Musing about Mythcon subjects
So Mythcon THIS year (which I DO NOT have to oversee) will be in Dallas, July 9 through12. The chairs have selected a theme of "War in Heaven" -- which is a wonderfully provocative theme. There are so many possibilities to discuss this issue in fantasy literature! My mind is bubbling with possibilities.
After all, it's actually been quite a while since I last applied myself to a piece of scholarship. I need to exercise those brain muscles. What to do? What to do?
The first thing that popped in my head was "Something with Tolkien and Milton!" Which seemed really cool while it was out there vaguely in the brain-ether. But once (this last week) I started bringing the brain into focus on the matter, I wondered "So what am I going to say about them?"
"Oh. You mean I have to have a thesis?"
"That's usually how it works, if you will recall."
"Oh. Hmmm. I guess that means I should do some rereading, yes?"
"That's a starting point."
The other work I've thought of preparing a paper on is my friend Coleman Luck's Angel Fall -- though I haven't decided yet how to approach that. Certainly, angelic conflict is at the core of that story, but it too needs to be reread. Because it suddenly occured to me to wonder why the Deity could not interfere in the course of events in the story's world. Why did he had to wait on the actions of the characters?
Hmmmmmm. I'd forgotten all the WORK involved in this scholarship stuff. Guess I need to get cracking, if I'm going to have anything done by July. Heck, I need to reread Tolkien's "creation story" to decide if I can indeed make a discussion about his choices versus Milton's. But... it's such a GOOD theme! I want to try.