(Originally posted on LiveJournal)
Mythcon 40 Logo
There is much that I could say, but for right now, I am facing the last few hours of Mythcon 40. It has been a glorious weekend and one that I shall treasure for a long, long time in memory. There has been much laughter, much conversation, much joy. And that pleases me after all my work.
But the following is, for me, the heart and soul of Mythcon. It’s a bit I wrote up to introduce the Mythopoeic Awards Chairman, but it describes, for me, what makes Mythcon so special and unique.
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The playfulness and joy that comes from this community frequently gives Mythcon an air of frivolity. But it is a playfulness that springs from our serious attention to a group of writers who took their scholarship seriously. The Inklings were a group who also considered joy an important part of their response to the world. A joy in their work has been communicated to us, and it finds its expression in the best scholarship on these authors anywhere. Past Mythcons have been graced as the testing ground for many important works (for instance, Verlyn Flieger’s work on Tolkien). It is our joy in serious study that sustains us each year at Mythcon, it is our serious appreciation of our enjoyment in these works that inspires us to return again and again to hear what new insight others have gained.
And in that vein we bestow awards on works of scholarship and fiction that do honor to the traditions of the Inklings. ….
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A Mythcon panel, although this one is from Mythcon 39
Mythcon 40 is almost over. My job is nearly done. But someone else gets to pick up for next year. And I get to look forward to that.
