J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary group with C.S. Lewis was called the Inklings.
The Inklings were an informal discussion and reading group associated with Oxford, active mainly during the 1930s and 1940s. Members and guests read works in progress aloud and discussed literature, mythology, theology, and writing. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were among the best-known participants.
Meetings commonly took place at The Eagle and Child pub, which members nicknamed the Bird and Baby, and sometimes in rooms at Oxford colleges. The group was not a formal society with a fixed membership or constitution.
The Inklings are important because Tolkien and Lewis exchanged criticism while developing major works. Tolkien read parts of The Lord of the Rings to the group, while Lewis’s writing also benefited from the same demanding conversations.