C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and several of their writing
friends, formed an informal literary circle in 1933. This circle of writers also included C. S.
Lewis’ older brother Warren. They called
their group The Inklings and it existed until 1949. The
group had no rules, officers, or agendas.
The men simply met regularly to read and discuss their unfinished
works. C. S. Lewis is reported to have
enjoyed listening to his friends read their stories. They met at Magdalene College, Oxford,
England on Thursday evenings and Tuesdays during the day at a local pub called
The Eagle and Child which some referred to as The Bird and Baby. They later met
in other pubs such as The Lamb and Flag.
It was at one of these friendly meetings that the novels by J. R. R.
Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings and C.
S. Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet
were first read. Their discussions were
not all serious. They often entertained
themselves with the poor prose of Amanda McKittrick Ros with challenges to see
who could read her prose the longest without breaking into laughter.
I’ve often thought how wonderful it would be to belong to
such a group. I envision a small group
of four to six fiction writers who feel comfortable reading their work aloud
and then discussing ideas, characters, plots, grammar, contests, publishing
houses, and printing companies. There
wouldn’t be any critiquing per se. Instead,
there’d be encouragement to press on to finish a piece of work and a free brainstorming
of ideas; helping each other to build stories and get them published. I picture the small intimate group meeting at
a restaurant or coffee shop. As they
read and discuss their stories, I see them enjoying a meal and laughing. It’s an up-beat group in which everyone looks
forward to their time together. And if everyone in the group is a Christian
that would top it off.
Oh, if only there were some literary folks nearby with this
same dream. What fun it would be!
This comraderie does sound magnificent, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteViolet Moore here (one of these days I'll get it, how to 'comment as':
ReplyDeleteOur group chose the name Steinbach Inksters - because we loved the story about the Inklings!
I am deeply grateful to this group of Christian folks for all the help they've been to me. Keeping me accountable/motivated; teaching me to hone the art of writing by the Reading and Critique time; the freedom to write and share anything on our heart. Truly a blessing. I guess the on-line conversations could be a real source of encouragement as well.
Thanks for this post, Shirley. I have heard of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien being part of a classic writers' group, but you have fleshed out some of the details for this. Thanks. I also hope you are able to find your dream fiction group. That would be a select group, where ours is a mixture of poets, a playwright, memoirists. We write fiction, non-fiction and the works. Rather than find a group, you may have to start and build one. I can see the advantage to having "a small group of four to six fiction writers who feel comfortable reading their work aloud and then discussing ideas, characters, plots, grammar, contests, publishing houses, and printing companies." All the best with finding your niche of writers.
ReplyDeleteI just love learning all about this extraordinary group of writers, some of the best in history, being such close friends. Who knows where the next such group is meeting right now? Maybe online, like we are!
ReplyDelete