Glen GoodKnight (1941-2010) was the founder of the
Mythopoeic Society and the editor of its journal, ''
Mythlore'' 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 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 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. There, in 1967, he organized his first Tolkien event, a playful picnic in the city's Highland Park, with the theme of the
Hobbits,
Bilbo and
Frodo Baggins. The success of that event led him to found the
Mythopoeic Society 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, ''
Mythlore'' 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
J. R. R. Tolkien 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 ...
, the Oxford literary group around
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 like-minded writers such as
Charles Williams. He travelled to England in 1975 and met
Priscilla Tolkien, 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'' reports that he "would sometimes show up dressed in the flowing robes of
Elrond", the
Elf-lord of
Rivendell described in Tolkien's ''
The Lord of the Rings''.
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