The final day of MythCon 46 was Monday August 3rd, during which I only took notes on one presentation: Vicki Ronn on "Graphic King Arthur," that is, the history of King Arthur comic books. Ronn presented a series of comics featuring or starring the mythical king, evaluating each for the quality of its illustrations, story, …
Continue reading MythCon 46: The Arthurian Mythos Part IV: The Conclusion
Sunday 2 August 2015 was the date of my long-awaited presentation on Charles de Lint's multicultural utopia. Although this post will not include a copy of my presentation--that will be for next week, when I will discuss the final day of lectures at MythCon 46--I do include a significant panel involving the inestimable Brian Attebery, one of the key scholars …
Continue reading MythCon 46: The Arthurian Mythos Part III: Attebery, Politics, and Worldviews
Lately my blog posts have been slowing down because of the attention I'm giving to my research assistantship with Professor Robert Lecker at McGill University--we're researching the history of literary agents and agencies in Canada. As such I have not had the occasion to post about my experience of MythCon 2015 as I did with MythCon …
Continue reading Pacifism and Kenneth Morris’s The Chalchiuhite Dragon
The first of the two legendary panels that happened on Sunday--just before my own presentation, which was the last before the banquet and awards ceremony--was entitled "Fantasy and Faith." Chip Crane moderated, and Carl Hostetter, Sorina Higgins, and Lynn Maudlin were discussing the Inklings. What is the place of faith in the fantasy genre? What …
Continue reading MythCon 45 Day 4: Faith, Myths, and Archetypes
Sunday morning at MythCon, and I took it easy, only getting to "Harry Potter as Dystopian Literature" for 10:00. Kris Swank framed Harry Potter not only in terms of the latest dystopian craze in YA fiction (Divergent, The Hunger Games), but also with the dystopian tradition of Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. The Dolores Umbridge-corrupted …
Day 2 of MythCon began Saturday morning. After breakfast, I really came to appreciate how many people had come to Wheaton College. In addition to seeing many of the faces I saw on Friday, Corey Olsen, the Tolkien Professor, was there. Allow me to explain one thing about this guy: I first listened to his …
. This is a series documenting my intellectual journey at MythCon 45 at Wheaton College, in Norton, MA (8-11 August 2014). Although I will attempt to summarize the arguments made by presenters, the series does not replace the presenters' scholarship, but will represent my attitudes towards the topics. Having arrived early the Thursday, I had …
Continue reading MythCon 45 Day 1: Prose, Genre, and Tolkien’s Genius
Matthew Rettino 