Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons^™

Utopian And Dystopian Themes In Tolkien's Legendarium, By Mark Doyle, Robert T. Tally Jr.

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Hobbit Virtues: Rediscovering Virtue Ethics Through J.R.R. Tolkien’S The Hobbit And The Lord Of The Rings, By Christopher A. Snyder, Zachary D. Schmoll

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Michael Moorcock: Fiction, Fantasy And The World’S Pain, By Mark Scroggins, And The Law Of Chaos: The Multiverse Of Michael Moorcock, By Jeff Gardiner, David L. Emerson

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

The Nibelungenlied: With The Klage, Translated By William T. Whobrey, Larry J. Swain

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

The Worlds Of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-Earth, By John Garth, Mike Foster

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Elizabeth Kent’S New Tales Of Botanical Friendship, Leila Walker

Publications and Research

Elizabeth Kent has been considered a rather minor figure in the Leigh Hunt circle. However, this examination of her previously unknown children’s tales illuminates how Kent’s generic crossings establish a common emphasis on observation in the realms of botany, pedagogy, and poetry while suggesting that what happens beyond the observable world might be equally generative. Taken as a whole, Kent’s work constitutes a previously unacknowledged challenge to the Cockney School’s almost fetishistic attachment to the social. The identification of New Tales brings into focus Kent’s efforts to systematize friendship through her writing and clarifies her ambiguous response to Cockney amiability.

"I'M Absolutely Ordinary": Bella And Her Perception Of Gender Within Twilight, Jaid M. Eichmiller

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores Bella's perceptions of femininity, virtue, and gender roles within Twilight, with a focus on the feminist stance that Bella takes as the narrator. Through a close reading, I explore traditional gender roles, the internalized maternal roles of wife and mother, and the externalized judgements that Bella expresses. Her relationships with those around her, and most importantly Edward, are judged by her internalized concepts of gender politics. Through the examination of previous literature and the close reading of the core text, I argue that Bella both embodies and rejects traditional femininity.

Re-Enchanted: The Rise Of Children's Fantasy Literature In The Twentieth Century (2019) By Maria Sachiko Cecire, Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Andrew Higgins, of Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children's Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century (2019), by Maria Sachiko Cecire

Final Master's Portfolio, Lisa Berlekamp

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio is comprised of four papers which demonstrate my growth in English and my ability to use this growth to improve my knowledge and skills as an educator. The time spent researching writing, the teaching of writing, and diverse literature highlights my focus during the program. My work can hopefully be used by other educators who strive to adapt and create their English curriculum.

Our Contributors, The Editors

The Mythic Circle

This is a list of our contributors for The Mythic Circle #42

Editors' Introductions, The Editors

The Mythic Circle

The Mythic Circle is a creative writing journal devoted to fantasy-inspired creative works; it has been published by the Mythopoeic Society since 1987, and earlier versions of the Society’s creative writing efforts extend to Mythril (1971 to 1980) and Mythellany (1981 to 1987). These journals have now been archived in their entirety at https://dc.swosu.edu/mythsoc/ through the efforts of the Society’s archivist, Phillip Fitzsimmons, and digital assistant Benjamin Dressler. All but the current issue may be downloaded for free, and the current issue may be purchased as a digital download or ordered as a print-on-demand title from Amazon.

In its thirty-three …

Betrothal, Lawrence Buentello

The Mythic Circle

Grayson first saw her as she rode from the trees of the forest beyond his small house. The sun, with the last of the light it threw over the hills to the west, illuminated her astride her horse in burnished gold and yellow streaks.

Read by Phillip Fitzsimmons

In Memoriam: Ryder Miller, The Editors

The Mythic Circle

Ryder Miller, a long-time contributor to The Mythic Circle, passed away March 15, 2020.

The Ship Of Fools, Holly Day

The Mythic Circle

If you see a bird in a tree, don’t bother shooting at it.

Read by Nolan Meditz

Ritual, David Sparenberg

The Mythic Circle

Here is the place of the big tree Here is the place of coming together Known as the Ring of Gathering

Read by Nolan Meditz

Reviews, The Editors

The Mythic Circle

Reviews of our contributors' publications.

Mythic Circle #42, The Editors

The Mythic Circle

The Mythic Circle is a creative writing journal devoted to fantasy-inspired creative works; it has been published by the Mythopoeic Society since 1987, and earlier versions of the Society’s creative writing efforts extend to Mythril (1971 to 1980) and Mythellany (1981 to 1987). These journals have now been archived in their entirety at https://dc.swosu.edu/mythsoc/ through the efforts of the Society’s archivist, Phillip Fitzsimmons, and digital assistant Benjamin Dressler. All but the current issue may be downloaded for free, and the current issue may be purchased as a digital download or ordered as a print-on-demand title from Amazon.

In its thirty-three …

We Dreamed Ourselves Awake, David Sparenberg

The Mythic Circle

One day we all woke up. Every one of us really woke up. We dreamed ourselves awake.

Read by Victoria Gaydosik

The Tree That Stood Forever, Mary Alice Dixon

The Mythic Circle

One day not long ago, as time is measured by trees, a woman wandered fields of thyme and lavender near a small, hard-to-find town. She was a traveler who had become lost looking for home. Her memory was lost, too.

Read by Phillip Fitzsimmons

Epic, David Sparenberg

The Mythic Circle

A back-to-the-future Shamanic telling for public recitation Sing in me, Muse, the epic tale of that Earth daughter who shook the foundations of the Dark Towers and challenged in combat the dread lords of tyranny and their master the Patriarch of Death. Before the Book, back in The Dreaming— over eons of Shaman Lore—it is attested that light is restoration for those who are eaten by their own shadows and fire is the bane of phantoms. From somewhere here, Muse, begin.

Read by David Sparenberg

Equuleus Of Troy, Dc Mallery

The Mythic Circle

In the waning days of The Trojan war, as Agamemnon's Army was losing hope, the Towering Horses of the wilds of North Africa were but myth and fable to both Greeks and Trojans.

Read by Helen Taylor

The Dreaded Tome Of Urawn, Lee Clark Zumpe

The Mythic Circle

"Curse you, mortal," shouted the great gray dragon vexedly as the mortal on her back fidgeted nervously in his saddle. "By the gods, be still!"

Read by Kelley Logan

Troll, Kevan Kenneth Bowkett

The Mythic Circle

Once upon a time there lived a troll who guarded a tollbooth on a bridge.

Read by Kevan Kenneth Bowkett

Working Title, S. Dorman

The Mythic Circle

Mark Twain had gone into outer darkness on a comet, leaving his friend Jack Lewis at his desk musing on their great experience together—an awful vision of the crucifixion in which the crucified Christ was nothing but an insect.

Read by Scott Long and Steve Strickler

What Iphigenia Knows, Ama Kirchner

The Mythic Circle

1. Iphigenia is in a void. The space surrounding her is not black or gray, nor is it faded light that tapers off at the edges of her vision.

Read by Victoria Gaydosik

Falling For A Cornish Maid, Ella Wallsworth-Bell

The Mythic Circle

It’s the girl’s blue eyes that hook me in. She sits at the back of the pub, staring at me through a sea of cigarette smoke and a chatter of voices, incessant as waves on rocks.

Read by Adrian Watts

Six Years After The Wedding, Joe R. Christopher

The Mythic Circle

Arthur: Our wedding is, on this sixth anniversary, still barren. You have not had so much as a miscarriage to suggest a possible later fulfilment. I need to have an heir to my throne. Two or three heirs—royal brothers—would be even better.

Version A read by Kelley Logan and Jon Woltz

Version B read by Nolan Meditz and Jessica Salmans

Loss, Holly Day

The Mythic Circle

I look for it everywhere, the magic I used to see around me.

Read by Nolan Meditz

Deathwater, Dusk, Meg Moseman

The Mythic Circle

Lead us past the murky lakes, where all is laid to rest and sunk in earthIn overhanging twilight, seeking has no use, and understanding dies.

Read by Meg Moseman

Deathwater, Day, Meg Moseman

The Mythic Circle

at thought's edge, past a mountain peak in pine, there is a fountain, terraced, calciferous — silent in the sun, save for a susurrus of ripples — I met a wretch who said:

Read by Meg Moseman