Glen GoodKnight (1941-2010) was the founder of the

Mythopoeic Society The Mythopoeic Society (MythSoc) is a non-profit organization devoted to the study of mythopoeic literature, particularly the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis, all members of The Inklings, an informal group of write ...

and the editor of its journal, ''

Mythlore ''Mythlore'' is a biannual (originally quarterly) peer-reviewed academic journal founded by Glen GoodKnight and published by the Mythopoeic Society. Although it publishes articles that explore the genres of myth and fantasy in general, special a ...

'' between 1970 and 1998; in that time the publication grew from being a fan magazine to a peer-reviewed academic journal. He was an expert on and collector of the works of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

and his fellow

Inklings The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who pra ...

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

and Charles Williams.

Biography

Glen Howard GoodKnight III was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on 1 October 1941 to Glen GoodKnight, an odd-job man, and his wife Mary Bray. The family surname had been anglicized from Gutknecht, a German name. He read history at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

. There, in 1967, he organized his first Tolkien event, a playful picnic in the city's Highland Park, with the theme of the

Hobbit Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...

s, Bilbo and

Frodo Baggins Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly as "u ...

. The success of that event led him to found the

for the study of the work of Tolkien and other fantasy authors. He organised its conferences; the first Mythcon was held in 1970, and one has been held annually thereafter. He edited its journal, ''

'' between 1970 and 1998; in that time the publication grew from being a fan magazine to a peer-reviewed academic journal. Alongside that was a monthly newsletter, ''Mythprint''. Also available from th
Chicago Tribune
His "day job" was as an elementary school teacher, but he was an expert on and enthusiastic collector of the works of

and his fellow

, the Oxford literary group around

and like-minded writers such as Charles Williams. He travelled to England in 1975 and met

Priscilla Tolkien The Tolkien family is an English family of German descent whose best-known member is J. R. R. Tolkien, Oxford academic and author of the fantasy books ''The Hobbit'', ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion''. Etymology According to ...

, the author's daughter; from her, he bought a substantial collection of first editions of translations of Tolkien's books. He built up his collection to some 700 volumes of Inklings works. He was a distinctive character at Mythopoeic Society events; Valerie Nelson of ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' reports that he "would sometimes show up dressed in the flowing robes of

Elrond Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Both of his parents, Eärendil and Elwing, were half-elven, having both Men and Elves as ancestors. He is the bearer of the elven-ring Vilya, the Ring of ...

", the

Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

-lord of

Rivendell Rivendell ('' sjn, Imladris'') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in '' The Hobbit'' and '' The Lord of ...

described in Tolkien's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

''. He had a daughter, Arwen (named for Elrond's daughter), by his second wife, Bonnie, whom he married at the 1971 Mythcon. He died on 3 November 2010 in Monterey Park, California, survived by his partner Ken Lauw. His family donated his collection of rare books on the Inklings to

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:GoodKnight, Glen 1941 births 2010 deaths Tolkien fandom