring, my understanding was that the ring was really a receptacle for the power of Sauron and large part of his being was bound up in it. The ring affects the other rings of power because they were made by the same arts that Sauron used in order to make The One Ring. In fact, Sauron was the one who taught those arts to the elven smiths of Eregion at the beginning of the second age. The Ring has no direct power other than it's influence over the other rings of power and it's ability to corrupt the spirits of all who come within it's influence. It's real value was that it contained part of Sauron's might.
All things that are were made by Eru either directly or in the music of the Ainur (the collective term for Valar and Maiar). If Bombadil is not of Arda, then he must be of the Ainur. Since he is not powerful enough to be a Valar, and is never mentioned as such, he must be a Maiar. But what are the Valar and Maiar anyway except the embodiments of themes?
The Valar
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Manwe/Sulimo - Air (sky, wind, weather, sight, empathy, wisdom)
Varda/Elbereth - Light (Sun and Moon and Stars, Light of Arda, hearing, insight)
Ulmo - Water (King of the Oceans)
Aule/Mahal - Earth (non-living - smithing, crafting, making)
Yavanna/Kementari - Earth (living - plants, trees, flowers, crops)
Namo/Mandos - Spirits (keeper of the Halls of the Dead)
Nienna - Conscience (grief, pity, suffering)
Orome/Aldaron - Nature (The Huntsman, Lord of Animals)
Vana - Youth
Tulkas/Astaldo - Valour
Nessa - Joy
Irmo/Lorien - Spirits (dreams, desires, love)
Este - Renewal
Vaire - Time and Fate
Melkor - Fire
To serve the Valar were a multitude of Maiar who, like the Valar, were thematic but less powerful. Some of these Maiar, like Melkor, fell away from the original goals of the Ainur who entered Arda. For example, Balrogs are spirits of fire - Maiar - who have fallen to the corruption of Melkor. Saruman also fell and would have set himself up as a rival to Sauron, if he could.
Not all who strayed fell so far as Sauron, Saruman and the Balrogs. Radagast strayed from his original task and did not leave Middle Earth when the task of the Istari was completed. Instead he took up a stewardship of sorts in Rhosgobel on the western side of Mirkwood and with time became tied to that place just as Sauron was tied to his ring.
From what I understand, Tom Bombadil - a servant of Yavanna - was given stewardship of the Wild Wood in Northwest Middle-Earth. As time passed he became deeply rooted to the land and as the Wild Wood shrank, his area of influence shrank with it. By the Third Age, only a little of Tom's once great forest remained and Tom, wedded to his forest by long years of tending it, is utterly tied to it. Goldberry - spirit of the Withywindle river - is similarly tied.
Eventually the forest will disappear altogether. When that happens, Tom's spirit will either return to Valinor or, if he is not permitted there, pass out of Arda and go to the Halls of Eru.
That's just my understanding from having run a 3 year long LoTR roleplay game for my gaming group. This comes from gaming source books and while I believe it to be fairly accurate I am happy to have any errors corrected.
And before anyone else says it:- Yes, it is a little sad and anorakish (wow - I invented a word) that anyone should know this much about a fantasy land. But then I am a geek.
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