Welcome to “The Inklings Variety Hour,” where fans and scholars discuss the lives and works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and the works and authors that inspired them.
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Welcome to “The Inklings Variety Hour,” where fans and scholars discuss the lives and works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and the works and authors that inspired them.
The Inklings are often characterized as mostly sedentary men who wrote about people going off on adventures. Yet for a few of them, the highlight of their year was the chance to go on walking tours throughout England.
It's unlikely, in fact, that they would have been able to describe the adventures of, say, Elwin Ransom, or the three friends in Night Operation if they didn't take these rambles (and write about them!) from time to time.
With me to talk about the Inklings' walking tours are Inklings scholars Sørina Higgins, Don W. King, and (for the first time), Owen A. Barfield, grandson of Owen Barfield.
We cover a lot of ground during this conversation. Topics include:
What exactly a walking tour is/was
The walking tours Jack and Warnie took versus those Jack took with the "Cretaceous Perambulators" (Barfield and others)
Why these excursions tended to be documented a bit better than Inklings' meetings at Magdalen
Humor and bawdy among the Inklings
Connection between walking, talking, and working ideas out
"The Inkling Impulse"
What different Inklings looked for in a successful walking tour
Influence of the walking tours in the Inklings' fiction
My thanks to all three of my illustrious guests for joining me. You can find more about them and their work here:
Sørina Higgins
Don W. King
Owen A. Barfield
See you in two weeks' time! As always, please do rate the podcast, and if you have ideas or responses, please do email me at inklingsvarietyhour@gmail.com.
The Inklings Variety Hour
Welcome to “The Inklings Variety Hour,” where fans and scholars discuss the lives and works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and the works and authors that inspired them.