The Inklings Variety Hour

Pop-up Episode: Rings of Power Season 2 Trailer Reaction

The teaser for season two of the "Rings of Power" has Chris in an unusually curmudgeonly mood, doubting whether there is indeed a reason for this season. 

Luckily, he is visited today by three spirits who know more about the show and the lore behind it than he does.

Can Sørina Higgins, Connor Salter, and Jordan Key cause him to believe in Tolkien adaptations again? Or will he drag them down with him into the cynical abyss, full of zombie swordfish and indistinct symbiote goo? (I mean, can a crossover with the MCU be far away--it's clearly Venom.)

We talk about:

1. How Tolkienian is the trailer?

2. What each image in the trailer might be.

3. What would they have to announce about the new season to make us excited (or at least less grumpy) about it?

Apologies for doing almost no editing on this one!  It needed to be churned out fast to be even the tiniest bit relevant.

Drop us a line at inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com and feel free to share your thoughts about the series.

Notice: We'll have the normal IVH episode (about Nightmare Alley) on Thursday, in place of the poem--this week.  In future weeks, we'll return to the Hour-Tuesday/Poetry-Thursday format.

By the way, here's where the conversation between Sørina Higgins and Jordan Key about Season One will become available.

Poetry Thursday: "The Future of Forestry," by C.S. Lewis

Sorry for the late upload!

This is a fairly rambly meditation on C.S. Lewis' "The Future of Forestry."  Also, intellectual and political history painted with a very, very broad brush. Edgy! (Or maybe just careless.)

The views expressed here (which are solely Chris's and might be wrong as many of them were formulated while writing), please do write in at inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com! I'd love to hear from you! If anyone would like a longer episode with many contrasting views of Lewis' and Tolkien's conservative conservationism, let me know--that could be a lot of fun. 

Next week--come visit Nightmare Alley with me and Connor Salter!

Thanks again to Sørina Higgins for her readings!

"The House by the Stable" by Charles Williams (with Jason Will)

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Chris is joined by actor Jason Will to discuss Charles Williams' nativity play, The House by the Stable, recently staged by the Acacia Theater Company with Grab and Grace.

Together, they weigh the following questions (among others):

• How can modern theater companies make up for the fact that audiences are not familiar with verse plays?
• What is the context of this play?
• Who was Ruth Spalding?
• Why did Williams' choose to combine medieval allegorical and medieval Bible ("mystery") plays, and what does that have to do with Man, Pride, Hell, Gabriel, and the Holy Family?
• How should one read verse drama?
• Could this be Williams' clearest piece of fiction?
• Also, is there tobacco in heaven?

Episode links:

• The House by the Stable
• Grab and Grace
• Acacia Theater Company
• What Prominent Charles Williams Scholars Are Saying
• Also, see the Oddest Inkling Blog entry
• What Critics Are Saying

Next week: We're talking with Connor Salter about Nightmare Alley by Joy Davidman's ex, Bill Gresham!  At long last, a connection between the Inklings and film noir!  And it's a really good film noir, too (and yes, I know that Gresham didn't direct the movie but wrote the book that inspired the movie--don't be such a geek).

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!