Mythmakers

Mythmakers

Welcome to Season 7 of Mythmakers!

Mythmakers is the podcast for fantasy fans and creatives brought to you by the Oxford Centre for Fantasy. We will be exploring fantasy old and new, look at what went into writing your favourite series, learn tips from the experts, and discuss new books, TV shows and films.

Mythmakers is brought to you from the city of Oxford - home to many of the world's greatest fantasy writers, from J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle-earth, to C.S. Lewis, creator of Narnia, and the grandfather of them all, Lewis Carroll with his Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Oxford story continues with outstanding contemporary writers finding inspiration among the ancient buildings, labyrinthine libraries, and gentle river meadows.

Ready to jump down the rabbit hole with us to find your next mythmaker? Visit https://oxfordcentreforfantasy.org/

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Most Recent Episode

Mythmakers
Mythmakers Encore: The Oddest Inkling - Charles Williams with Sørina Higgins

The oddest Inkling - that's Charles Williams, poet, playwright, novelist, editor, theologian and occult practitioner. If you think the Inklings are summed up by Oxford dons, Lewis and Tolkien, think again, because Williams added an extraordinary influence to the group.

Today on Mythmakers Julia Golding is joined by world expert on Charles William, Dr Sørina Higgins, who has edited a modern edition of Williams Arthurian cycle of poems and is working on his connections to other writers of the period. This episode is everything you needed to know about Williams and were too afraid to ask! Did he influence Tolkien and Lewis, and if so in what way? What's it like to read his poetry? As we gallop through his many genres you'll get a sense of what there is to read - there's a lot! To conclude we take a bow towards Arthur and decide where in all the fantasy worlds is the best place to be a knight.

(00:05) Charles Williams' Life and Works
(08:52) Exploring Charles Williams' Theology and Plays
(17:43) Charles Williams' Theology and Poetry
(27:13) Exploring Charles Williams' Influence and Legacy

For more information on Dr Sørina Higgins and her various works, visit
https://sorinahiggins.com/ 

For more information on the Oxford Centre for Fantasy, our writing courses, and to check out our awesome social media content visit:

Website: https://centre4fantasy.com/website

Instagram: https://centre4fantasy.com/Instagram

Facebook: https://centre4fantasy.com/Facebook

TikTok: https://centre4fantasy.com/tiktok

00:41:50
Jul 24, 2025 7:0 AM
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More Episodes

Mythmakers
Dragons, Victorians and Forests: Professor John Holmes on Performing Tolkien's Lecture, William Morris and Much More!

You certainly won't want to miss today’s episode of Mythmakers where Julia Golding is meeting with Professor John Holmes from Birmingham University.

 

John has made a name for himself by giving performances of Tolkien's 1938 lecture on dragons, complete with the magic lantern slides discovered in the archives of Oxford's Natural History Museum. Today, John and Julia will go on to discuss the fantasy writers of the Victorian period, Pre-Raphaelites, William Morris and Ruskin—all important influences on today’s modern fantasy, often mediated via Tolkien. In this discussion’s final lap, John talks about his work taking people into a very special forest—Ruskin Land—and researching their response to fantasy forests read in situ.

 

To learn more about Birmingham Institute for Forest Research (BIFoR), and to take a virtual tour of Ruskin Land, visit the links below:

https://canvas.bham.ac.uk/courses/52405/pages/cross-curricular-climate-change-education

https://www.thinglink.com/card/1803482248435991014

 

For more information on the Oxford Centre for Fantasy, our writing courses, and to check out our awesome social media content visit:

Website: https://centre4fantasy.com/website

Instagram: https://centre4fantasy.com/Instagram

Facebook: https://centre4fantasy.com/Facebook

TikTok: https://centre4fantasy.com/tiktok

 

(00:05) Exploring Tolkien's Dragons Lecture
(11:29) Exploring Tolkien's Creative Influence
(18:13) Exploring Influences on Tolkien's Fantasy
(30:57) Fantasy Authors' Shared Social Critique
(35:37) Enchanting Forests in Fantasy Literature

00:52:04
Feb 6, 2025 5:5 AM
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