The Inklings Variety Hour

Poetry Thursday: "I Sit Beside the Fire and Think," by J.R.R. Tolkien

Comin' at you from "The Ring Goes South," in The Fellowship of the Ring.  Enjoy, and sorry about the poor audio quality!

"The Golden Key," by George MacDonald

This week, Chris is joined by Eric Geddes, longtime friend of the show, to talk about George MacDonald's bizarre-yet-beautiful fairy story, "The Golden Key." 

Feel free to read it first, or listen to it on Librivox: Part 1, Part 2

We talk about the following:

• George MacDonald's life
• The "plot" (or lack thereof--hang in there!) of "The Golden Key"
• Parallels with C.S. Lewis' work (especially The Problem of Pain)
• Tolkien's reaction and general crotchetiness in old age
• Other works like "The Golden Key"
• I probably bring up Miyazaki a bit too much

Recommended books and films:

• Tales Before Tolkien (ed. by Douglas Anderson)
• Spells of Enchantment (ed. by Jack Zipes)
• Peter and Wendy, by J.M Barrie
• The Problem of Pain, by C.S. Lewis
• Smith of Wootton Major, by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Boy and the Heron and Howl's Moving Castle (films) by Hayao Miyazaki
• The Song of Bernadette movie that Tolkien liked when he seemed to like very little else--starring (among others) a young Vincent Price!

If you enjoy The Inklings Variety Hour, please leave us a five-star review on Apple Music or iTunes.  Thanks very much to those who have, including (most recently) Virginicus, who says, "It’s amazing how many different things the Inklings can be connected to. Chris follows them all over the map. I like the new Thursday poetry readings best."  Thanks, Virginicus!  Very much obliged!

As always, feel free to drop us a line to let us know what you like and what you would like to see more of: inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com

We're also on Instagram now @inklingsvarietyhour

 

Next week: The House by the Stable, by Charles Williams

 

Poetry Thursday: "To Charles Williams," by C.S. Lewis

Lewis' poem in memory of Charles Williams.

Quotations come from The Making of C.S. Lewis, by Harry Lee Poe, and Collected Letters, vol. 2, edited by Walter Hooper.

Thanks again to Sørina Higgins for her excellent reading!

Adapting Tolkien (Rerun)

We have a lot more new episodes waiting for you, including a trip to the borders of Faerie with George MacDonald, a Night Operation with Owen Barfield, and a House by the Stable with Charles Williams!  And a lot more.  

But here's the thing...all of those episodes need to be edited by yours truly. And it's the last week of the semester, and I have a lot of grading (and parenting) to do, so, it's time to treat yourself to a rerun.

Luckily, it's a good one!

Enjoy this old episode about adapting Tolkien!  We'll be back next week!

Old description:

Jonathan Geltner and Eric Geddes join Chris to talk about their favorite adaptations of Tolkien's Legendarium in this fairly self-indulgent and digressive conversation.  Join us!

Do you have a favorite (or least favorite) Tolkien adaptation?  Email us at inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com and tell us about it.

Poetry Thursday: "Surprised by Joy," by William Wordsworth

This poetry Thursday, we're taking on "Surprised by Joy," the sonnet by William Wordsworth that gave Lewis' 1955 memoir its title.  But beyond a title, does the poem have any connection to Lewis' ideas about joy, grief, and love?

Probably, yes.

 

Thanks again to Sørina Higgins for selecting and reading this week's (and last week's) poem!

Here's the poem, by the way: Surprised by Joy by William Wordsworth | Poetry Foundation

And here's Ben Jonson's "On My First Son," which is a real tear-jerker: On my First Son by Ben Jonson | Poetry Foundation

If you enjoy Poetry Thursdays, be sure to let us know at inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com

 

C.S. Lewis, Trauma, and the World Wars

As always, if you enjoy this program, please leave us a five-star review on iTunes.  

 

Dr. Katherine Wyma joins Chris to talk about how Lewis' writing reflects his experiences in World War I.  In particular, she suggests that his writing about World War II may be a form of narrative therapy that helped him cope with psychological wounds from the previous war.

Katherine mentions a few books listeners might want to check out:

The Maisie Dobbs mystery series

A Morning After War, by K.J. Gilchrist

C.S. Lewis and the BBC, by Justin Phillips

If you want to drop us a line, or join us for an episode (we're recording on Perelandra just now), email us at inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com.  We'd love to hear from you.

 

Poetry Thursday: "On Meeting Shakespeare," by Charles Williams

Enjoy this short, early poem by Charles Williams!

Many thanks to Sørina Higgins for reading (as well as her counsel and help with this podcast generally).

Find Williams' poem and her commentary (from ten years ago, nearly exactly) here: On Meeting Shakespeare | The Oddest Inkling (wordpress.com)

Next week: Tolkien and Lewis and the World Wars!

Race to Krakatoa (Inkwell Chronicles), with J.D. Peabody

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Yes, we're talking to you through these shownotes, 

and it's all very eerie

and annoying.

*ahem*

Middle-grade author J.D. Peabody rejoins Chris to talk about The Inkwell Chronicles: Race to Krakatoa, the second book in his Inkwell Chronicles series.  

You may want to read the book before listening--or feel free to listen to get an idea of how another author draws on the work of the Inklings to create his own excellent middle-grade fiction. It's pretty inspiring.

Stick around post "credits" to hear Mr. Peabody talk with Chris' 10-year-old son.  

Here, by the way, is Jeff's secret Inkwell Chronicles invisible ink page.  Worth looking through.

Apologies for the late posting! Life has been a perfect storm of grading, kids getting sick, meetings, etc.  

Also--we're on Instagram now.  Follow us @inklingsvarietyhour and feel free to respond there.

As always, email us at inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com.  We'd love to hear from you.

Poetry Thursday: "The Hoard," by J.R.R. Tolkien

This week, we've got another by Tolkien.  You can find it in Tales from the Perilous Realm, which collects The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in which it was originally published.

Again, the idea for this format comes from "The Daily Poem," so check it out if you haven't already done so.

See you Tuesday!

The Silver Chair, Part 5: Malice in Underland

The finale of our series on The Silver Chair!  We have a lot of great stuff to say, but I have a ten-month-old with an ear infection and it is the last month of the semester, so I will have to write a summary later!  This is also not as scrupulously edited as other episodes are--so savor the authenticity!

My guests are Eric Geddes, Jonathan Geltner (whose blogs you should find and whose books you should buy), and Joseph Weigel (whose podcast you should listen to). My wife Glencora also makes a brief appearance.

You can now find us on Instagram @inklingsvarietyhour.  We'd love to hear from you.

Next week, we'll be talking to J.D. Peabody about his middle-grade fantasy, The Inkwell Chronicles: Race to Krakatoa.  Feel free to look it up and give it a read before then or wait until you hear the episode.

As always, email me at inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com, and please leave a five-star review on iTunes if you're enjoying the podcast.