The Inklings
The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949.[1] The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction and encouraged the writing of fantasy. The best-known, apart from Tolkien and Lewis, were Charles Williams, and (although a Londoner) Owen Barfield.
Members
The more regular members of the Inklings, many of them academics at the University, included:[2]
- Owen Barfield
- Jack A. W. Bennett
- Lord David Cecil
- Nevill Coghill
- Hugo Dyson[3]
- Adam Fox[4]
- Robert Havard
- C. S. Lewis
- Warren Lewis (C. S. Lewis's elder brother)
- J. R. R. Tolkien
- Christopher Tolkien (J. R. R. Tolkien's son)
- Charles Williams
More infrequent visitors included:
Guests included:
Meetings
"Properly speaking," wrote Warren Lewis, "the Inklings was neither a club nor a literary society, though it partook of the nature of both. There were no rules, officers, agendas, or formal elections."[7] As was typical for university groups in their time and place, the Inklings were all male.
Readings and discussions of the members' unfinished works were the principal purposes of meetings. Tolkien's
The name was associated originally with a society of
Until late 1949, Inklings readings and discussions were usually held on Thursday evenings in C. S. Lewis's rooms at Magdalen. The Inklings and friends also gathered informally on Tuesdays at midday at a local
Legacy
The
The
The Inklings in fiction
In Swan Song (1947) by Edmund Crispin a discussion takes place between Professor Gervase Fen and others in the front parlour of the Eagle and Child.
"There goes C. S. Lewis", said Fen suddenly. "It must be Tuesday."
The Late Scholar (2013) by Jill Paton Walsh is a sequel, set in 1951, to the Lord Peter Wimsey novels of Dorothy L. Sayers. Wimsey, now 17th Duke of Denver, is investigating a mystery in the fictional St Severin's College, Oxford with his friend Charles Parker, now an assistant chief constable.
"Right," said Peter. "How about lunch, Charles? We could spin out to the Rose Revived." [on the Thames about 7 miles from Oxford]
Charles looked bashful. "I have heard," he said carefully, "that there is a pub in Oxford at which C. S Lewis often takes lunch."
"There is indeed", said Peter. "But he lunches with a group of cronies … Right, on with our overcoats and it's off to the Bird and Babe."
Three of the best-known members of the Inklings – Tolkien, Lewis, and Williams – are the main characters of
References
- ^ Kilby & Mead 1982, p. 230.
- ^ Carpenter 1981, pp. 255–259.
- ^ Carpenter 1981, p. 82.
- ^ Carpenter 1981, p. 36.
- ^ Carpenter 1981, p. 95.
- ^ Carpenter 1981, p. 84.
- ISBN 9780275991197.
- ^ "Inklings | literary group". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ "War of Words over World's Worst Writer", Culture Northern Ireland, archived from the original on 12 March 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-261-10265-1.
- ^ "Eagle & Child pub", Headington, UK, archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
- ^ Carpenter 1979, p. 149.
- S2CID 226364975.
- ^ "Who Were the Inklings? | Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel – Available from Ignatius Press". www.ignatius.com. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ Nelson, Valerie J. (14 November 2010). "Glen Howard GoodKnight II dies at 69; Tolkien enthusiast founded the Mythopoeic Society". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ THE INDIGO KING | Kirkus Reviews.
Sources
- ISBN 0-395-27628-4
- ISBN 0-04-826005-3
- ISBN 1-902694-13-9
- Duriez, Colin (2003), Tolkien and CS Lewis: The Gift of Friendship, ISBN 1-58768-026-2
- ISBN 978-0-87338-890-0
- ISBN 9781606352762
- Karlson, Henry (2010), Thinking with the Inklings, ISBN 978-1-4505-4130-5
- ISBN 0-06-064575-X
- Knight, Gareth (October 2010), The Magical World of the Inklings, Barfield, Owen, foreword (new & expanded ed.), Skylight, ISBN 978-1-908011-01-5.
- Segura, Eduardo; Honegger, Thomas, eds. (2007), Myth and Magic: Art According to the Inklings, Walking Tree Publishers, ISBN 978-3-905703-08-5
- Zaleski, Philip and Carol (2015). The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. ISBN 978-0374154097.
External links
- Journal of Inklings Studies, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, peer-reviewed & academic.
- Further Up and Further In, archived from the original on 2 March 2013, retrieved 8 December 2008, a CS Lewis and Inklings resource blog.
- An Inklings bibliography, The Mythopoeic Society.
- Inklings gesellschaft [Inklings Society] (in German), DE.
- Marion E. Wade Center (research collection), Wheaton.
- "Inklings", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(entry).