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David Bordwell will talk on the European clear-line style of comic art.
Discussion of the satiric science fiction of William Tenn (pseudonym of Philip Klass). He wrote mostly short stories, collected in a number of books such as Of All Possible Worlds (1955), The Human Angle (1956), The Wooden Star (1968), and The Square Root of Man (1968). His one novel is Of Men and Monsters (1968). NESFA Press published The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn in two volumes in 2001 (v. 1: Immodest Proposals; v. 2: Here Comes Civilization), with afterwords by the author.
Discussion of recent films that have a fantasy or science fiction or medieval aspect, such as Iron Man 2, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Robin Hood, The Sorcerer's Apprentice and others.
Meetings will be held on Sundays beginning at 7:30 p.m. and concluding between
9:30-10:00 p.m. (CST). Unless otherwise indicated, meetings will be held in room 301 of the Kurt F. Wendt Library,
Avenue, on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Union South has been closed for rebuilding (expected to open in 2011).
This meeting held in the Humanities Building. Discussion of favorite current television series that have a fantasy or science fiction component. We also showed the first half hour of the adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather.
Luke Annear will present a paper on "Star Spangled Grammar in Tolkien's 'Bagme Bloma' " a poem written in Gothic by Tolkien for Songs for the Philologists (privately published in 1937).
Kristin Thompson will present a paper on "Gollum Talks to Himself: Problems and Solutions in the Film Adaptation ofThe Lord of the Rings" on how Tolkien's text was adapted for the movie version by Peter Jackson and his collaborators.
Discussion of the works of the author guests of honor at Wiscon 34 in May. Mary Anne Mohanraj's books, which make use of her Sri Lankan heritage, include Silence and the Word (2004; short stories), Bodies in Motion (2005; short stories), and The Poet's Journey (illustrated by Kat Beyer).
A number of our members have participated on panels on J. K. Rowling's books at various conventions, but we have not heretofore discussed her work at our own group's meetings. We shall repair that lack with a discussion of the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), re-titled Sorcerer's Stone for the U.S. edition (1998), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998 in the UK, 1999 in the U.S.), HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999 in both the UK and U.S., and publication was simultaneous hereafter), HP and the Goblet of Fire (2000), HP and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), HP and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007).
To help our discussion of this posthumously published (2007) romance, Richard West will read his paper on "Lack of Counsel Not of Courage: J. R. R. Tolkien's Critique of the Heroic Ethos in The Children of Hurin".
Tolkien's Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun (2009) contains poems of power and passion (as Paul Thomas aptly describes them) written in modern English but using a traditional Old Norse verse form. They are best appreciated when read aloud, so we shall do that, taking turns to read (as medieval Icelanders did reading sagas on long winter nights), interspersing commentary and answering questions as we go along.
Discussion of the use of ghosts and the graveyard setting in Peter S. Beagle's A Fine and Private Place (1960), Terry Pratchett's Johnny and the Dead (1993), and Neil Gaiman's Newbery-award winner The Graveyard Book (2008). This meeting will be held in room 301 of the Kurt F. Wendt Library, 215 North Randall Avenue.
Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories" is available in many places, such as
The second centenary of Edgar Allan Poe (January 18, 1809-October 7, 1849) provides a good opportunity to discuss his work. Poe's stories and poems are widely available in many editions, and naturally there have been a number of hommages published this year (e.g., In the Shadow of the Master, ed. Michael Connolly, which reprints several of Poe's classic stories with commentaries by modern authors).
Discussion of Ursula K. Le Guin's novel Lavinia (2008) and its source, Vergil's Aeneid (available in numerous translations).
Many summer movies are science fiction or fantasy, we all see one or more of them, and it has become a tradition to devote one meeting to discussing them. Possibilites this time include the new beginning of Star Trek directed by J. J. Abrams, Wolverine, Transformers 2, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, perhaps some films released earlier this year such as Inkheart, and probably others that people will bring up.
Discussion of the graphic novel, Watchmen (1987) by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Discussion of the two author guests of honor at Odyssey Con (to be held April 24-26 in Madison). Emma Bull's novels include War for the Oaks (1987), Falcon (1989), Bone Dance (1991) and Territory (2007). She is also one of the creators of the shared fantasy world of Liavek. Tobias Buckell's novels include Crystal Rain (2006), Ragamuffin (2007), and Sly Mongoose (2008).
Discussion of the languages Tolkien loved and studied (Old and Middle English, Old Norse, Gothic, Welsh, Finnish) and their relation to his work.
This meeting will be held in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street. Discussion of the author guests of honor at WisCon (to be held May 22-25 in Madison). Ellen Klages' novels include The Green Glass Sea (2006) and White Sands, Red Menace (2008). Geoff Ryman's novels include Was (1992), Air (2003), Lust or No Harm Done (2003), and The King's Last Song (2008).
Discussion of J. R. R. Tolkien's use of Celtic and Norse elements in his fiction. Focus on the critical study by Marjorie Burns, Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earth(2005).
We will show selections from one or more DVD documentaries on fantasy author Phillip Pullman. Discussion of Once Upon a Time in the North (2008), his prequel to the "His Dark Materials" trilogy.
Discussion of an anthology of stories relating to C. S. Lewis, Tales Before Narnia (2008), edited by Douglas A. Anderson.
We will show selections from a DVD of movies by pioneering French filmmaker Georges Melies (1861-1938). You may wish to read Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007), an illustrated novel in which Melies is a major character.
Discussion
of the work of Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) in our ongoing series
on "Older Authors." Focus on At the Mountains of Madness
and "Rats in the Walls."
AUGUST 10—RECENT
FANTASY FILMS
Discussion of movies released recently
that have a fantasy content. Each summer brings a goodly crop, and usually
everyone has seen at least one or two of them. Possibilities include:
Iron Man (May 2 opening)
Prince Caspian (May 16 opening)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22 opening)
Kung Fu Panda (animated) (June 6 opening)
The Incredible Hulk (June 13 opening)
Wall-E
(animated) (June 27 opening)
JANUARY 13–
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Discussion
of the movie version (New Line, December, 2007) of Philip Pullman's The
Golden Compass.
FEBRUARY 10—BOTANY
& OTHER SCIENCES OF MIDDLE-EARTH
Discussion of Dinah Hazell, The
Plants of Middle-earth: Botany and Sub-creation (2006) and Henry
Gee, The Science of Middle-earth (2004).
Discussion of The Time Machine (1895) by H. G. Wells (1866-1946) and the subgenre of science fiction it pretty much started.
L. Timmel
Duchamp and Maureen F. McHugh will be the author guests of honor at WisCon
(to be held at the Concourse Hotel in Madison over the Memorial Day weekend).
Read something by each, e.g., Duchamp's Renegade (2006) or McHugh's
Nekropolis (2001).
Discussion
of Verlyn Flieger, Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien's Mythology
Discussion
of J. R. R. Tolkien’s latest posthumous (2007) novel, put together by
Christopher Tolkien from the extant versions (see especially Unfinished Tales, Lays of Beleriand, and The Silmarillion) into one continuous
narrative. This is not yet available in paperback but numerous book clubs
have selected it. There is also an audio version forthcoming, read by Christopher
Lee.
Discussion of The
Lost World (1912) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) and its long and
lasting legacy in popular culture, from Edgar Wallace's King Kong to James Gurney's
Dinotopia. There have been numerous movie adaptations, with the role of
Prof. Challenger being played by such acting luminaries as Wallace Beery (1925),
Claude Rains (1960), Bob Hoskins (1991), and John Rhys-Davies (1992). A television
series loosely based on the novel lasted for three seasons and 66 episodes
from 1999-2002. Leonard Nimoy directed an audio version in 1997 for Simon
and Schuster's Alien Voices series of audiocassettes. Greg Bear wrote a sequel,
Dinosaur Summer (1998). Oskar Lebeck and Gaylord DuBois borrowed
heavily from the novel for The Hurricane Kids on the Lost Islands
(1941), and Doyle's work was also the basis for the long-running Turok
Son of Stone comic book (mostly written by DuBois and Paul S. Newman).
Discussion of The History of The Hobbit (Houghton Mifflin, 2007), a two-volume edition and study by John Rateliff of the early manuscripts and development of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Summer Semester, 2007
Discussion of Peter Beagle’s
most recent collection, The Line Between
(2006), which contains eleven stories, including Two Hearts (a sequel to The
Last Unicorn which won the Nebula for best novelette of 2006) and Quarry (a prequel to The Innkeeper’s Song).
Possibilities include Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Harry Potter and the Order
of the
JANUARY 14—RECENT FANTASY FILMS
Discussion of recent movies with a science-fictional or fantasy element, such
as Charlotte’s Web, Children of Men, Eragon, Happy Feet, The Prestige,
The Librarian II: Return to King Solomon’s Mines.
FEBRUARY 4 – LORD OF THE RINGS: A READER’S COMPANION
Discussion of the study by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion (Houghton Mifflin, 2005), which recently won the Mythopoeic Society award for best work of scholarship published in 2005. Do not confuse this with J. R. R. Tolkien: Companion and Guide by the same authors, which was also published by Houghton Mifflin late in 2006, as that is a more general study (and a topic for another meeting). The earlier book we’ll be discussing focuses on The Lord of the Rings, and annotates it extensively.
MARCH 11 – JACK McDEVITT
Discussion of the science fiction of Jack McDevitt, who will be one of the guests of honor at Odyssey Con (April 13-15 in Madison). Read one of the novels by this prolific author and come prepared to share your impressions.
APRIL 15 -- SAKI
Discussion of the fantasy stories of Saki (pseudonym of H. H. Munro, 1870-1916). Examples include “Sredni Vashtar” and “Tobermory”.
MAY 6 – KELLY LINK
Discussion of Magic for Beginners (2005) by Kelly Link, who will be one of the guests of honor at WisCon (Memorial Day weekend in Madison).
JUNE 10 – SNERGS
Discussion of The Marvellous Land of Snergs (1928, but reprinted a number of times, most recently by Dover), by E. A. Wyke-Smith. This was a favorite book of Tolkien’s children and influenced The Hobbit.
SEPTEMBER 17—40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The Tolkien Society at the
In August the
Discussion of Harry Turtledove’s Sentry Peak (2000), Marching Through Peachtree (2001) and Advance and Retreat (2002), set in a fantasy world based on the American
Civil War (the northern provinces in the kingdom of Detina secede rather than
free their blond serfs).
Richard West will introduce and lead a discussion
of Jim Butcher’s ongoing series about hard-boiled private eye and wizard,
Harry Dresden: Storm Front (2000),
Fool Moon (2001), Grave Peril (2001), Summer Knight (2002), Death
Masks (2003), Blood Rites (2004),
Dead Beat (2005), and Proven Guilty (2006).
JUNE
4 – JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL
Discussion of Susanna Clarke’s
novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (2005) (about two English magicians in the time
of Napoleon).
JULY 16 – JOHN HOWE
We will show a documentary on John Howe: Lord of the Brush (2005), and
discuss his work and that of other illustrators of Tolkien. The documentary was
written by Werner Aellen and directed by Gretchen
Jordan-Bastow; it is available on DVD.
AUGUST 13 –SUMMER
MOVIES
Have you seen Superman Returns? X-Men 3: The Last Stand? Pirates of the
Discussion of the movie released in
December, 2005.
Kristin Thompson will talk on the influence
of the Peter Jackson movie adaptations of The
Lord of the Rings on the international film industry, part of her
forthcoming book on Frodo, Fantasy, and
Franchises: The Lord of the Rings and Modern
Read one of her novels and come share your
impressions, prior to her being one of the guests of honor at Odyssey Con VI.
Firekeeper series: Through Wolf’s Eyes (2001), Wolf’s
Head, Wolf’s Heart (2002), The Dragon
of Despair (2003), Wolf Captured
(2004), with Wolf Hunting due out in
April, 2006
Brother to
Dragons, Companion to Owls (1994)
Marks of
our Brothers (1995)
The Pipes of
Orpheus (1995)
When the
Gods Are Silent (1997)
Donnerjack (1997) (in collaboration with Roger Zelazny)
Changer (1998)
Legends
Walking (1999)
Lord Demon (1999) (in collaboration with Roger Zelazny)
The Buried
Pyramid (2004)
Child of a
Rainless Year (2005)
APRIL 9 – ANANSI BOYS
Discussion
of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys (2005).
MAY 14 – KATE WILHELM
Wilhelm will be one of the guests of
honor at WisCon. Read one of her science fiction or
mystery novels, or some of her many short stories. She
won a Hugo for Where Late the Sweet Birds
Sang (1977) (about cloning).
Note this
was earlier scheduled for Sept. 18 but has been moved a week ahead.
Kristin Thompson will present part of her forthcoming book on Frodo, Fantasy, and Franchises: The Lord of
the Rings and Modern
Kristin will also be doing a presentation on videogames based on The Lord of the Rings movies for the
Department of Communication Arts on Thursday, September 22, at
Focus on The Golden Key.
Focus on The Place of the Lion.
DECEMBER 11 -- TOLKIEN
AND RELIGION
There
have been a number of books, especially during the last few years,
on religious resonances in Tolkien's work.
Examples include:
Arthur, Sarah. Walking With Frodo: A
Devotional Journey Through The Lord
of the Rings (2003)
Birzer, Bradley J. J. R. R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth (2002)
Bruner, Kurt D. and Jim Ware. Finding God in The Lord of the Rings
(2002)
Dialogue with Harry Potter, Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings (2003)
Garbowski, Christopher. Recovery and Transcendence for the Contemporary
Mythmaker: The Spiritual Dimension in the
Work of J. R. R. Tolkien (1st
ed., 2000;
2nd ed., 2004)
Loy, David L. and Linda Goodhew.
The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons:
Buddhist Themes in Modern Fantasy (2004)
Wood, Ralph C. The Gospel According to
Tolkien (2003)
And some earlier titles include:
Begg, Ean C. M. The Lord of the Rings and the Signs of the Times
(1975)
Dickerson, Matthew. Following Gandalf:
Epic Battles and Moral Victory in
The Lord of the Rings (1993)
Purtill, Richard L. J. R. R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion (1984)
Urang, Gunnar. Shadows of Heaven: Religion and Fantasy in
the Writing of
C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and J. R. R.
Tolkien (1971)
Also,
out-of-town member Matthew Fisher has given permission to read his paper on
“Working at the Crossroads: Tolkien,
Discussion of the work of Ray
Bradbury with focus on his recent novel, From
the Dust Returned: A Family Remembrance (William
Morrow, 2001). The stories range over
most of his career from the 1940’s to the present, and show his typical method
of gathering a number of shorter pieces to form a novel. The “family” is a
fictional one, the Elliots. The dust jacket was
illustrated by his friend, Charles Addams.
Discussion of
Isaac Asimov’s Foundation (1951), Foundation and Empire (1952), and Second Foundation (1953). These
three books constitute what was long known as “the Foundation trilogy” and won
a special Hugo Award in 1966 for best all-time science fiction series. Asimov later (1982-1993) continued the
series, and other authors have added to it subsequently, but we will focus on
the early books. (The term “trilogy” is as much a misnomer here as it is for
Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, however.
All three books are collections of earlier stories published between 1942 and
1949. There were eight stories: four in the first volume, two in the second, two in the third. The
titles were all changed between their magazine and book appearance. Part 1 of
the first volume was written as a prelude to the book edition and is the only
part not previously published.)
Discussion of fantasy movies due for
release over the course of summer, 2005: e.g., Batman Begins, Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Fantastic Four, The Hitchhiker’s Guide
to the Galaxy, George Lucas’s Star
Wars: The Revenge of the Sith, and Steven
Spielberg’s War of the Worlds.
Discussion of
illustrations of the work of J. R. R. Tolkien by the author himself and by
numerous other artists.
Discussion of the
Miles Vorkosigan series of Lois McMaster Bujold, with emphasis on the Hugo Award-winning novella,
“The Mountains of Mourning” (in Young
Miles).
Discussion of Tolkien and the Great War (2003), John Garth’s study of Tolkien’s
military service during World War I and its influence on his fiction.
Discussion of
Robin McKinley’s vampire novel, Sunshine.
Discussion of the
differences between the presentation of Arwen,
daughter of Elrond, in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson's
movie adaptation.
Discussion of Jeff Smith’s graphic novel , Bone, complete in 55 issues, or 8 volumes
(some available in the Madison Public Library
system) or one mega-volume.
Noted editor James Frenkel will talk about his career working with numerous
authors (e.g., Terry Goodkind, his wife Joan Vinge, et al.), in particular the amazing changes in the
way we think of computers since the initial publication in 1981 of Vernor Vinge’s True Names and its most recent edition from Tor in 2001.
Kristin Thompson will talk about the
numerous websites that focus on Peter Jackson’s movie adaptation of
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Joss
Whedon created a number of well-regarded television
series. Angel was
unexpectedly cancelled after five seasons (October, 1999 to May, 2004). Some of our group
who followed this series will lead us
in a discussion of Angel, with perhaps some hindsight
on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Whedon's earlier series on which the character of Angel, the
vampire with a conscience, was
introduced. One can still see re-runs of
Angel Monday through
Friday on
TNT (cable channel 32 in Madison) from 4:00-5:00 p.m., and on the WB network
(cable
channel 15) from 700-8:00 p.m. on
Saturday and Sunday at
Reruns of Buffy
can be seen on FX (cable channel 55) Monday through Friday from 6:00-8:00 a.m.
(two episodes back to back), and on WB on Saturday at
CST.)
Many episodes are also available on VHS videocassette and DVD.
As part of our occasional series on older authors, we shall discuss the
work of
Leigh
Brackett (1915-1978). A prolific author,
she wrote hard-boiled mysteries as well
as science fiction and fantasy. Her books are in libraries and used
bookstores, and
she's been much anthologized (e.g.,
Pamela Sargent's Women of Wonder, Gardner Dozois's
The Good Old Stuff). She also contributed to screenplays (notably The
Empire Strikes Back,
The Big
Sleep, various
Westerns directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne).
There is a
bibliography of her work in the Reference section of Memorial Library on
campus,
call number PS 374 S35 A7. Everybody try to read one or two of her books
(whatever you can find)
and come share your impressions.
Ursula K. Le Guin
published two more books in her Earthsea series in
2001,
Tales from Earthsea
and The Other Wind .
Discussion of Peter Jackson's movie
version of Return of the King (released
in December 2003).
Private meeting at a member’s home
to watch the telecast of the Academy Awards and root for the Peter Jackson
version of
Return
of the King, which
was nominated in eleven categories (and, in the event, won all of them),
including best picture, best screenplay adapted from another medium, and best
director.
David Weber will be one of the guests of honor at Odyssey Con (the weekend following this meeting, April 2-4). Everybody try to read one of the books in Weber’s Honor Harrington series (the character is described as a female Hornblower in space). The series began with On Basilisk Station (1993) and includes The Honor of the Queen (1993), Field of Dishonor (1994), The Short Victorious War (1994), Flag in Exile (1995), Honor Among Enemies (1996), In Enemy Hands (1997), Echoes of Honor (1998), Ashes of Victory (2000), and War of Honor (2003). There are also a number of collections of short stories, with contributions by Weber and other authors writing about his fictional world: More Than Honor (1998), Worlds of Honor (1999), Changer of Worlds (2000), and Service of the Sword (2003).
Patricia McKillip
will be one of the guests of honor at WisCon
(Memorial Day weekend, May 28-31). It has been some time since we discussed one
of her novels. Suggested
reading: Song for the Basilisk (1998).
Discussion of Lyra’s Oxford (2003) by Philip Pullman, ancillary to the His Dark Materials trilogy.
Focus on her diversity (following an essay in the forthcoming
anthology Dark Matters II which
discusses her use of many ethnicities and cultures
throughout her career, from the fifties--when
this was not common--up to the
present day). Major critical studies of Norton include
Sandra Miesel's excellent introductions
to the Gregg Press editions of Witch
World and Sargasso of Space, Carl Yoke's Roger
Zelazny and Andre Norton: Proponents of Individualism (State Library of Ohio, 1979), and
Andre
Norton: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography by Roger Schlobin and Irene
R.
Focus on Snow Crash
(1992). His other novels include Zodiac
(1988),
Diamond
Age (1995), and Cryptonomicon (1999), while with the just-released
Quicksilver (2003) he is beginning a massive
new series.
Discussion of the stories in Tales
Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy,
ed. Douglas A. Anderson. This collection has just been published in trade paperback by
Ballantine Books.
People recommended these books from among those they have read recently:
Michael Chabon, ed. McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales (Vintage Books, 2003)
Jasper Fforde, Lost in a Good Book (Viking, 2003)
Gregory Maguire, Mirror Mirror (Regan Books, 2003)
Garth Nix, Mister Monday (Scholastic, 2003)
Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment (Harper Collins, 2003)
Discussion of the graphic novel League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, and the comic books published so far in the second series. See also Jess Nevins, Heroes and Monsters: The Unofficial Companion to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Monkey Brain, Inc., 2003). See also the current movie based on the graphic novel, starring Sean Connery as Alan Quatermain and Peta Wilson as Mina Harker. There is also a novelization of the movie, written by K. J. Anderson (Pocket Star Books, 2003).
Discussion of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay (Random House, 2000), a novel by Michael Chabon.
Discussion of the movie adaptation
of The Lord of the Rings: The Two
Towers,
directed by Peter Jackson. There have been
numerous reviews, articles,
and comments on the movie in
newspapers, magazines, and websites. See, for
example, the January issue of Mythprint for pithy comments pro and con from
many
Tolkien
fans. Michael Wilmington's review in the
Towering
Triumph"; other reviewers have also been enthusiastic, but far from
everyone. Just about every magazine that
could find an excuse to do so has published
an article (e.g., the current issue of
Blade has a cover article on commercial replicas
of the swords used in the movie). Jude Fisher's The
is now out. The first book-length study of the director
we know of has been published:
it's in Italian: Peter Jackson by
Andrea Bordoni and Matteo
Marino (Il Castoro
Cinema, 2002) (ISBN 88-8033-225-2) (yes, it has a chapter
on The Fellowship of the
Ring movie).
Kristin Thompson has started work
on a book on Tolkien and would like our
group to help by brainstorming about some
textual questions she has. For example:
what the heck is Tom Bombadil
doing in this book? why
does Gandalf wait so long to
reveal who he is when he returns as the
White? Kristin is preparing a list of
such
questions, which we'll send out soon. Feel free to e-mail replies if you can't come
in
person.
Our 2nd Oscar party at Kristin's, assuming (as
seems likely enough) that
The Two
Towers or other
F&SF films are among the nominees.
Some of us will have met SF author Cathering Asaro the week before
at Odyssey Con, where she will be one
of the guests of honor. Perhaps by then
we'll
have picked a book or two of hers on
which to focus (does anyone have any
recommendations?), but meanwhile just each read
whatever we can find. Her
major books include:
Primary
Inversion (1995)
Catch the Lightning (1996)
The Last Hawk (1997)
The
The Veiled Web (1999)
The
Ascendant
Sun (2000)
Spherical Harmonic (2001)
The Quantum Rose (2002)
Moon
Shadow (scheduled for 2003)
Skyfall
(forthcoming, per Books in Print)
Noted SF author Carol Emshwiller will be one of the guests of honor two
weeks later at WisCon. Our advice on reading is the same as for
Catherine Asaro. Her
major books include:
Joy in Our Cause (1974) (short
stories)
Verging on the Pertinent (1989)
(short stories)
The Start of the End Of It All (1990) (short stories)
Carmen Dog (1990)
Ledoyt
(1995)
Leaping
Man Hill (1998)
The Mount (2002)
Report
to the Men's Club & Other Stories (2002)
Gwyneth
Jones has a review-essay on the last two titles in the January issue of The
Marvel Comics' X-Men has a long and very chequered history, and is
the series against which sales of other
comic books are measured. Does anyone know
all of the complicated storyline(s)? Has the franchise been so successful because of
its flexibility?
A paper by Richard C. West on
"Setting the Rocket Off in Story: Tolkien and
The Kalevala".
At an early age, J. R. R. Tolkien was deeply impressed by the
Finnish
language and by Elias Lonnrot's compilation of the
folklore and myths of his
country in The Kalavala. Tolkien set out to retell the story of Kullervo from the
Finnish epic,
but this grew enormously in the telling, and became radically transformed
into the tale of Turin Turambar. He said
later that it was this experience that "set thje
rocket off in story." This paper examines the influence of the
Finnish Kalevala on
the stories (such as those of
centerpieces of Tolkien's legendarium
and shaped the development of his own
"mythology for
of Myth,
ed. Jane Chance, University Press of
Kristin Thompson will lead a
memorial discussion of the great cartoonist and
filmmaker, who died earlier this year. He wrote two autobiographies, Chuck Amuck
(1989; this
is also the title of a documentary on his career, available on video) and
Chuck Reducks (1996). His cartoons
include numerous Warner Bros. shorts
(featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner, et al.), How
the Grinch Stole
Christmas,
The Phantom Tollbooth, and adaptations of Rudyard Kipling
(such as
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and The White Seal). PBS stations will be televising Chuck
Jones:
Extremes and In-Betweens: A Life in Animation this fall.
station is scheduled to show this on
Wednesday, September 25,
repeated on Saturday, September
28,
Discussion of
Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods (2001).
Discussion of Douglas A. Anderson's
revised and expanded edition of The
Annotated Hobbit (2002).
This topic was postponed from the
March 24th meeting. As part of our
ongoing
series on older authors, we will discuss the
work of pulp author and editor Abraham
Merritt
(1882-1943). BURN, WITCH, BURN (1933)
was made into THE DEVIL DOLL
(1936),
a movie directed by Tod Browning.
Other major works include THE MOON
POOL (1919)
[an electronic version is available in NetLibrary;
this can be accessed
from MadCat,
the online catalogue of the campus libraries], SHIP OF ISHTAR (1926),
SEVEN
FOOTPRINTS TO SATAN (1928), THE FACE IN THE ABYSS (1931),
DWELLERS IN
THE MIRAGE (1932), and CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP (1943). There
is a collection of shorter works in
FOX WOMAN AND OTHER STORIES (1949).
Starmont published a guide on A. MERRITT (1989) by Ronald Foust. Sam Moskowitz
devotes chapter 12 of his book EXPLORERS OF
THE INFINITE: SHAPERS OF
SCIENCE
FICTION (World, 1963) to "The Marvellous A.
Merritt" and also wrote a
longer study, A. MERRITT: REFLECTIONS IN
THE MOON POOL: A BIOGRAPHY
(Oswald
Train, 1985).
Discussion of the work of James
Gurney, including DINOTOPIA: A LAND
APART FROM
TIME (1992), DINOTOPIA: THE WORLD BENEATH (1995), and
DINOTOPIA:
FIRST FLIGHT (1999). Donald Dale Jackson
has a profile
of Gurney in
the September, 1995 issue of Smithsonaian Magazine.
Gurney has allowed a number of other
writers to set novels in Dinotopia. Alan
Dean Foster
has two novels for adult readers, DINOTOPIA LOST (1996) and HAND
OF
DINOTOPIA (1999). There are also several shorter works for
children: Scott
Ciencin's LOST CITY (1995), WINDCHASER (1995),
DANCE
(1999), and THE EXPLORERS (2001); Peter David's THE MAZE (1999);
FIRESTORM
(1997) by
Mark A.
Garland; CHOMPER (2000) by Donald F. Glut; HATCHLING (1995) by Midori
Snyder;
SURVIVE (2001) by Brad Strickland; and John Vornholt's
RIVER QUEST
(1996),
these are illustrated by Gurney.
A 6-hour mini-series (or
"mega-series" as it was advertised) set in present-day
Dinotopia was broadcast last May 12-14, the pilot for a television
series to debut this
fall.
There are numerous magazine articles relating to this, including three
in
Starlog no. 299 (June, 2002) (one is an
interview with Gurney).
There is a website at http://www.dinotopia.com
This meeting will be at the home
of Kristin Thompson. Consult a member
for
directions.
Discussion of the movie directed by
Peter Jackson, which
opened nationwide on
THE LORD OF
THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
VISUAL
COMPANION and Brian Sibley, THE LORD OF THE
RINGS
OFFICIAL MOVIE GUIDE, both published by Houghton
Mifflin
in late 2001.
We may be able to get a room in
Vilas Hall for this, or meet in
the home of a member. Discussion of THE MAGIC NEVER ENDS;
THE LIFE
AND WORK OF C. S. LEWIS, narrated by Ben
Kingsley. This hour-long documentary is to be shown
nationwide
on PBS stations beginning in January,
but has already been
televised in some places (e.g.,
commercially on videotape.
We had scheduled a discussion of A. Merritt, but
postponed that
To June 16
so that we could gather at Kristin Thompson’s house and watch the
Oscar
telecast. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
was nominated in 14 categories and won
four.
Discussion of Walt Disney's movies
on the occasion of his
centenary, focusing on his studio's
adaptations of fairy tales and
other fantasy-related films. Tolkien very much disliked the Disney
touch: why, and do you think he was
justified or not?
Discussion of the first novel by Nalo Hopkinson, BROWN GIRL
IN
THE RING (1998). She is one of the guests of honor at WisCon
on May 24-27. Her fiction makes use of
Douglas A.
Anderson's essay on "Tolkien After All These Years,"
to be published in MEDITATIONS ON
MIDDLE-EARTH, ed. Karen
Haber
(
Discussion of the works of fantasy
of the late author, rather
than of his science fiction, including:
THE BROKEN SWORD
(1954,
1971), THREE HEARTS & THREE LIONS (1961), A
MIDSUMMER
TEMPEST (1975), WAR OF THE GODS (1997),
OPERATION
CHAOS (1971) and OPERATION LUNA (1999), et al.
Discussion of MY FAVORITE FANTASY
STORY (DAW, 2000),
ed. Martin H. Greenberg, in which a
number of fantasists choose a
favorite story and explain why.
Discussion of Guy Gavriel Kay's SAILING TO SARANTIUM
(1998)
and LORD OF EMPERORS (2000).
Sir Henry Rider Haggard is
best-known for his novels KING
SOLOMON'S
MINES (1885) and SHE (1886). He wrote
many
sequels to both, such as ALLAN QUARTERMAIN
(1887) and
WISDOM'S
DAUGHTER (1923), even bringing these two major
characters together in SHE AND ALLAN
(1920). Another novel of
interest to fans of fantasy is one dealing
with Odysseus and Helen
after the fall of
collaboration with Andrew Lang (reissued in the Ballantine Adult
Fantasy
series in 1972).
For background, consult Morton
Cohen, RIDER HAGGARD:
HIS LIFE
AND WORKS (
RIDER HAGGARD (Twayne, 1984). C. S. Lewis wrote a review-
essay on Cohen's book called
"Haggard Rides Again" for TIME
AND TIDE,
most easily found reprinted (under the title "The
Mythopoeic Gift of Rider Haggard") in his collection ON STORIES
AND OTHER
ESSAYS ON LITERATURE, ed. Walter Hooper
(Harcourt,
Brace, Jovanovich, 1982) pp. 97-100.
Jared Lobdell
argues for Haggard's influence on Tolkien in his
book ENGLAND AND ALWAYS: TOLKIEN'S WORLD
OF THE
RINGS (Eerdmans, 1981), and William H. Green does so even
more forcefully in his essay "King Thorin's Mines: THE HOBBIT as
Victorian
Adventure Novel," EXTRAPOLATION v. 42, no. 1 (Spring,
2001), pp.
57-64. Check them out and see if they
persuade you!
There has been an immense amount
written about Verne, both
in French and English. See Edward Gallagher, JULES VERNE: A
PRIMARY
AND SECONDARY BIBLIOGRAPHY (G. K. Hall, 1980).
A good introduction
is JULES VERNE AND HIS WORK by I. O.
Evans
(Arco, 1965). His grandson, Jean
Jules-Verne, wrote JULES
VERNE: A
BIOGRAPHY (English translation, Taplinger,
1976).
See also
THE JULES VERNE ENCYCLOPEDIA by Brian Taves
and Stephen Michaluk,
Jr., with Edward Baxter (Scarecrow Press,
1996). Arthur B. Evans has
written many informative essays, such
as "The Illustrators of Jules
Verne's Voyages Extraordinaires,"
SCIENCE
FICTION STUDIES v. 25, no. 2, whole no. 75 (July,
1998), pp.
291-270.
There have been numerous adaptations
in movies and on
television.
See Thomas C. Renzi, JULES VERNE ON FILM: A
FILMOGRAPHY
OF THE CINEMATIC ADAPTATIONS OF HIS
WORKS,
1902 THROUGH 1997 (McFarland, 1998). We might
also consider THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF
JULES VERNE, a
series on the Sci-Fi channel (which
perhaps owes more to THE
AVENGERS
and THE WILD, WILD WEST than to Verne!).
Kristin Thompson will lead the
discussion. We'll use the new
movie SHREK as our focus, so everyone
should try to see
it beforehand.
Discussion of the DUNE mini-series on the Sci Fi Channel (2000), the David Lynch DUNE movie (1984), and the novel by Frank Herbert (1965).
Vinge
will be one of the guests of honor at Odyssey Con in
We will use as our focus the book by Tom Shippey, J. R. R. TOLKIEN: AUTHOR OF THE CENTURY, to be published by Houghton Mifflin in April. The British edition was published last year.
Nancy Kress will be guest of honor
at WisCon in
Discussion of no. 131 in Letters
of J. R. R. Tolkien, in which
Tolkien
expounded on his artistic intentions to Milton Waldman of
Collins
Publishers,
Discussion of the fantasy novels of
Edward Eager, which have
recently been reissued in a matched
set. These include HALF
MAGIC (1954),
KNIGHT'S CASTLE (1956), THE
(1958),
MAGIC OR NOT? (1959), THE WELL-WISHERS (1960),
MAGIC BY
THE
Discussion of this 1971 novel by
Ursula K. Le Guin and of the
1982 telefilm based on it (recently issued on videotape).
Discussion of this final novel in
Philip
Materials
trilogy. It is scheduled to be published on October
10.
Discussion of the
short stories of this prolific author.
There is a
checklist of his work at
http://www.hycyber.com/MYST/hoch_edward_d.html
This year is the 50th anniversary of
the first of the Chronicles of
Narnia to be published. Discussion will focus on The
Lion, the
Witch, and the Wardrobe and its various adaptations.
Discussion of the new Nick Parks film,
soon to be in general
release.
For all us fans of Wallace & Grommit.
Discussion of this Japanese animated
film (English dialogue by
Neil Gaiman). For
background, see Hayao Miyazaki: Master of
Japanese
Animation by Helen
McCarthy (Stone Bridge Press, 1999)
and The Princess Mononoke:
The Art and Making of
Film of All Time (Talk Miramax Books, 1999).
There are also numerous
websites.
Discussion of the 50th anniversary
edition by Wayne Hammond
and Christina Scull, recently published
by Houghton Mifflin.
This
includes the earliest extant text, what exists of an unfinished sequel,
and much other fascinating material.
Discussion of Wells's
seminal 1898 novel of interplanetary war,
its various radio and film adaptations
(such as Howard Koch's script
performed by
Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre and by
John
De Lancie and what subsequently became Alien Voices), and its
continuing
influence.
Discussion of the
recent (1999) fantasy novel by Peter S. Beagle.
Discussion of the work of this
year's guest of honor at
WisCon (to be held on Memorial Day weekend, May 26-29)
Discussion of the 13 episodes of Babylon
5: Crusade
televised on TNT from June 9 through
September 1. It had been
planned to have a full season of 22
episodes but TNT cancelled the
series before anything had been
broadcast. Should this series be
continued?
Episode guides can be found on the
website, http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html
Dorothea Salo
will reprise her talk from Bree Moot 4 /
Mythcon 30 on the use of invented languages in fantasy fiction,
with special attention to Tolkien, Lord Dunsany, and Ursula K. Le
Guin.
Prof. Verlyn
Flieger has given us permission to read her
paper (not yet published) on
"Fantasy and Reality: Tolkien's World
and the Fairy Stories Essay." See Tolkien's essay "On Fairy-
Stories,"
which has been reprinted frequently but is perhaps most
easily accessible in Tree and Leaf
or The Tolkien Reader.
Discussion of Stardust,
written by Neil Gaiman with
illustrations by Charles Vess. This won the Mythopoeic
Society
Award
for best fantasy novel of 1998.
Discussion of Wrapt in
Reports on WisCon (May 28-31) from those who attended.
Retrospective on the seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, concentrating on the concluding episodes.
In Madison (and probably in other places), the
final, 2-hour show, "What You Leave Behind," will be broadcast on
channel 3 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. This will also be shown in
two parts from
Houghton Mifflin has scheduled for publication in November a 50th anniversary edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's Farmer Giles of Ham (1949), edited by Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull, which will include previously unpublished material from the earlier drafts. We probably won't be able to read and discuss this before the spring semester, 2000. Meanwhile, in honor of the 50th anniversary and to prepare for the special edition, we will discuss the published version of this wonderful story.
Discussion of the sword-and-sorcery series by Fritz Leiber recounting the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The first story, "Adept's Gambit", appeared in 1947. The first collection was Two Sought Adventure (Gnome Press, 1957). The whole series was collected by Ace Books:
1) Swords and Deviltry (1970)
2) Swords Against Death (1970)
3) Swords in the Mist (1968)
4) Swords Against Wizardry (1968)
5) The Swords of Lankhmar (1968)
6) Swords and Ice Magic (1977)
7) Knight and Knave of Swords (1988)
Gregg Press reprinted 1-6 in hardcover in 1977. White Wolf has recently reprinted 1-2 as Ill Met in Lankhmar (1995), 3- 4 as Lean Times in Lankhmar (1996), 5-6 as Return to Lankhmar (1997) and 7 as Farewell to Lankhmar (1998). We will focus in particular on the 2nd volume, Swords Against Death (included in Ill Met in Lankhmar). You might also want to read the title essay in Leiber's Fafhrd and Me: A Collection of Essays (Wildside Press, 1990), and Bruce Byfield's supplement to this called "Fafhrd and Fritz," published in The New York Review of Science Fiction no. 104 (April, 1997), pp. 1, 8-14. Two studies, both called Fritz Leiber, by Jeff Frane (Starmont, 1980) and by Tom Staicar (Ungar, 1983), include sections on the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series.
Tolkien co-edited (with E. V.
Gordon) what is still the standard scholarly edition of the 14th-century Middle
English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and throughout his life
it remained one of his favorite medieval works. Richard West will read a paper
by Roger Schlobin on "The Monsters Are Talismans
and Transgressions: Tolkien and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight".
Dr. Schlobin (
We will focus on Harry Turtledove's novel, How Few Remain (1997), about a second War Between the States after the South won the first one. (This is available in paperback from Del Rey.)
Phil Kaveny will talk about his work-in-progress researching how C. S. Lewis was marked by his service during World War I, affecting his frequent choices of military metaphors in his writing.
Mary Doria Russell will be author guest of honor at this year's WisCon. We will prepare by discussing her novel, The Sparrow (1996).
This is a paper Richard West presented to the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts. A quick summary:
J. R. R. Tolkien both studied and taught the stories of gods and heroes of world mythology, legend, and folklore, and naturally his own private mythos grew from this fertile soil. The story of Beren and Lúthien is one of the central ones of the legendarium of the Silmarils or Jewels of Power, and that the names of these star-crossed lovers are carved on the tombstone he shares with his wife suggests that this tale was one of the dearest to Tolkien's heart. The several recensions of the story, though no single version was completed to the author's satisfaction, all share a wide ranging over mythic motifs. At times the story recalls aspects of Volsunga saga or the Calydonian Boar Hunt, at others Robin Hood or Rapunzel, Orpheus or Ishtar. There are the common themes of the disapproving father, the rival lover, the quest, the bride-price, the magical animal ally, the tragic victory of death over love and the triumph of love over death. Yet the story is not a mere patchwork of mythological borrowings but a carefully wrought and self-consistent tale that is deeply moving and has great aesthetic power.
While many have read and studied the deservedly famous Chinese writings of Wu Ch'eng En regarding Sun the Enlightened One, also known as the Monkey King, few have examined the work under the aegis of fantasy. Is Journey to the West fantasy? What connects it with the modern genre? What is there in modern fantasy that is like this work?
Arthur Waley's translation/abridgement of Journey to the West can be found in the Memorial Library and in College Library, call number PL2697 H75 E5 (or E59), or PZ3 W948. If you care to tackle the entire work (it's long!), try Anthony C. Yu's translation, available in Memorial Library, call number PL2697 H75 E596.
Websites of interest:
· http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/8153/ This is a wonderful set of book descriptions and Web links regarding the Monkey King legend. Start here!
· http://www.chinapage.org/monkey.html
· http://www.china-guide.com/monkey.htm
· http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/MING/LIT.HTM Contains a brief but helpful description of the outlines of the Monkey King story.
On the anniversary of the death of Clive Staples Lewis, we will be discussing two of his lesser-known works. One, Pilgrim's Regress, is a reaction to the well-known allegory Pilgrim's Progress. The other, Till We Have Faces, is a reworking of the Cupid/Psyche legend.
Pilgrim's Regress is available in Memorial and College Libraries, call number BV4515 L37. Several copies of Till We Have Faces are available in both locations, call number PZ3 L58534.
Memorial Library has a couple of scholarly studies of these books: Reason and imagination in C.S. Lewis : a study of Till we have faces by Peter J. Schakel, call number PR6023 E926 T5437, and Finding the landlord : a guidebook to C.S. Lewis's Pilgrim's regress by Kathryn Lindskoog, call number PR6023 E926 P535.
The five-year arc of
Discussion of J. R. R.
Tolkien's children's story,
edited by Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond.
Discussion
of Neil Gaiman's novel, Neverwhere.
This was
originally a television serial in the
be one of the guests at Mad Media Con
5 in
Discussion of The Truman Show. Kristin
Thompson
will provide background on the career of director Peter Weir
(Picnic
at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave, Witness,
et al.)
Discussion of the second novel in Philip Pullman’s fantasy series, His Dark Materials.
Discussion focusing on two recent collections of short fiction by Peter S. Beagle: Giant Bones (set in the world of his novel, The Innkeeper’s Song) and The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances (a miscellany of essays and stories, some previously published and some new).
Discussion of Tolkien’s unfinished novel (published in Sauron Defeated, vol. 9 in the History of Middle-earth series edited by Christopher Tolkien) that may have begun as a pastiche of the meetings of the Inklings but evolved into something much grander.
Discussion of the oeuvre of Sheri Tepper, who will be guest of honor at WisCon in May.
Barfield’s book, Poetic Diction (1928) had great influence on Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.
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