Some of the narrative is more time sensitive than others depending on what’s happening. Narrative posts are always in the in-world section of the forum, but there aren’t really warnings because it’s meant to feel like an actual forum. Occasionally CJ will mention when something is happening if there are delays or something.
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I unfortunately completely forgot about the induction while I was at work😬
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That makes sense. sneaks over to see if I have access to those parts
I’ve been avoiding some parts of the forum so I didn’t hit accidental spoilers
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There was an induction?
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There was! We’re hoping to do them monthly(ish).
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Op, yeah, definitely missed that memo. I keep the forum on “latently” so I can see things linearly, but plenty still falls through the cracks.
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Okay, I’m not sure is this should go into Bookish or Tarot or somewhere else entirely, but have y’all seen this?!
“Pairing each tarot card with literary characters who embody the meaning of the arcana.”
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Oh. My. Goodness.
My promise to not buy any more decks is meaningless in the face of this. I’m sure I won’t know who half the characters are, but it’s just so pretty!
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Whenever I hear this song, it reminds me of you folks here on the forum:
It’s a good day to be
A good day for me
A good day to see
My favorite colors, colors
My sisters and my brothers
They see 'em like no other
All my favorite colors
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Say you were to participate in a discussion group inspired by “literary salons” where people can have thoughtful discussions on intriguing ideas. Ideas that won’t necessarily stir up controversy or argument
Say that discussion was part of a conference hosted by a university which has a strong focus in imaginative literature. What would you want to discuss?
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I would like to discuss how others experience things. Specifically how weird and scary it is to know that you cannot fully understand anyone other than yourself, ever. I’ve been thinking about that a lot, I can empathize with people on situations, but I’m always imagining myself going through the situation. Sorry, brain dump. Love the prompt though!
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Thanks! Not sure it’ll work for the literary salon event I’m hosting, but that could be good for evening conversation around the fire.
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I would want time for dramatic monologues
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Why is fantasy literature important? Why is romance literature important? What role does imaginative literature play in (1) growing up, and (2) adult life, that is not filled by other literature? Conversely, what are the unique strengths of other literature?
Watch Derek DelGaudio’s short monologue “Invisible Dialogues,” or, better yet, his one-man show “In and Of Itself.” What is the difference between story and magic? Is magic part of story, vice-versa, or both? What is the difference between sleight-of-hand magic and “real” spooky-action-at-a-distance magic(k)?
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Funny, dramatic performances, dramatic readings, and even live-action reenactments (like the flight to the Ford from LotR) been a part of our conference for a number of years, even last year when it was 
virtual!
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Thanks Lexington, these are good and topics I might feel comfortable leading.
That’s my biggest hold-up with this little activity, I have to be able to fill any lulls!!
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Oh man, Tolkien’s On Fairy Stories
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LOL, we have a certificate & Master’s concentration in Tolkien; that’s pretty much required reading of every student - credit, and non!
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There’s this idea that I’ve always referred to as a ‘reader’s competence’ (honestly I’m unsure if it’s a Real Thing™️ in academia or not)
Essentially, it’s how each individual reading a particular work will experience the work differently based on their lived experience and the knowledge set that they possess prior to reading it.
I.e. if you’ve read a number of works from the same genre, you’re more likely to pick up the troupes of it, and may be able to successfully predict outcomes versus someone new to it may not initially notice any of the clues pointing to them, but they may in turn notice things that might be overlooked since they have a different perspective.
It’s in the same vein as what Afae brought up.
When we’re discussing imaginative literature that requires the reader to do some level of work on their part, we will all experience it differently.
That can lead to some fun discussions in and of itself, but I also like bringing it up and discussing teaching about, lecturing on, and/or analyzing a certain work when it’s always experienced differently. Sure, there are things within a work that may be unchanging such as the events that take place, etc. Honestly, if you can support it with the evidence from the text you can make any claim about a particular work. How then can we teach using a certain work while avoiding assumptions or forcing students into our perspective? How can an analysis be graded or be given a degree of acceptance in the academic community? What basis is used? What should be used?
It all boils down to people often overlooking that literature is another form of art, and thus, subjective in nature. Before any of you come at me, I’ve found sooo many people in academia during my studies that like to conveniently omit this when studying a text or defending their conclusions about them.
I find it an endlessly fascinating discussion that can lead to anything from ‘hey look how our indoctrinated worldview automatically paints what we imagine in our heads in a certain way’ to ‘how do we assess art? What criteria should be used to gauge its importance or impact or meaning versus what has been used in the past?’
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That’s a fascinating idea!
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