Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Second Golden Age Of Children’S Fantasy, 1950-1980, Brian Attebery, H. M. Bouwman, David Lenander, Laura Krentz

Mythcon

The Rivendell Discussion with Brian Attebery this past January focused on chapter two of his Mythopoeic Scholarship Awarded book last year, Fantasy: How It Works, in which he discussed the parallels between Edward Eager’s fantasy story, Half Magic and Elizabeth Enright’s family story, The Saturdays. Attebery’s discussion raises all sorts of interesting questions about these literary forms and overlap, and we wandered into discussion of how too much of this great literature for children has already been forgotten, though it was formational for so many of our current Fantasy writers (along with that of the earlier First Golden Age). Books …

Fanning The Flames Of Fanfiction: Examining The Usage Of Fanfiction Tropes In Rainbow Rowell’S Carry On, Declan Roberts

Mythcon

It was not so long ago, in literary history terms, that fanfiction was left to the periphery of methods of fan interaction with their favourite properties. Fanfiction’s status ranged from something to be derided to a crime punishable by lawsuits. However, this is no longer the case, and readers of fanfiction now have a plethora of websites where they can search through works for any tropes that they may want. Nothing highlights this new liminal space between accepted and unaccepted forms of fiction than the publication of Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On. Rowell’s text is an expansion on the fanfiction …

Our Dear Charles Williams: Tolkien’S Feelings About The Oddest Inkling, Sørina Higgins

Mythcon

At the zenith of the Inklings’s social and creative energy, Tolkien wrote a poem about “Our Dear Charles Williams.” It is a long poem—over three pages—full of praise, gentle teasing, and inside jokes. Many references may escape the casual reader or the Tolkien scholar who is less familiar with Williams’s works. Furthermore, the exact nature of the friendship between Tolkien and Williams has been frequently debated. In every friendship, loss is inevitable, whether through time, distance, conflict, or finally death. This is one such story. J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams were friends for about six years–from 1939 until Williams’s sudden …

Boromir’S Smile And Other Expressions Of Wartime Joy In Tolkien, Chip Crane

Mythcon

Boromir’s last words to Aragorn are, “I have failed.” But his final gesture as he dies a few seconds later is a smile. Between the two moments, generating this final expression, are Aragorn’s words reassuring Boromir that he has gained a victory and that Minas Tirith shall stand. What emotions are we to infer from this smile? Tolkien’s choice of this ending for one of his most complex characters touches on a larger theme of joy in the midst of the horrors of war in The Lord of the Rings and the legendarium of the Silmarillion. In this paper I …

Fantasy In The Anthropocene, Brian Attebery, Marek Oziewicz, Jack Zipes

Mythcon

“Fantasy in the Anthropocene” was inspired by the Fantasy Scholarship finalist from last year, edited by U of MN Prof. Marek Oziewicz, Prof. Brian Attebery and Prof. Teresa Dédinova, a unique collection of mini essays, stories, poetry and artwork. As its description puts it, “Fantasy and myth have long been humanity’s most advanced technologies for collective dreaming. Today they are helping us adopt a biocentric lens, re-kin us with other forms of life, and assist us in the transition to an ecological civilization.” With both Brian and Marek available for this discussion, joined by Prof. Jack Zipes, we want to …

Our Flag Means Romance…Middle English Romance, That Is, Megan Abrahamson

Mythcon

Our Flag Means Death, a pirate romantic comedy released on HBO Max, has been discussed in terms of its mythopoesis by Sara Brown at OMS #3 (“Our Flag…Means Queer: Monstering the Majority Culture”), and has been studied as referencing Shakespearean motifs by Melissa Rohrer (“Sometimes the old tropes are the best tropes: Shakespeare and Our Flag Means Death”). In this talk, I showcase the Middle English and mostly Arthurian Romance elements we find in OFMD, particularly its episodic quest format, focus on homosocial bonds, and engagement with courtly love. Other minor motifs—such as a hero’s humble beginnings and …

Charles Williams Poetry Workshop, Eric Rauscher

Mythcon

This will be a group “close” reading of a couple of Charles Williams’s Arthurian poems. I will bring copies of the poems to pass out, and as a group (participation is encouraged but not required) we will read them in detail, parsing out meanings and sharing insights. What may seem obvious to one may be a revelation to another. We will also just enjoy the beauty of the poems by reading them out loud, the way they are meant to be heard. For those of you who have never been introduced to these poems, here is your chance. For those …

Tolkien’S "The Homecoming Of Beorhtnoth": Manuscript Revisions And Faërian Dramas, Anna Smol

Mythcon

Although Tolkien’s biographer Humphrey Carpenter downplayed Tolkien’s interest in drama, a closer look at “On Fairy-stories” and at the manuscript drafts of the historical drama, “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth” suggests that this verse play should be more widely recognized as a drama with the potential for stage production. The recent edition by Peter Grybauskas, which includes one of the earlier drafts of the play and Tolkien’s own recording of the drama, gives readers some new insight into the play’s development and suitability for performance. A closer examination of further manuscript drafts, particularly a recently acquired version now in the Brotherton …

The Year In Astronomy, Michael Kauper

Mythcon

This is a slide presentation by Michael Kauper about the developments in Astronomy over the past year, and suggestions of what to watch for in the sky over the next few months, a tradition at Diversicon.

Samwise And Sméagol: Narrative Shift And Personal Choice In The Two Towers, Jonah N. Echols

Mythcon

The middle sections of a story can afford readers opportunities to appreciate different aspects of a work than the beliefsuspending beginnings or resolution-providing endings. Professor Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is no exception. It is set in the “middle times” of his larger legendarium—the Third Age tension with Elves in exile and men guiding the world. Moreover, the middle portion of The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, highlights a tension between free will and fate that underlies the entire narrative. Focalization via the characters of Samwise Gamgee and Sméagol draws the reader into that central tension. Specifically, …

Questioning Attebery’S ‘Bullseye’: Interviews With Young Readers Of Fantasy May Decenter The Lord Of The Rings, Luke Shelton

Mythcon

In 2018 and 2019, I interviewed young readers about their opinions of The Lord of the Rings (LotR) as a part of my Ph.D. thesis. Their ideas concerning the genre of the text destabilize Attebery’s use of it as a central point for the genre. Since these readers do not demonstrate a consensus that LotR is a work of fantasy, one is left to wonder if the idea of the fuzzy set proposed by Attebery is accurate when considering the lived experiences of readers. This leads to several questions about why these young readers have categorized the story the way …

“Giving Up Their Dead”: “The Homecoming Of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’S Son” And A Sleep Of Prisoners, Janet Brennan Croft

Mythcon

J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” (published in 1953, though substantially written by 1945) is perhaps studied more frequently for its critical apparatus (the introduction on the Battle of Maldon titled “Beorhtnoth’s Death” and the postscript on ofermod) and as a source for Tolkien’s thoughts on war and heroism than as an actual play to be performed. Recently Tolkien’s own recording of the play, performing both voices and including sound effects, became more widely available, encouraging us to consider it AS a play again. Christopher Fry’s A Sleep of Prisoners (1951) shares a number of characteristics with “Homecoming”—it …

The Year In Space Exploration, Ben Huset

Mythcon

This is a slide presentation by Ben Huset about the developments in space research and exploration over the past year, a tradition at Diversicon.

The Niggling Bandersnatch: Tolkien’S Revisionist Tendencies And The Canon Of Middle-Earth, Janet Brennan Croft, David Bratman, John Rosegrant

Mythcon

C.S. Lewis famously said of Tolkien in a 1959 letter that “you might as well try to influence a bandersnatch.” He continued by noting that Tolkien had “only two reactions to criticism: either he begins the whole work over again from the beginning or else takes no notice at all.” It’s pretty obvious he had a similar reaction to his own self-criticism – to noticing a loose end, or something that didn’t fit a changed cosmological theory, or a new addition to the legendarium that required a revision to the back-story. His reaction would be to niggle away at a …

In Media Res: Sam & Frodo On The Journey, Craig Boyd

Mythcon

In one of the more pivotal passages in Lord of the Rings, Sam makes a couple of insightful comments to Frodo in a way that transcends his earlier foolishness. In a kind of moral and philosophical epiphany he says, “It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. . . But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with …

Opening Ceremonies, The Mythopoeic Society

Mythcon

Mythcon participants are invited (but not required!) to take part in our opening festivities Saturday morning by wearing costumes or regalia and carrying banners in our procession to the Terrace Rooms in which our Opening Ceremonies and Scholar Guest of Honor Address will be held. Those wishing to take part in the Opening Procession should meet by 8:45 am inside the main hotel lobby.

Scholar Guest Of Honor Address, The Mythopoeic Society

Mythcon

Speech by Scholar Guest of Honor Brian Attebery

Mythcon participants are invited (but not required!) to take part in our opening festivities Saturday morning by wearing costumes or regalia and carrying banners in our procession to the Terrace Rooms in which our Opening Ceremonies and Scholar Guest of Honor Address will be held. Those wishing to take part in the Opening Procession should meet by 8:45 am inside the main hotel lobby.

Sealed In The Sacred Realm: Coming Of Age In The Liminal Spaces Of Hyrule, Alicia Fox-Lenz

Mythcon

The Legend of Zelda franchise commonly uses alternate dimensions or worlds in its storytelling. These dimensions are often tied to darkness — being a place where evil waits, gathering strength, or a sister-world that has fallen to evil and needs liberation — providing the hero, Link, with the primary conflict driving his adventure. Alongside these larger worlds that provide conflict, there exist smaller dimensions, liminal spaces where Link and a small cast of other heroic characters are brought for physical and spiritual maturation. We will discuss how these liminal spaces function as doors through which the player as Link crosses …

The Year In Sf Tv, Scott Lohman

Mythcon

This is a group discussion, after some opening remarks, about the Science Fiction (broadly interpreted to include what the audience brings up) television/streaming of the past year or so.

The Genii Loci In The Midst Of Middle Earth, Richard Angelo Bergen

Mythcon

Several scholars, including Tom Shippey, Philip Mitchell, and Gordon Sleuthag, all agree that Tom Bombadil is, among other things, Tolkien’s representation of the genius loci of the Old Forest. The argument is plausible and coherent, but there is much more that can be said about the spirits of places in Tolkien’s legendarium, and the traditions he draws from to craft his world of storied and mutable place. In general, an affection and attention for the local, which Tolkien extols in his letters and fiction, is rather amenable to ideas concerning the genius loci, as theorists such as Yi-Fu Tuan and …

Eleanor Arnason’S Fantastic Mitochondrial Humor, Sandra Lindow

Mythcon

In this essay I explore Brian Attebery’s description of mitochondrial fantasy to explain how humor works in Eleanor Arnason’s short fantastic fiction. Mitochondria are the energy powerhouses in cells. They are symbiotic creatures that once were separate but became an evolutionary part of a female egg cell, providing a history that can be traced to a Mitochondrial Eve. In Fantasy: How It Works, Attebery uses mitochondria metaphorically to explain how fantastic ideas evolve. Attebery describes fantastic mitochondria as “a cellular dynamo that lives within the tissues” of a story (91). He demonstrates how stories lead to retellings and elaborations that …

‘A Stout Heart And A Good Blade’: An Examination And Reconsideration Of Éowyn In J.R.R. Tolkien’S The Lord Of The Rings, Angela Loving

Mythcon

For my paper I will examine and reconsider the character of Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings. I will look at the ways in which Tolkien uses dramatic elements and patterns from traditional literatures, including the Old English poem Beowulf and Shakespeare’s Macbeth, to tell an ancient tale anew, the tale of a dragon slain by an unlikely hero, in this case the Shield Maiden,Éowyn, and an even more unlikely assistant, a Hobbit named Merry. My process will focus on readings of the text, reflecting on ways Tolkien’s adaptations amplify female voice, choice, and agency. Éowyn enters in the …

Clifford Simak’S Big Front Yard, Eric M. Heideman, Ruth Berman

Mythcon

Eric Heideman, a Diversicon and Second Foundation founder, will talk and reminisce with Ruth Berman about the important Minnesota SF writer, who is named one of Diversicon’s “Posthumous guests of honor” this year.

Death, Soul, And Body In Tolkien’S Mythology: Perspectives On Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth, Chip Crane, Peter Grybauskas, Carl Hostetter

Mythcon

The conversation between the elf Finrod Felagund and the human woman Andreth in Morgoth’s Ring volume 10 of The History of Middle-warth explores in depth the differences between elves and humans in Tolkien’s mythology. Their conversation touches, among other things, on the reason humans die and the relationship of soul to body in both. Panelists will share perspectives on the significance of this conversation in Tolkien’s mythology and his own metaphysics.

“I Desire The Road. . . [But] [R]Oads Were Made For Young Men, Not Middle-Aged Women”: Ista’S Journey From Dowager To Paladin, Robin Anne Reid

Mythcon

Scholarship on Ista, Dowager Royina of Chalion, was minimal until the most recent anthology on Bujold’s work was published with four essays (out of 14, 28%) that focus on Ista, either as the primary focus of the essay (Yung Lee, Herington,), or as one of two characters analyzed (Palmer-Patel, MacDonald). These essay focus on queer and/or feminist readings of Ista (Yung Lee, MacDonald, Herington), and on analyzing the paradox of free will and fate in the Chalion duology (Palmer-Patel). In “I desire the road,” (Bujold’s emphasis), I build on these essays, all of which I consider convincing and strongly argued) …

Current Lgbtq+ Aspects In Sf&F, David Lenander, Peg Kerr, David R. Slayton

Mythcon

This panel was inspired by several things coming together. An awareness of Eleanor Arnason’s pioneering work in including LGBTQ+ characters in her novels, such as To the Resurrection Station, and some of her Lydia Duluth stories, and particularly in Ring of Swords and the other Hwarhath Stories, where this focus is a major theme. Then, there were the increasing number of books taking up these themes on the long and short lists for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, mirroring the changes that have occurred over the past few decades, so that early in our history these themes were not generally present, …

Middles And Centers In Chinese Translations Of Tolkien, Eric Reinders

Mythcon

How do Chinese translators of Tolkien translate the name “Middle-earth” without confusing it with China itself (Zhongguo, or “central kingdom”)? China is a nation which named itself the center of the world, and centrality is never a neutral or apolitical claim. “Middle/central kingdom” signifies a traditional conception of geopolitical power in concentric rings: from emperor, to capital city, to zones nearer to or further from the capital. This paper borrows from the tradition within Religious Studies of theorizing claims to centrality (Eliade, J. Z. Smith) and centrality in Chinese political symbolism (Meyer, Wheatley, Wu Hung, Walsh). Here I primarily consider …

Fantastical Philosophies: Portrayals Of Good And Evil In Tolkien And Popular Film, Olivia Crane

Mythcon

As we enjoy fiction through written and filmed media, the storytellers portray an array of philosophical perspectives through their work. An inescapable portrayal in any creation is the reality of good and evil. Some writers portray good and evil as equal and opposite forces, harmonious when reached at a balance. Others leave behind this idea with the privation theory of evil. Fantasy, involving heroes and villains, magic and mischief, is a perfect media through which to present philosophy. What, then, do fantastical works have to say about good and evil? Do they agree across the ages or refute one another? …

The Middle People Of Middle-Earth: Dwarven Displacement And Reconciliation In Tolkien’S Legendarium, Andrew Hickman

Mythcon

J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved Dwarves evidence “middleness,” or a consistent state of being in flux or consistent change, as evidenced by their historical development, foreignness to other races, and displacement from their homes. The Dwarven race, from their first references in Tolkien’s works, are considered to be a race at odds with the other races of Ilúvatar. Tolkien’s Dwarves are initially seen as a politically neutral or an outright evil group, neither aligning themselves with followers of Manwë nor of Melkor. Additionally, they are described numerous times as more akin to the Orcish race than of the other Free Folk. While …

The Year In Sf Movies, Scott Lohman

Mythcon

This is a group discussion, after some opening remarks, about the Science Fiction (broadly interpreted to include what the audience brings up) movies of the past year or so.