J.R.R. Tolkien co-founded The Inklings, an Oxford literary discussion group, in 1931.
The Inklings was an informal group of writers and academics associated with the University of Oxford. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were its best-known members, and the group met regularly to read and discuss works in progress, including imaginative and religious writing.
Meetings took place in Oxford locations such as Lewis’s rooms at Magdalen College and the Eagle and Child pub, commonly known by the nickname “the Bird and Baby.” The group was not a formal society with a fixed membership list, so accounts of its participants can vary.
The Inklings mattered because Tolkien and Lewis received direct criticism and encouragement from trusted readers while developing major works. Tolkien read sections of The Lord of the Rings to members, although the group did not function as a publishing organization or a school of fantasy writing.