THE HERMITS’ POOL
ideas
for the starting and nurturing of
local discussion groups
the Hermit of the Southern March sat gazing into the smooth pool beneath the spreading tree . For it was in this pool that the Hermit looked when he wanted to know what was going on in the world outside his hermitage. [I]t was a magic pool: instead of reflecting the tree and the sky it revealed cloudy and coloured shapes moving, always moving, in its depths. But [he] could see nothing clearly.
(CSL: The Horse & His Boy, 157-8).
Some time back I did a newsletter intended for the local discussion groups of The Mythopoeic Society, an idea exchange about the history of the groups and some of their experiences. I wanted to find out how to start new groups, and how I, isolated in Minnesota from potential groups of our members in places like Seattle or Tampa or Montreal or San Diego, or individuals in rural areas of Arkansas or Tennesee or Idaho, could possibly support their efforts. We don’t have good answers to all of these questions, but I think accounts of other people’s experiences starting their groups and how they operate can be helpful and (at the least) inspiring. Book discussion groups are big, right now. Or everyone says they are. Maybe that’s why we seem to be growing in this area, too. If you stumble over this page, and you have some interesting ideas or experiences to relate here, pass them on to me, David Lenander, Secretary for Discussion Groups for The Mythopoeic Society. It may take me a while to put most of what I have online here, but if I actually receive other suggestions, I’ll move new contributions to the top of the pile! Thanks. –David Lenander, Hermit of the Northern March.
On Starting a Local Discussion Group, by David Lenander
Guidelines for starting a Discussion Group.
Starting a local CSL group a discussion from MereLewis
Annual Report of David Lenander for 1996
Hold a Hobbits’ Birthday Party!
Text of the Mythopoeic Society Discussion & Special Interest Group Charter
The Activity Calendar of the Mythopoeic Society discussion groups, here are listed chartered local discussion groups (and contact addresses) and a series of non-affiliated groups of interest to Mythopoeic Society members.
HP#2: Discussion Group Newsletters…
Some local group news & histories
An Etymological Excursion Among the Discussion Groups, by David Bratman
The District of Columbia group, Knossos History
The San Francisco Bay, California area group (incl. SF, San Jose, Berkeley, Oakland, etc)
The Khazad-dûm group
The Ann Arbor/Flint, Michigan group
Galadhremmin Ennorath Some Discussion Reports
The Twin Cities, Minnesota group, Rivendell
The history of the Milwaukee, WI group The Burrahobbits
Homepages for our correspondence group
Once Upon a Time (children’s fantasy)
and for electronic correspondence:
Online Discussion Groups
Mythsoc E-List Society activities and general book-related discussion.
Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/MythSoc
Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/mythsoc
LiveJournal Mythopoeic Society discussion forum. Society activities and general book-related discussion, especially the works of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, and Charles Williams. It is also a place to talk about The Mythopoeic Society and to post Society News.
