C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien belonged to an Oxford literary discussion group called The Inklings.
The Inklings met in Oxford from the early 1930s until the early 1950s. Members read drafts of works aloud and discussed literature, mythology, theology, and language. Lewis was a central participant, and Tolkien regularly shared developing sections of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
The group was informal rather than a university society with a formal membership list. Its meetings took place in rooms at Magdalen College and at the Eagle and Child pub, which members nicknamed the Bird and Baby. Other associated writers included Charles Williams and Owen Barfield.
The name can mislead readers into thinking the group was devoted only to ink or publishing. It was a wordplay on “inkling,” meaning a slight knowledge or suspicion, while also suggesting writers who worked with ink. The group’s discussions helped create an important literary network around Lewis.