Glen GoodKnight (1941–2010) was the founder of the Mythopoeic Society and the editor of its journal, Mythlore between 1970 and 1998; in that time the publication grew from being a fan magazine to a peer-reviewed academic journal. He was an expert on and collector of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and his fellow Inklings, C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams.
Biography
editGlen Howard GoodKnight III was born in Los Angeles on October 1, 1941 to Glen GoodKnight, an odd-job man, and his wife Mary Bray. The family surname had been anglicized from Gutknecht, a German name. He read history at California State University, Los Angeles. There, in 1967, he organized his first Tolkien event, a playful picnic in the city's Highland Park, with the theme of the Hobbits, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. The success of that event led him to found the Mythopoeic Society for the study of the work of Tolkien and other fantasy authors. He organised its conferences; the first Mythcon was held in 1970, and one has been held annually thereafter.[1][2][3][4] He edited its journal, Mythlore between 1970 and 1998; in that time the publication grew from being a fan magazine to a peer-reviewed academic journal.[5] Alongside that was a monthly newsletter, Mythprint.[1][2][3][4]
His "day job" was as an elementary school teacher, but he was an expert on and enthusiastic collector of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and his fellow Inklings, the Oxford literary group around C. S. Lewis and like-minded writers such as Charles Williams. He travelled to England in 1975 and met Priscilla Tolkien, the author's daughter; from her, he bought a substantial collection of first editions of translations of Tolkien's books. He built up his collection to some 700 volumes of Inklings works. He was a distinctive character at Mythopoeic Society events; Valerie Nelson of The Los Angeles Times reports that he "would sometimes show up dressed in the flowing robes of Elrond", the Elf-lord of Rivendell described in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.[1][2][3][4]
He had a daughter, Arwen (named for Elrond's daughter), by his second wife, Bonnie, whom he married at the 1971 Mythcon. He died on 3 November 2010 in Monterey Park, California, survived by his partner Ken Lauw.[1] His family donated his collection of rare books on the Inklings to Azusa Pacific University.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Nelson, Valerie J. (14 November 2010). "Glen Howard GoodKnight II dies at 69; Tolkien enthusiast founded the Mythopoeic Society". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 September 2020. Also available from the Chicago Tribune.
- ^ a b c "Glen GoodKnight (1941-2010)". Locus Magazine. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Silver, Stephen H. "In Memoriam: 2010". SF Site. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Taglieri, Joe (16 December 2010). "Obituary: Glen Howard GoodKnight II". Patch. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Mallorn Editorial Board". The Tolkien Society. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
the refereed scholarly journal Mythlore
- ^ Glyer, Mike (4 August 2019). "GoodKnight Collection Donated to Azusa Pacific University". File770.com. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Special Collections Fellowship (Temporary) - University Libraries job". Azusa Pacific University. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
Per the Deeds of Gift, the Goodknight Collection was donated for the benefit of the APU University Libraries