What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s private literary group with C.S. Lewis?

The Inklings was the private literary group associated with J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

The group met in Oxford from the early 1930s until the early 1950s. Members and friends gathered to read aloud and discuss works in progress, including fantasy, fiction, poetry and Christian writing. Tolkien and Lewis were among its best-known participants, but the Inklings was an informal circle rather than an official university society.

Meetings were held in places including Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College and the Eagle and Child pub, which members nicknamed the Bird and Baby. Reading work aloud allowed writers to test narrative rhythm, clarity and audience response before publication.

The Inklings did not write a shared series or publish a group manifesto. Its importance came from conversation and mutual criticism. The name is sometimes mistaken for a formal literary movement, but it was primarily a friendship-based discussion group.