Letters to the Editor
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Brilliant Essay
Your essay was wonderful. I wish you could have spent more time on Tolkien and his philosophy of mythology. He was an amazing man, both him and his friend CS Lewis, and I would dearly like to have heard more of your thoughts on their mythological writing. When Lewis was asked about writing fantasy he said the key was to create in the reader "An indescribably longing to be part of something beautiful." To him this was the essence of mythology; not whether it was true or not, or whether we would actually want to be a part of some mythological story come literally to life. Rather it was to feel part of the nobility or the beauty or the transcendence that the myth invokes in us. To both Lewis and Tolkien, this was also the essence of their Christian faith.