Robert Stroud of Mere Inkling kindly called my attention to a recent article of his for our consideration. (Thanks! Such contributions are welcome!) Is Fantasy Foolish takes up the question of whether a penchant for fantasy is a deficiency or augmentation.
The article begins:
Some of the smartest people around dismiss reading fantasy as a crazy waste of time. At the same time, many of the most brilliant people I know love nothing more than passing from their mundane lives through a magical wardrobe into a land of wonder.
What other people consider a crazy waste of time could fill books in a library world of Dr. Who proportions. And generally it is disheartening. Individuals belittle first, second, and third article gifts for the sake of I-don’t-even-understand. Sigh.
And the things people can find foolish! Of all the bizarre pendulums in this world! I much prefer the article’s suggestion that perhaps some are just gifted to see beauty in additional—or varied—places.
I love the idea, briefly mentioned, of reading something as though it were an intimately shared language. May what we write fill such a niche!
I wasalso interested to learn more about The Place of the Lion by Charles Williams. Have you read it? Is it as Platonic as the Amazon reviewers say it is? Is it summer reading material? (Hey, I wonder what sort of summer reading list we could put together!)