Who were the Inklings?

The Inklings were an informal literary group that met in Oxford, England, in the 1930s and 1940s, including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien . The name, taken from a previous student club, was meant as a pun alluding to both "people with vague or half-formed intimations and ideas" and "those who dabble in ink". The Inklings met twice a week. They convened on Tuesday mornings at the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford and on Thursday evenings in Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College, where members read aloud from their works-in-progress and offered critiques and suggestions. Members included Lewis's brother Warren, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, and others. Tolkien credited Lewis's support and friendship with helping him finish The Lord of the Rings . The Inklings effectively ended in 1949.

Where and when did the Inklings meet?

The Inklings were an informal literary group including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien that met in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in the 1930s and 1940s. When the group was most active, the Inklings met twice a week. On Tuesday mornings, they met at the Eagle and Child pub, also known as the Bird and Baby, for conversation and beer. Their more important meetings occurred on Thursday evenings in C.S. Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College, where members read aloud from their works in progress and offered critiques and suggestions. The Inklings ceased meeting in 1949.

Which famous writers were part of the Inklings?

The Inklings were an informal literary group that met in Oxford, England, in the 1930s and 1940s. This group of writers is most known for including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien . Other members of the Inklings included: * Warren "Warnie" Lewis * Owen Barfield * Charles Williams * Colin Hardie * Adam Fox * Hugo Dyson * Lord David Cecil * Nevill Coghill The Inklings met twice a week to read and critique each other's works, providing support and encouragement that significantly contributed to their success.

What did the Inklings do during their meetings?

The Inklings were an informal literary group featuring C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien that met in Oxford during the 1930s and 1940s. The Inklings met twice a week. Tuesday mornings were reserved for conversation and beer at the Eagle and Child pub. Their more important meetings occurred on Thursday evenings in C.S. Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College. During these meetings, members read aloud from their works-in-progress and offered critiques and suggestions. Notably, Lewis read many of his works to the group, including The Problem of Pain , The Screwtape Letters , Out of the Silent Planet , The Great Divorce , and Miracles . Tolkien, or his son Christopher, read chapters from The Lord of the Rings , and Charles Williams read from his novel All Hallow’s Eve . Tolkien dedicated the first edition of The Lord of the Rings to the Inklings.

How did the Inklings influence each other's writing?

The Inklings, an informal Oxford literary group including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien , significantly influenced each other's writing through critiques, encouragement, and support. The Inklings met to read aloud their works-in-progress and offer frank suggestions. Tolkien credited Lewis and the group with encouraging him to finish The Lord of the Rings , which he dedicated to them. Lewis dedicated The Problem of Pain to the Inklings and said he owed them an incalculable debt. The group's contribution is evident in the acknowledgment pages of their works.

Inklings

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Date:: c. 1920 - 1949

Areas Of Involvement:: English literature; literary criticism

Related People:: C.S. Lewis; J.R.R. Tolkien; Lord David Cecil

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Inklings

literary group

Written by

Peter Schakel

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History

Top Questions

Who were the Inklings?
The Inklings were an informal literary group that met in Oxford, England, in the 1930s and 1940s, including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. The name, taken from a previous student club, was meant as a pun alluding to both "people with vague or half-formed intimations and ideas" and "those who dabble in ink".

The Inklings met twice a week. They convened on Tuesday mornings at the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford and on Thursday evenings in Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College, where members read aloud from their works-in-progress and offered critiques and suggestions. Members included Lewis's brother Warren, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, and others. Tolkien credited Lewis's support and friendship with helping him finish The Lord of the Rings. The Inklings effectively ended in 1949.
2 Britannica Sources
1. J.R.R. Tolkien: Oxford career and the Inklings
2. Inklings
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Where and when did the Inklings meet?
The Inklings were an informal literary group including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien that met in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in the 1930s and 1940s.

When the group was most active, the Inklings met twice a week. On Tuesday mornings, they met at the Eagle and Child pub, also known as the Bird and Baby, for conversation and beer. Their more important meetings occurred on Thursday evenings in C.S. Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College, where members read aloud from their works in progress and offered critiques and suggestions. The Inklings ceased meeting in 1949.
2 Britannica Sources
1. J.R.R. Tolkien: Oxford career and the Inklings
2. Inklings
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Which famous writers were part of the Inklings?
The Inklings were an informal literary group that met in Oxford, England, in the 1930s and 1940s. This group of writers is most known for including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Other members of the Inklings included:
* Warren "Warnie" Lewis
* Owen Barfield
* Charles Williams
* Colin Hardie
* Adam Fox
* Hugo Dyson
* Lord David Cecil
* Nevill Coghill

The Inklings met twice a week to read and critique each other's works, providing support and encouragement that significantly contributed to their success.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What did the Inklings do during their meetings?
The Inklings were an informal literary group featuring C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien that met in Oxford during the 1930s and 1940s. The Inklings met twice a week. Tuesday mornings were reserved for conversation and beer at the Eagle and Child pub. Their more important meetings occurred on Thursday evenings in C.S. Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College. During these meetings, members read aloud from their works-in-progress and offered critiques and suggestions.

Notably, Lewis read many of his works to the group, including The Problem of Pain, The Screwtape Letters, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, and Miracles. Tolkien, or his son Christopher, read chapters from The Lord of the Rings, and Charles Williams read from his novel All Hallow’s Eve. Tolkien dedicated the first edition of The Lord of the Rings to the Inklings.
2 Britannica Sources
1. J.R.R. Tolkien: Oxford career and the Inklings
2. Inklings
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did the Inklings influence each other's writing?
The Inklings, an informal Oxford literary group including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, significantly influenced each other's writing through critiques, encouragement, and support.

The Inklings met to read aloud their works-in-progress and offer frank suggestions. Tolkien credited Lewis and the group with encouraging him to finish The Lord of the Rings, which he dedicated to them. Lewis dedicated The Problem of Pain to the Inklings and said he owed them an incalculable debt. The group's contribution is evident in the acknowledgment pages of their works.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some famous books that were shared or discussed by the Inklings?
The Inklings were an informal literary group that met in Oxford in the 1930s and 1940s, including C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Meeting attendees would read aloud from their works-in-progress and offer critiques and suggestions.

Some famous books that were shared and discussed by the Inklings include:
* The Problem of Pain, The Screwtape Letters, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, and Miracles by C.S. Lewis
* Chapters from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
* Chapters from All Hallow’s Eve and sections of his Arthurian poetry by Charles Williams

Tolkien dedicated the first edition of The Lord of the Rings to the Inklings, and Lewis acknowledged that he owed them all an incalculable debt.
2 Britannica Sources
1. J.R.R. Tolkien: Oxford career and the Inklings
2. Inklings
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Inklings, informal group of writers that included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and that met in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in the 1930s and ’40s.

As Lewis’s brother Warren (“Warnie”) put it, “There were no rules, officers, agendas, or formal elections.” Lewis was the central figure, and others in it were mostly friends and university colleagues of his. Other members in addition to Lewis, Lewis’s brother, and Tolkien were Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, Colin Hardie, Adam Fox, Hugo Dyson, Lord David Cecil, and Nevill Coghill. The group’s name was taken over from a student literary club at the University of Oxford when it ceased in 1933. But “pre-Inkling” meetings of Lewis with Barfield and Tolkien had started in the late 1920s, before the group adopted the name. Tolkien explained the name as a pun, meaning both “people with vague or half-formed intimations and ideas” and “those who dabble in ink”—thus doubly suitable for a group of writers discussing works-in-progress.

When the group was most active, the Inklings held meetings twice a week, with six to eight members typically attending. On Tuesday mornings they convened at the Eagle and Child pub (commonly known as the “Bird and Baby”) in Oxford for beer and wide-ranging conversation. But their most important meetings were Thursday evenings in Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College, when various members read aloud from books or poems they were writing and other members responded with vigorous critiques and suggestions. Lewis read many of his works to the group, including The Problem of Pain, The Screwtape Letters, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, and Miracles. Tolkien (or his son Christopher) read chapters from The Lord of the Rings, and Williams read chapters from his novel All Hallow’s Eve and sections of his Arthurian poetry. As Warren Lewis recalled, “We were no mutual admiration society: praise for good work was unstinted, but censure for bad work—or even not-so-good work—was often brutally frank.”

The group contributed significantly to its members’ success through its criticism, support, and encouragement, an indebtedness evident in the acknowledgment pages and dedication pages of many of their works: Lewis’s The Problem of Pain, Williams’s The Forgiveness of Sins, and the first edition of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings were dedicated to the Inklings. Lewis wrote of the Inklings, “What I owe to them all is incalculable,” and Tolkien noted that “only by [Lewis’s] support and friendship did I ever struggle to the end” of The Lord of the Rings.

Attendance at Inklings meetings began to decline after 1945, and meetings came to an end in 1949. The last substantive reference to them was in Warren Lewis’s diary entry for October 20, 1949: “No one turned up after dinner, which was just as well, as [Lewis] has a bad cold and wanted to go to bed early.” Finally, in the entry for October 27, 1949: “No Inklings tonight, so dined at home.”

Peter Schakel

Inklings

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