Tag Archives: Diana Glyer

Happy Birthday Professor Tolkien

Posted on by

 

Today is J. R. R. Tolkien’s 120th birthday, whose fans have much to look forward to in the new year 2012 provided the Earth doesn’t end before the first Hobbit movie arrives in theaters this December.

Well-timed for today’s celebration is the new review of Diana’s book about the Inklings, The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community posted by James Huston — author of action novels Falcon Seven and Marine One. (Last year Falcon Seven made the longlist for NPR’s “Killer Thrillers” poll.) Huston says –

Not only is it full of information I’d never heard before, but it gives the reader exceptional insight into the two writers who are the focus of the book, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, two of the most popular authors in the twentieth century. As an author, I was particularly interested in her insights into the creative process and the way that the community “supported” the writers efforts. I say supported in quotes, because reading their work to the others was often like getting their fur pulled off (to use a Lewis analogy from another context). They encouraged each other, no doubt, but they also said what they thought, regardless of whether that made the author feel good about his work or not. They were dedicated to producing the best work they could, and were willing to hear rough criticism to achieve it.

Two More Links to Diana’s Trip

Posted on by


Diana’s final stop on her Midwestern trip was the C.S. Lewis Literary Festival in Petsoskey, Michigan.  She delivered a talk, appeared on panels and spoke in a high school class – which she has blogged about in “Creative conversations at Petoskey High School”.

While Diana was still in Chicago Greg Wheatley interviewed her on the Moody Radio  program Inside Look. The program now is available online:

You have probably heard of the Inklings - a literary group of whom C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien are doubtless the best known. We talk with English professor Dr. Diana Glyer about this fascinating group of writers, and the influence they did - or did not – have on each other.

All Things Diana

Posted on by

It’s the easiest thing in the world to keep up with Dr. Diana Pavlac Glyer on her blog.

Please also enjoy the new video trailer (click here for YouTube) promoting her book The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community. It’s the work of my nephew Adam Bradley, who did a beautiful job.

The video features comments by Terry Glaspey, author of Not a Tame Lion: The Spiritual Legacy of C.S. Lewis, songwriter and singer Kemper Crabb, and author Lancia Smith, among others.

We hope the video will get more people to read her book and encourage libraries to acquire it.  It’s won a string of awards and was a 2008 Best Related Book Hugo nominee. Many reviewers have praised Diana’s account of the Inklings including the Times Literary Supplement.

Diana, the Arkenstone

Posted on by

Diana Glyer and Michael Ward (Planet Narnia) headlined the 13th annual conference of the C.S. Lewis and Inklings Society last weekend (April 9-11) in Oklahoma City.

Jason Fisher, who will co-chair Mythcon 41 in July, was there. Jason had high praise for Diana’s speech and reading:

Diana Glyer gave a terrific after-banquet keynote speech, in which she discussed the central hypothesis of her own book, The Company They Keep: whether, and to what extent, Lewis and Tolkien (and to a lesser degree, the other Inklings) influenced one another, and moreover, what “influence” itself really means. I say “hypothesis”, but the persuasive power of Diana’s argument is such that it is hardly that any longer. I regard it as established fact…

Finally, a real gem, the very Arkenstone of the entire weekend’s embarrassment of riches: Diana Glyer and Michael Ward performed a reading of selected letters from the unpublished (as yet) correspondence of Major Warren Lewis and Blanche Biggs, a missionary doctor stationed in Papua New Guinea. I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, Warren Lewis? But trust me, their correspondence, of which we heard roughly a quarter of the extant material, was funny, affectionate, clever, and in the end, profoundly moving. It brought tears to my eyes.

Diana and I will be reading these letters again at Mythcon 41, but since I can’t promise to acquire a British accent by then Michael Ward’s performance is likely to remain unequalled.

Endlessly Fascinating J.R.R. Tolkien

Posted on by

Brian Gottesman’s guest post on Mental_floss, “10 Things You Should Know About J.R.R. Tolkien,” is a selection of anecdotes, insights and trivia sure to appeal to fans with an insatiable interest in one of the most admired authors in fantasy. That the items are written in an engaging style is more important than that they come as a surprise. However, this was news to me:

His poem “Bagm? Blom?” (“Flower of the Trees”) might be the first original work written in the Gothic language in over a millennium.

No kidding?

Down in the comments there is also a wonderful quarrel between two self-appointed copyeditors. You can tell what it’s about from the final nitpick:

No, chain mail isn’t redundant. There is also Scale mail armor. You can say “mail armor”, but that still leaves the question of Scale vs. Chain to be answered.

I also applaud a commenter who recommended Diana’s book about Tolkien, Lewis and the Inklings, The Company They Keep.

[Thanks to Steven H Silver for the link.]

The Dorms of Middle Earth

Posted on by

Someone who picks the right university can have a fantastic life in more than one sense of the word.

For example, after a student at UC Irvine meets with Professor Gregory Benford she may amble home to her dorm in Middle Earth:

Middle Earth houses approximately 1,690 students in 24 residence halls. The names of the halls and other facilities were selected from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The halls are divided into six clusters or theme areas of four halls and offer classes associated with their names.

Middle Earth was built in three phases:

  • Phase I opened in 1974 with seven (7) halls: Hobbiton, Isengard, Lorien, Mirkwood, Misty Mountain, Rivendell, and The Shire. Brandywine Commons, and Brandywine Student Center (BSC) are also in Middle Earth.
  • Phase II opened in 1989-90 and it includes 13 halls: Balin, Harrowdale, Whispering Wood, Woodhall, Calmindon, Grey Havens, Aldor, Rohan, Gondolin, Snowbourn, Elrond, Shadowfax, and Quenya. Phase II also includes Pippin Dining Commons, the housing office, and Bucklebury Library. 
  • Phase III opened in Fall 2000 and includes four (4) halls: Crickhollow, Evenstar, Oakenshield, and Valimar. Arkenstone, a 24-hour academic resource and study center, officially opened in fall of 2007.

And a student at Azusa Pacific University enrolled in one of Dr. Diana Glyer’s classes may leave a talk about the Inklings to return to his mod in the Shire. My own nephew Adam lived with his roommates in one of those modular apartments for a term.

While I find the naming convention quite entertaining, even names out of Tolkien’s legendarium once officially attached to university housing are prone to lose some of their magic. That’s why Azusa Pacific student Mychal Clements, Online Editor of The Clause, recently challenged people to make more playful use of the Shire’s connection with Tolkien.

In my three years at Azusa Pacific I have not heard one single joke about the Shire. I am astounded and shocked that this is the case, hey readers. It’s called the Shire. The Shire, where Hobbits come from.

Am I saying that there needs to be an overkill of references and jokes? No. But maybe the occasional comment, joke or event would make me happy. However you should not do it just to make me happy, but instead because the nomenclature of the Shire demands it.

I’m sure that if the ghost of Mr. Tolkien were to walk Azusa Pacific’s campus he would be disappointed and depressed at the lack of recognition for the Shire.

Shire residents, please make more references, or put up the occasional poster. Don’t do it for me, don’t do it for yourself, but rather do it for the possible ghost of J.R.R. Tolkien.

[Via Andrew Porter and Michael J. Lowery.]

Christmas Traditions

Posted on by
Toppers on the Hugos from Millennium Philcon, L.A.con II, Aussiecon 2 and L.A.con III.

Toppers on the Hugos from Millennium Philcon, L.A.con II, Aussiecon 2 and L.A.con III.

Every newly married couple has to reconcile the holiday traditions they grew up with. Probably the most difficult conflicts to negotiate are the mutually exclusive choices. 

For example: To top the Christmas tree with an ornament or not? Diana and I took years to find an answer that pleased both of us. 

I grew up in a family that always topped the Christmas tree with a star-shaped ornament. Diana, on the other hand, likes a Christmas tree without anything on the top branch. 

Eventually she thought of an alternative that works for us. Now we put the tree-topping ornaments on my Hugos, not on the tree.

The GLAWScon Inside Loscon

Posted on by
Loscon 36

Loscon 36

The Greater Los Angeles Writers Society in cooperation with Loscon 36 has organized a solid track of writer-oriented programming that will run all three days of the con, November 27-29.

Diana will be on two Sunday panels, “A Jury of Your Peers – When to join a Critique Group” (10 a.m., with Ace Hall, Kelly Green, Sheila Finch and Shannon Muir) and “My Laptop Has Fallen Over and It Can’t Get Up! (Dealing with Writer’s Block)” (11:30 a.m., with Rick Foss, Tim Powers, Tony N. Todaro and Russ Woody.)

I have included the flyer and complete list of writer panels available at the con.

Things will start Nov. 27 at the LAX Marriott. The entire weekend, plus access to dozens of other events and parties is $50 at the door.

writer_panels_schedule_4-11-22

GLAWS flyer for Loscon 36

GLAWS flyer for Loscon 36

Diana Glyer Speaking
at 2010 Inklings Conference

Posted on by

The C.S. Lewis and Inklings Society has invited Diana to be one of the keynote speakers at their 13th Annual Conference at Oklahoma City University on April 9-10, 2010, where the theme will be “C. S. Lewis and the Inklings: Discovering Hidden Truth.”

I noticed the Aslans Country blog turned her appearance into one of the “hidden truths” by devoting a ginormous headline to the name of the other speaker and only mentioning Diana in the fine print. 

So let the blogosphere’s accounts now stand in balance…!

Good Company

Posted on by

There’s been a small flurry of new reviews by people who love Diana’s book about the Inklings, The Company They Keep.

John Adcox drew comparisons with Humphrey Carpenter’s group biography:

Glyer’s book makes a wonderful companion to Carpenter’s more well known volume, and stands very well on its own. Carpenter’s book is a biography; Glyer’s is an examination of the very significant ways in which, as a community, the Inkings challenged, inspired, influenced, and supported one another. The Company The Keep is a terrific and insightful read.

Jason Fisher said kind things about the book, beginning with this observation about the paperback edition:

This says a lot, actually; most books on Tolkien, Lewis, and the Inklings never get a second printing, or never go from hardcover to soft.

He also praised David Bratman’s contributions:

The appendix and index by David Bratman are, collectively, a work of art, ne plus ultra. Would be bibliographers and indexers should take them as a model.

Steve Hayes came away from The Company They Keep impressed with the value of artistic communities and convinced can be even more readily organized in the age of the internet:

In many ways we have it much easier than the original Inklings. When they read their writings to each other seventy years ago, they did not have the benefit of word processors or even photocopiers. They read from hand-written manuscripts which they brought to meetings stuffed in jacket pockets. But they also lived close to one another, and could meet face to face.

Now we have the Internet, and even if there are no likeminded friends within visiting distance, it should be possible to find people with similar literary interests with almost the whole world open to us. Distance is no longer a barrier.