J.R.R. Tolkien attended The Inklings, an informal literary discussion group in Oxford that included C.S. Lewis.
The group met mainly at Oxford’s Magdalen College and at the Eagle and Child pub, which members nicknamed the Bird and Baby. Participants read drafts aloud, discussed literature, and offered criticism. Tolkien’s developing work on The Lord of the Rings was among the writing discussed in this environment.
The Inklings were not a formal society with a membership register, constitution, or published manifesto. The group’s core included Tolkien, Lewis, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield, although attendance varied over time.
The name is sometimes confused with organized literary movements such as the Bloomsbury Group. The Inklings were instead a conversation-based circle of friends and writers whose meetings supported revision, debate, and the exchange of ideas.