Kirstin Mills Art and Illustration, Academic Research, Writing and Teaching

Informing the Inklings, the Victorian Roots of Modern Fantasy, George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll, fantasy literature

2020 Mythopoeic Awards Finalist: Informing the Inklings

February 2, 2021 In All Blog Posts No Comment

I am excited to learn that an edited collection I contributed to is a finalist in the 2020 Mythopoeic Awards! Informing the Inklings: George MacDonald and the Victorian Roots of Modern Fantasy (2018), edited by Michael Partridge and Kirstin Jeffrey-Johnson, is nominated in the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies.

This is a wonderful collection to be a part of, and this award nomination is testament to the excellent scholarship and dedicated editing that went into this volume. Emerging out of the George MacDonald Society conference held at the University of Oxford in 2014, this collection represents much of the new and exciting scholarship emerging around Victorian author George MacDonald, and his contemporaries like Charles Kingsley, Lewis Carroll, Andrew Lang and more. This volume explores how these Victorian writers and their contexts helped pave the way for modern fantasy as we know it in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis and the Inklings.

informing the inklings, book, inklings, victorian fantasy, fantasy, tolkien, c. s. lewis, george macdonald, lewis carroll, science, psychology, supernatural, scholarship, academic, critical essays, literature, literary criticism

The essay I was honoured to contribute is called ‘Dreaming into Hyperspace: The Victorian Spatial Imagination and the Origins of Modern Fantasy in MacDonald and Carroll.’

Read more about this volume in my earlier blog post.

Purchase this book online in a range of places, including here.

See the full list of Mythopoeic Awards finalists.

Teen Movie Adaptations of Classic Literature, Film Adaptations, Adaptations of Literature, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Easy A, She's the Man, She's All That, Teen Movies

Teen Movie Adaptations of Classic Literature: Podcast Series

May 11, 2020 In All Blog Posts No Comment

Recently I collaborated once more with Dr Stephanie Russo and Dr Jimmy Van on Macquarie University’s From the Lighthouse podcast to record a series of discussions based around one thing we all have in common: a love for teen movie adaptations of classic literature! From films like Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You, which have become 90s classics in their own right (and indelibly marked my own teenage years), to a range of weird and wonderful adaptations in the years since, we tackle the ups and downs of turning classic literature into teen film, what we love and loathe about these productions, the advantages and pitfalls of fidelity to the ‘original’ text, and the evergreen question of what makes a good adaptation. Invariably, these discussions also invited a lot of introspection and reflection on our own teenagehoods, and I found it particularly interesting to trace the ways that these films shaped our own varied experiences of being teenagers, and even, in some cases, our journeys into studying and researching literature and its contexts for a living. I will share more of these episodes as they become available below:

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macbeth, shakespeare, witches, three witches, magic, women, feminism

Witches & the Magic of Shakespeare’s Macbeth: New Podcast Guest Appearance

May 8, 2020 In All Blog Posts No Comment

My latest guest spot on From the Lighthouse – the literary podcast from Macquarie University’s Department of English – involved one of my favourite things to talk about: witches! Specifically, those gnarled, wisened, wonderful witches whose enduring mystery goes some way towards explaining the seemingly endless appeal of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays: the bloody, ghostly and gory Macbeth.

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New Podcast Chat: What to Read and Watch during Covid-19 Lockdown

April 5, 2020 In All Blog Posts No Comment

Wherever you are, you are likely adjusting to the strange and potentially stressful new world of lockdowns and social distancing during Covid-19. It can be hard in a time like this to find the energy, concentration or willpower to continue many of the activities we once enjoyed, endured and even took for granted.

I was recently invited to join my friends Stephanie and Jimmy, hosts of Macquarie University’s From the Lighthouse podcast, to chat about our go-to books, podcasts, films and TV to help pass the time and ease the load of lockdown.

Listen to our recommendations below, and let me know: what are your go-to comfort reads?

Find this episode and more at: https://www.fromthelighthouse.org/2020/comfort-texts-for-a-brave-new-world

Illustration of Gottfried August Burger's Lenore

Upcoming Talk: “The Gothic Horse”, Macquarie University, 5 March 2020

March 1, 2020 In All Blog Posts No Comment

Do you like ghosts, goblins, and all things gothic? What about horses, horse-riding and all things equestrian? What happens if you put both of those things together? Heads will roll…

On Thursday the 5th March I will be talking about the evolution of the dark, demonic, ghostly horse and rider (yes, the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow fame, along with his ancestors and descendants!) as the first speaker in the Macquarie University Department of English’s 2020 Research Seminar Series. (more…)

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Review (New podcast episode)

February 27, 2020 In All Blog Posts No Comment

The Dark Crystal (1982) was one of the many fantasy films on high rotation for me and my siblings growing up. Its blend of enchanting, ethereal beauty and hideous, brutal darkness, and its adventure story steeped in deep mythology made it vastly appealing to our eager imaginations (though its depiction of cruelty, loss and atmosphere of doom sometimes meant that films like The Never-ending Story, Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz were sought out more often). In addition, the sheer magnitude and detail in its handcrafted artistry, combining the talents of puppeteer and filmmaker Jim Henson and artist Brian Froud, along with a vast team of creatives, has ensured the film’s iconic place in history as well as its indelible influence upon a generation of creative minds that grew up under its spell. (more…)