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Last modified: May 21, 2013
Who we are | Meeting schedule | How to join | For more information | Constitution | Links and items of interest
The Tolkien Society at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was founded in September 1966. It has been meeting once a month ever since (during the first several years, twice a month), with a very few misses here and there (e.g., there were a couple of years when the group did not meet during the summer, but usually it did). In January, 2001, we changed our name to the Tolkien and Fantasy Society to reflect our broad interests better.
We discuss:
Our journal, ORCRIST, appeared irregularly, and has not been published since 1977, though we still may revive it sometime. Eight issues were published, now mostly out of print, though copies of numbers 3, 4, and 5 (which were co-published as TOLKIEN JOURNAL numbers 11, 13, and 14 respectively) may still be available from the Mythopoeic Society, for those who are interested. There is a set in the Memorial Library on the UW-Madison campus, as well as in a number of other libraries across the U. S.
Meetings will be held on Sundays
beginning at 7:30 p.m. (except on July 21 when we will begin at 7:00 p.m.)
and concluding between
9:30-10:00 p.m. (CST). The location will
be in Union South on the 200 block of N. Randall Avenue. Check "Today in
the Union" for the exact room, either on one of the monitors in the
building or on the website at http://www.union.wisc.edu
For the 50th anniversary of this long-running series that began in 1963, we'll have a general diiscussion of the television show, movies, novelizations, original novels, audio and comic book versions. Everyone has met the Doctor in some version, so we'll pool our knowledge.
Note: meeting will begin at 7:00. A chapter from Kristin Thompson's work in progress on Tolkien's narrative. This is a long chapter that we expect to take about two hours, which is why we are starting the meeting earlier than usual. Kristin would like feedback.
Our annual discussion
of the recent crop of science fiction and fantasy-related films. This time these will include Oz the Great and Powerful, Iron Man 3, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Man of Steel, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, and whatever else has been released.
Discussion
of another chapter from Kristin's forthcoming book. This one can be read in an hour or so. Kristin will appreciate our feedback.
.
Meetings will be held on Sundays
(usually but not always the second Sunday of the month) beginning at 7:30 p.m.
and concluding between
9:30-10:00 p.m. (CST). The location will
be in Union South on the 200 block of N. Randall Avenue. Check "Today in
the Union" for the exact room, either on one of the monitors in the
building or on the website at http://www.union.wisc.edu
Discussion of R. A. Lafferty’s science fiction short
stories.
Discussion
of The Hobbit: An Unexpected
Journey (2012) directed by Peter Jackson, the first in a planned
trilogy of films suggested by Tolkien’s book.
Discussion
of the work of one of the guests of honor at Odyssey Con 13, to be held the weekend of April 12-14 in the Radisson Inn, Madison, WI (see http://www.odyssey.con.org). Kevin Hearne is the author of the Iron Druid Chronicles, an urban fantasy series about Atticus O'Sullivan, a centuries-old (but young-appearing) druid now based in Tempe, Arizona. The five novels in the series to date are Hounded, Hexed, Hammered, (all 2011), Tricked (2012), and Trapped (2012).
Discussion
of the work of another guest of honor at Odyssey Con 13, to be held the weekend of
April 12-14 in the Radisson Inn, Madison, WI. See http://www.odysseycon.org.
Discussion
of the work of the guests of honor at WisCon 13, to
be held Memorial Day weekend, May 24-27 in the Concourse Hotel, Madison, WI.
We will focus on their most recent novels, Joan Slonczewski's The Highest Frontier (2011) and Jo Walton's Hugo-winning Among Others (2012). For information on the conference, see http://www.wiscon.info.
.
February
21—Round table discussion of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at 4:30
p.m. in Raynor Memorial Libraries, Marquette
University, Milwaukee.
March 1-3—Hobbit Conference, Valparaiso University,
Indiana. See http://conference.valpo.edu/tolkien.
July 12-15---44th annual Mythopoeic Conference,
Michigan State University. See
http://www.mythcon.org.
Discussion of The Hobbit (1938) on the 75th anniversary of its publication.
Discussion of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time (1962)
on the 50th anniversary of its publication.
Discussion of Tim Powers, On Stranger Tides (1988) and its movie adaptation (loose) as Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides (2011).
Discussion of the third book in George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series, A Storm of Swords (2000). Also, there will be the traditional cake to fortify us for final exams.
Conferences
in Madison this fall:
Geek Kon, September 7-9, Marriott West. See http://geekkon.org/
C. S. Lewis Conference, October 18-20, Pyle Center,
UW-Madison. See
http://www.cslewismadison.org/
We continue our discussion George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire by taking up the second novel in the series,A Clash of Kings (1998).
Kristin Thompson will read a section from her work in progress on Tolkien's narrative, focusing on the theme of defeat versus preservation in The Lord of the Rings.
Discussion of recent fantasy and science fiction movies, e.g, Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, Brave, The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman, Total Recall, and any other relevant films that people wish to brinig up.
Discussion of Tintin (December, 2011), the movie from Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, and of the graphic albums by Herge (pseudonym of Georges Remy) on which the film is based: The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham's Treasure. Other recommended Tintin albums include: The Blue Lotus, The Red Sea Sharks, The Castafiore Emerald, Destination Moon and its sequel Explorers on the Moon, The Seven Crystal Balls and its sequel Prisoners of the Sun (about the Incas), and Tintin in Tibet. These are all available in the Madison Public Library System.
Discussion of JRRT: A Film Portrait of J. R. R. Tolkien, a 1992 BBC documentary narrated by Judi Dench, including footage of Tolkien and interviews with family members (Fr. John Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien, and Priscilla Tolkien) and with scholars (Verlyn Flieger, Tom Shippey). This special showing is for new members and for people who were unable to attend last semester.
Discussion of Tolkien and the Study of His Sources, ed. Jason Fisher (2011) and of Mark T. Hooker's collections of his short articles on words and terms in Tolkien's writings, A Tolkienian Mathomium (2006) and The Hobbitonian Anthology (2009).
Discussion of the work of the author guests of honor at
Odyssey Con 12 (to be held April 20-21). Each has published quite a lot
individually, but we thought we might focus on their collaborations, such as: Dream Park (1981), The Barsoom Project
(1989), Achilles' Choice
(1991), The California
Voodoo Game (1992), Saturn's
Race (2000), and The
Moon Maze Game (2011). For information on Odyssey Con see
http://odysseycon.org.
Discussion of the work of the guests of honor at WisCon 36 (to be held May 25-28). Andrea Hairston is a dramataist and essayist who has also published two novels: Mindscape (2006) and Redwood and Wildfire (2011). Debbie Notkin is an editor and essayist . We will take up 80! Memories and Reflections on Ursula K. Le Guin (2010), which she edited. For information on WisCon see http://www.wiscon.info.
Discussion of JRRT: A Film Portrait of J. R. R. Tolkien, a 1992 BBC documentary narrated by Judi Dench, including footage of Tolkien and interviews with family members (Fr. John Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien, and Priscilla Tolkien) and with scholars (Verlyn Flieger, Tom Shippey).
Discussion of Cornelia Funke's novel Inkheart (2003) along with its film adaptation (2008) starring Brendan Fraser and Helen Mirren.
Discussion of Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter
Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy, edited by Janice M.
Bogstad and Philip E. Kaveny (McFarland, 2011).
Discussion of A Game of Thrones (1996) by George R. R. Martin and of the television miniseries (2011) based on this novel. This is the beginning of the Song of Ice and Fire series. One long novel should be enough to cover in one meeting, but for those who wish to read further the series continues with: A Clash of Kings (1998), A Storm of Swords (2000), A Feast for Crows (2005), and A Dance with Dragons (2011), with two more novels planned (working titles are The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring).
Discussion of Tintin (December, 2011), the movie by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, and of the graphic albums by Herge (pseudonym of Georges Remy) on which the film is based: The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham's Treasure.
The North American Discworld Convention will be held from July 8-11 in the Concourse Hotel in Madison; see http://www.nadwcon.org. While our meeting will not be part of that convention, it seems an appropriate time to discuss Sir Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching subseries within the Discworld novels. The most recent of these is I Shall Wear Midnight (2010), a nominee for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature (the winner will be announced at this year's Mythcon in Albuquerque the following weekend, July 15-18; see http://www/mythsoc.org.) The three earlier Tifany Aching novels are The Wee Free Men (2003), A Hat Full of Sky, (2004), and Wintersmith (2006).
Discussion of recent
fantasy movies, such as Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two (opening in July), Thor, Green Lantern, Pirates of the
Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides, Cars 2, X-Men: First Class, Captain America, the
theatrical release of the extended editions of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, et al.
Meetings
will be held on Sundays beginning at 7:30 p.m. and concluding between
9:30-10:00
p.m. (CST). The location will vary.
Discussion of recent fantasy movies, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One (opening November 19) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (opening December 10, 2010). Meeting held in Studio A, Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street.
This meeting will be
held in room 301 Wendt Commons Library, 215 N. Randall Avenue. Discussion of
the science fiction of Sir Arthur C. Clarke, e.g., Childhood's End, 2001: A Space Odyssey, et
al.
This meeting will be held in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street, Studio A. Kristin Thompson, who is writing a book on Tolkien's narrative, will give a presentation on "The 'Rocking-Horse Gait' of Danger and Rescue in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings."
The new Union South
is having its grand opening this weekend but will not yet be available to
student groups, so we will meet next door in Wendt Commons Library, room 301,
215 N. Randall Avenue. Discussion of the work of the author guests of honor at
Odyssey Con. Sarah Monette is best-known for the Doctrine of Labyrinths series
comprising Melusine
(2005), The Virtu
(2006), The Mirador
(2007) and Corambis
(2009), and for her collaborations with Elizabeth Bear, such as A Companion to Wolves
(2007). Julie Victoria Jones is the author of several fantasy novels such as
the Sword of Shadows series, including A
Cavern of Black Ice (1999), A
Fortress of Grey Ice (2003),
A Sword from Red Ice (2007), and Watcher
of the Dead (2010). Odyssey Con will be held in the Radisson Inn on
the weekend of April 8-10; see the website at http://www.oddcon.com.
To be held in the
Governance Room in the new Union South, second floor. Discussion of the work of
Nisi Shawl, author guest of honor at WisCon, and Elizabeth Moon, who was to
have been co-guest of honor. Shawl won the 2008 Tiptree Award for her story
collection, Filter House.
Moon is a prolific author, perhaps best known for her Paksenarrion series.
WisCon will be held at the Concourse Hotel over Labor Day weekend, May 27-30;
see the website at http://www.wiscon.edu.
MAY 21--EIGHT REASONS YOU
SHOULD CARE ABOUT C. S. LEWIS
Sponsored by the Madison
C. S. Lewis Society. Prof. Wayne Martindale (Wheaton College) will talk on C.
S. Lewis beginning at 10:00 a.m. at The Crossing, 1127 University Avenue
(corner of University and Charter).
To be held in the new
Union South. Check "Today in the Union" for the exact room.
Discussion of Eric Shanower's ongoing "Age of Bronze" comic books
retelling the entire story of the siege of Troy. The first 26 issues have been
collected in three graphic albums: A
Thousand Ships (2001), Sacrifice
(2004), and Betrayal, Part
One (2007).
Meetings
will be held on Sundays beginning at 7:30 p.m. and concluding between
9:30-10:00
p.m. (CST). The September through December meetings will be held in room 301
Wendt Commons Library, 215 N. Randall Ave. The January meeting will be held in
Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street; check "Today in the Union" for
the exact room, either on the board or their website,
http://www.union.wisc.edu.
This meeting will be held in room 301 Wendt Library, 215 N. Randall
Avenue. Discussion of J. R.
R. Tolkien Companion & Guide by Christina Scull and Wayne G.
Hammond (2006).
Discussion of recent scholarship on Tolkien. Everybody try to read at least one of the following three books and share impressions:
--Diana Pavlac Glyer, The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community (2007), winner of the 2008 Mythopoeic Society Award for Scholarship;
-- Douglas Charles Kane, Arda Reconstructed: The Creation of the Published Silmarillion (2009);
--Steve Walker, The
Power of Tolkien's Prose: Middle-earth's Magical Style (2009)
Discussion of the
recent collection The Secret
History of Fantasy edited by Peter S. Beagle (Tachyon, 2010). This is available in paperback, and
there are three copies in the Madison public library system.
Re-scheduled from December 12 because a bad winter storm
forced us to cancel that day. Discussion of E. A. Wyke-Smith, The Marvellous Land of Snergs (1927).
This book was a favorite of Tolkien's children and an influence on his writing The Hobbit. It is
available in a paperback reprint. The December meeting is also a party at which
we have cake.
Simply show up to meetings! There are no
dues, no requirements, no hazings, no
pledges. If you are active in the fantasy and/or science fiction community,
feel free to bring items of interest to meetings; we always have a "News
and Notes" time in each meeting.
For more information on the UW Tolkien Society, feel free to send us email at tolksoc@stdorg.wisc.edu.
Here is a listing of the contents of all published issues of Orcrist, the UWTS's journal.
And here is a listing of past meeting topics.
UWTS member Dorothea Salo runs a mailing list on the topic of Tolkien's invented languages. To learn more, read the Elfling list's web page.
People interested in Tolkien's languages might also check the website of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship.
Other websites of groups that may be of interest:
Dorothy L. Sayers Society: http://www.sayers.org.uk/
Madison C. S. Lewis Society: http://www.cslewismadison.org
Marquette University Tolkien Papers: http://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/tolkien.shtml
Mythopoeic Society: http://www.mythsoc.org
Netherlands C. S. Lewis website (in English and Dutch): http://www.lewisiana.nl/
Rivendell Group of the Mythopoeic Society (Twin Cities smial): http://www.tc.umn.edu/~d-lena/RIVENDELL.html
Tolkien Society (based in England): http://www.tolkiensociety.org
Wade Center: http://www.wheaton.edu/wadecenter/
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Simply show up to meetings! There are no dues, no
requirements, no hazings, no
pledges. If you are active in the fantasy and/or science fiction community,
feel free to bring items of interest to meetings; we always have a "News
and Notes" time in each meeting.
For more information on the UW Tolkien Society, feel free to send us email at tolksoc@stdorg.wisc.edu.
Here is a listing of the contents of all published issues of Orcrist, the UWTS's journal.
And here is a listing of past meeting topics.
UWTS member Dorothea Salo runs a mailing list on the topic of Tolkien's invented languages. To learn more, read the Elfling list's web page.
People interested in Tolkien's languages might also check the website of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship.
Return to top of page.