The long answer is that I've mostly been involved in the discussion on the mailing lists, which I very much enjoy; reading the fiction/poetry journal they put out once a year; and reading the book reviews in the (semi)monthly newsletter. I attended MythCon last year, which was my first academic conference, and it was really overwhelming--so many really brilliant people all there to talk about myth and fantasy and tropes in novels -- particularly focused on Lewis and Tolkien. I didn't realize quote how Lewis & Tolkien centered the group was when I joined, but I've learned quite a bit about both authors.
They're generally quite negative about the movie adaptations of the works of either writer -- at least the vocal members -- which I understand but find a little too one-sided at times. ;) Otherwise, however, I've found them very open to exploring ideas and sharing their knowledge.
And, of course, now I've volunteered to read a lot of fantasy books for the awards process, so I'm involved on that level, too.
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The long answer is that I've mostly been involved in the discussion on the mailing lists, which I very much enjoy; reading the fiction/poetry journal they put out once a year; and reading the book reviews in the (semi)monthly newsletter. I attended MythCon last year, which was my first academic conference, and it was really overwhelming--so many really brilliant people all there to talk about myth and fantasy and tropes in novels -- particularly focused on Lewis and Tolkien. I didn't realize quote how Lewis & Tolkien centered the group was when I joined, but I've learned quite a bit about both authors.
They're generally quite negative about the movie adaptations of the works of either writer -- at least the vocal members -- which I understand but find a little too one-sided at times. ;) Otherwise, however, I've found them very open to exploring ideas and sharing their knowledge.
And, of course, now I've volunteered to read a lot of fantasy books for the awards process, so I'm involved on that level, too.