Mythcon 39
August 19, 2008
This past weekend, I traveled to New Britain, Connecticut (just south of Hartford) for Mythcon 39, the annual conference of the Mythopoeic Society. The society is devoted to the enjoyment and study of “mythopoeic” literature, literature that creates new mythological material or transforms and incorporates existing material. To paraphrase the editor of the society’s scholarly journal, this type of work at its best inspires the reader to examine the importance of mythology in his own spiritual, moral, and creative development (source).
The conference contained papers and panels that examined this kind of literature. The society definitely focuses on J.R.R. Tolkien, but I managed to hear a few papers on the works of other authors. I attended some panels that provoked some good conversations on myth, fantasy, and their value to our lives. The scholars and guests that attended were very friendly and approachable, and I had the opportunity to conduct two interviews with people whose Tolkien-related work I greatly respect, one a scholar and one an artist, for upcoming issues of Journey to the Sea. I also had some exciting conversations with people that I hope to get to know more over the coming months.
This trip doubled as a family vacation, so I only attended about half of the programming. My wife has a goal of visiting all fifty states, and we were able to check Connecticut and Rhode Island off the list on this trip.
- In Rhode Island, my wife, my son, and I visited the Roger Williams Park Zoo, took a historical trolley tour of Providence, and got our national park passport stamped at the Roger Williams National Memorial.
- In Connecticut, while I attended the conference, my wife and son visited Mark Twain’s house and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s house, the Hartford children’s museum, and an event at the public library with music, dance, and food from India. (My son made an image of the monkey Hanuman from the Ramayana out of construction paper and popsicle sticks.) After the conference, we made it to “Children’s Day” at the Billings Forge Farmers’ Market.
All and all, the trip was a success, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to attend Mythcon 40 next summer in southern California.