Quotes from Diana Pavlac Glyer

The excitement of creating is followed by desperate self-doubt. Courage and inspiration compete with discouragement and despair.

Inklings followed a simple structure, and their opening ritual was always the same. When half a dozen members had arrived, Warren Lewis would produce a pot of very strong tea, the men would light their pipes, and C. S. Lewis would call out, "Well, has nobody got anything to read us?" Then "out would come a manuscript," and they would "settle down to sit in judgement upon it." The

Tollers, there is too little of what we really like in stories. I am afraid we shall have to try and write some ourselves.

As he read the long narrative poem, Lewis was struck by two qualities in particular. He admired the realism of Tolkien's sub-created world, the depth and detail of Middle-earth. He also praised the mythical value of the story, the way the events were good in themselves and yet also suggested deeper layers of meaning to the reader. But

Although Lewis's Trilogy is too often portrayed as an uninformed and inaccurate attack on science, a closer look reveals that it is, in fact, a prophetic warning against scientism and an inspiring vision for a regenerate science. Lewis warns that scientism -- a caricature of science that rejects all moral goods except survival and abandons objective truth in favor of power -- will dehumanize us by stripping us of pity, happiness, and freedom.

When you look at the lives of innovators, there is often little distinction between work and play. And when creative people make it a point to spend time together, new ideas and joint projects emerge with little effort, a natural part of the rhythm of each day.

However, one of the reasons for their dissolution is that Hugo Dyson crossed this line. When he persisted in dismissing The Lord of the Rings, it changed the group. Dyson didn't critique the work: he rejected it altogether. That eroded the spirit of the Inklings. It was no longer safe to share rough drafts and far-fetched ideas. When creative people encounter thoughtful critique, they feel empowered. When they encounter dismissal, they stop taking risks. They shut down. Tolkien

No Oxford don was forgiven for writing books outside his field of study—except for detective stories which dons, like everyone else, read when they are down with the 'flu. But it was considered unforgivable that Lewis wrote international best-sellers, and worse still that many were of a religious nature." Lewis

He captures something of C. S. Lewis in The Lord of the Rings. The character Treebeard makes an unusual "Hrum, Hroom" sound when he speaks. This was Tolkien's attempt to capture the "booming voice" of Lewis. The identification of Lewis with this wise and ancient tree-man should be seen as high praise, indeed, for Tolkien's love for trees is evident throughout his writing. More

But more importantly, they show interest in the writer—they express confidence in the writer's talents and show faith in his or her ability to succeed. They understand what the writer is attempting. They catch the vision and then do all they can.

Tolkien worked like a painter who first pencils in a rough sketch, erases, then draws again, then fills in a more detailed drawing, then adds layers of color, working from background to foreground to final details.

10 October 1946 Tollers continued to read his new Hobbit: so sui generis, so alive with the peculiar charm of his "magical" writing, that it is indescribable—and merely worth recording here for an odd proof of how near he is to real magic. 24

As Tolkien got older, he increasingly denied the participation of others in the creation of his work. Tolkien says this is one of the few places where Lewis's detailed criticisms were useful and just. It may be more accurate to say this is one of the few places where Tolkien specifically acknowledges the careful editing of his friend. Changes

Tolkien records, "The indefatigable man read me part of a new story!" In the act of sharing his own work, Lewis challenged Tolkien, providing more than a hint of friendly rivalry. But

The main sitting-room is large, and though certainly not dirty it is not particularly clean. … [Lewis] never bothers with ashtrays but flicks his cigarette ash … on to the carpet wherever he happens to be standing or sitting. He even absurdly maintains that ash is good for carpets.

Fundamentally, a resonator is someone who says, "I hear you. I understand what you are trying to do. I'll help you get there.

In attacking these readings, Dyson was attacking the very reason for the group; in limiting the participation of one of its members, Dyson eroded its spirit. It is one thing to criticize an author. It is another to shut him down. There is a difference between conflict and contempt. Dyson delivered an axe blow to the root of the tree. The Inklings were shaken, and they never quite recovered.

But it is far more important to see the difference between correction that is helpful and condemnation that is dismissive and, therefore, destroys.

Tolkien looked forward to sending new chapters to his son. In one letter, he expressed his appreciation to Christopher saying, "This book has come to be more and more addressed to you, so that your opinion matters more than any one else's." When

In his book The Four Loves, Lewis describes the pleasure of working with one's colleagues side by side. In fact, he builds his whole theory of friendship upon this very idea: "You will not find the warrior, the poet, the philosopher or the Christian by staring in his eyes as if he were your mistress: better fight beside him, read with him, argue with him, pray with him.

The Lord of the Rings

Without Christopher Tolkien, not only would The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings look very different, but so would the face of Tolkien scholarship.

You will not find the warrior, the poet, the philosopher or the Christian by staring in his eyes as if he were your mistress: better fight beside him, read with him, argue with him, pray with him.

If we are encouraged to read high fantasies like The Tempest and urged to "enjoy a magic island and 'believe' in an Ariel and a Caliban," then why should we not also "suspend our disbelief" and enjoy the invented world of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings? Why not enter in and believe also in the magic of barrow-wights and orc-blades, Hobbiton, Tom Bombadil, and the tree-top city of Lothlórien?