The Mythopoeic Society

"Stop making me fathom stuff."

Shivering in the trenches dreaming of cozy hobbit holes, shaking as bombs pockmark a forest and imagining each shallow mud-filled crater contains a new world—that maybe there are still as many beautiful things in the universe as there are bombs—that maybe the world is bigger than this moment and this ugliness and one day this will be a peaceful forest again full of small ponds.

I mean look at these photos of the shell craters in Sanctuary Woods, near Ypres Belgium and tell me it’s not the Wood Between The Worlds:

The AMOUNT of academic papers written revolving around Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson’s movie interpretations, World War I and it’s events/aftermath/etc., and the cross-comparison between them that I have currently in my office is MASSIVE.

No lie, this is a HUGE area of study and if you’ve thought that those things feel in line, then you aren’t the only one.

One of my favorites is by an Irish historian who makes a very compelling argument (based on WWI, Post-War art, and Tolkein’s own writings/letters/journals/etc.) that by rooting for the Hobbits, we’re rooting for the continuation of the British Empire, and that Sauron is representative of the “Machine Age” (aka modernity).

Whether you agree or not, a really fascinating argument. Layer in specific national memories and perspectives (the Irish, Belgians, ANZACs, etc.) and it becomes EVEN MORE fascinating.

Online MidWinter Seminar 2024

Something Mighty Queer: queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and other mythopoeic work

February 17-18, 2024 Via Zoom and Discord

Guest of Honor: Taylor Driggers

Join us for a virtual conference centered around queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, or other mythopoeic work. “Queerness” is an intentionally ambiguous term, demonstrating the diversity of queer experiences, and the necessity of situating queerness as a liminal, complex paradigm. Queer theory is wider than the study of gender identity or sexuality, extending to taking positions against normativity and dominant modes of thought, and engaging with the indefinite.

Online MidWinter Seminar 2024

Something Mighty Queer: queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and other mythopoeic work

February 17-18, 2024 Via Zoom and Discord

Guest of Honor: Taylor Driggers

Join us for a virtual conference centered around queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, or other mythopoeic work. “Queerness” is an intentionally ambiguous term, demonstrating the diversity of queer experiences, and the necessity of situating queerness as a liminal, complex paradigm. Queer theory is wider than the study of gender identity or sexuality, extending to taking positions against normativity and dominant modes of thought, and engaging with the indefinite.

Online MidWinter Seminar 2024

Something Mighty Queer: queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and other mythopoeic work

February 17-18, 2024 Via Zoom and Discord

Guest of Honor: Taylor Driggers

Join us for a virtual conference centered around queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, or other mythopoeic work. “Queerness” is an intentionally ambiguous term, demonstrating the diversity of queer experiences, and the necessity of situating queerness as a liminal, complex paradigm. Queer theory is wider than the study of gender identity or sexuality, extending to taking positions against normativity and dominant modes of thought, and engaging with the indefinite.

Online MidWinter Seminar 2024

Something Mighty Queer: queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and other mythopoeic work

February 17-18, 2024 Via Zoom and Discord

Guest of Honor: Taylor Driggers

Join us for a virtual conference centered around queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, or other mythopoeic work. “Queerness” is an intentionally ambiguous term, demonstrating the diversity of queer experiences, and the necessity of situating queerness as a liminal, complex paradigm. Queer theory is wider than the study of gender identity or sexuality, extending to taking positions against normativity and dominant modes of thought, and engaging with the indefinite.

Online MidWinter Seminar 2024

Something Mighty Queer: queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and other mythopoeic work

February 17-18, 2024 Via Zoom and Discord

Guest of Honor: Taylor Driggers

Join us for a virtual conference centered around queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, or other mythopoeic work. “Queerness” is an intentionally ambiguous term, demonstrating the diversity of queer experiences, and the necessity of situating queerness as a liminal, complex paradigm. Queer theory is wider than the study of gender identity or sexuality, extending to taking positions against normativity and dominant modes of thought, and engaging with the indefinite.

Online MidWinter Seminar 2024

Something Mighty Queer: queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and other mythopoeic work

February 17-18, 2024 Via Zoom and Discord

Guest of Honor: Taylor Driggers

Join us for a virtual conference centered around queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, or other mythopoeic work. “Queerness” is an intentionally ambiguous term, demonstrating the diversity of queer experiences, and the necessity of situating queerness as a liminal, complex paradigm. Queer theory is wider than the study of gender identity or sexuality, extending to taking positions against normativity and dominant modes of thought, and engaging with the indefinite.

Online MidWinter Seminar 2024

Something Mighty Queer: queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and other mythopoeic work

February 17-18, 2024 Via Zoom and Discord

Guest of Honor: Taylor Driggers

Join us for a virtual conference centered around queerness in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, or other mythopoeic work. “Queerness” is an intentionally ambiguous term, demonstrating the diversity of queer experiences, and the necessity of situating queerness as a liminal, complex paradigm. Queer theory is wider than the study of gender identity or sexuality, extending to taking positions against normativity and dominant modes of thought, and engaging with the indefinite.

I attended an informal evening session at the Popular Culture Association conference about publishing in Tolkien Studies, and I wanted to share the advice that was given. There were some big names there: journal editors and book publishers who were happy to share what they see come across their desks, as well as scholars and academics with extensive experience publishing in Tolkien Studies.

Know what's been published. A major reason Tolkien Studies journals turn down submissions is that those submissions are retreading territory that's already been extensively covered in the scholarship. Journal of Tolkien Research, Mythlore, and Mallorn have all or most of their journals online, so they are good places to start in making sure your ideas forge in a new direction.

New scholars in the field do better publishing in journals rather than themed anthologies. Themed anthologies often don't make it to print for a variety of reasons, but their editors usually expect you to turn in a finished article (because the anthology is often looking for a publisher and needs the articles to show potential publishers ... but just like any attempt at publication, there's no guarantee that a publisher will pick up the anthology). Journals, on the other hand, have a structure in place to publish regularly, so if your article is accepted, it is much more likely to see print.

Read the guidelines for a particular publication and be scrupulous in following them.

I was but a small candle among these luminaries in the Tolkien Studies field, but I will still offer my two cents: Do not think that because you're "just a fan" that you have nothing to say worthy of publication. I keep a foot in both pools--the scholarly pool and the fandom pool--and fans often discuss ideas that haven't made it into the scholarship yet. And Tolkien Studies is a field that is very open to contributions from independent scholars (read: fans), in a large part because everyone in Tolkien Studies knows that the field hasn't been built by academics but by fans.

’Twas Tumblr, and the slithy memes Did bode and call out on the dash: Fucken WIMDY were the shitpost streams, And of things was the trash.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The eeb that deebs, the blorb that plinks! Beware of Shittos Glup, and shun Bendlebick Cumperdincks!”

He took his discourse sword in hand; Long time the chungus foe he sought— So rested he in the ball pit (free!) And sat awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish (derogatory) thought he sat, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came GIFfling through the old group chat, And hurgled as it came!

UWU! UWU! And through and through The discourse blade went "Um, actually, the Jabberwock is coded as friendly because 'eyes of flame' means red and orange, and those are warm and inviting colors according to 'color theory', which I guess you haven't heard of and don't understand." He left it dead, and with its head He man car door hook hand.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boi! O #frabjousday! Sounds fake but okay!” He reblogged in his joy.

Anyway, here’s a picture of Royd Tolkien, great grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, alongside a real-life wizard, Sir Ian Gandalf McKellen.