It is done.

[eldritchhobbit]

Thanks to everyone who wished me well about the Past Watchful Dragons conference and to those who took part. It was thrilling to hear febobe's wonderful paper and to see the success of melissagay's art booth. (My copy of her "Aslan" print is going in a place of high honor.) It was also terrific to see toddlyles, gondoriangirl, solodancer, lizzieausten, griffith_gwyn, pktheater, and many others.

Thus far the press for the event has been quite excellent. For example:

"Belmont University Partners With Narnia on Tour for Past Watchful Dragons Conference"

"Stepson of C.S. Lewis Talks about Narnia" (I'm sure the world could do without a picture of me, however.)

"Gresham Helps Belmont Audience Celebrate Lewis"

And there's a thread at GHFan.net with a review and pictures from the brilliant "Inconsolable Secret" concert here.

I could not have been more pleased at how events unfolded. We had attendees from all over the world, packed sessions, sold out events. The paper presentations and keynote sessions were terrific, the Narnia on Tour room with its many booths was a triumph, Douglas Gresham's appearance went extremely well, and the "An Evening with C.S. Lewis" play by David Payne, "The Inconsolable Secret" concert by Glass Hammer, and the "Lord of the Rings Symphony" by The Nashville Symphony all were spectacular. I need a few more days of sleep to recuperate from the planning stages of it all, but I am grateful and happy beyond words.

Comments

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear someone's confernece went well. Part of the one I went to sucked.

I'll talk to ya this week.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I'm so sorry to hear it.

I'll talk to ya this week.

Sounds like a plan! :)

[sneezythesquid.livejournal.com]

I'm sure the world could do without a picture of me, however.)

Oh pish-posh, ye look fine. I, however, scare small children. That might be the growling, though... ;)

the "Lord of the Rings Symphony" by The Nashville Symphony all were spectacular.

AAHH!!! Now that hurts that I missed it. I got the RotK delux box because it had the DVD about that symphony. I was heartbroken that it was only about the concert, with snippets, as opposed to a showing of it. It has not come this way, and I am afraid that it won't. *sigh* Five collages, middle of the state, and it's still a cultural wasteland here...

Still, major kudos to you on a fine accomplishment. I wish I had been there, and I'll try to make it if you repeat it next year. Golf Clap

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

:) ::curtseys to golf clap:: You've made my day!

[agentxpndble.livejournal.com]

Sounds like it was great! Congratulations on a job well done!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Many thanks! :)

[estellye.livejournal.com]

Congrats on a successful event (and the picture is lovely!) It's great when all your hard work pays off! I am disappointed that yet again my life agenda didn't coincide with my desire to attend, but I am pleased it went so well. Perhaps there will be an encore!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! An encore is entirely possible - thanks for your interest and kind words!

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

that sound terrific, A! what a buzz. congrats on such a success and no doubt the amount of fun you had is directly proportional to how much time you'll need to recover. ;)

and the timing of your conf with the upcoming release of the LW&W flick? total genius.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!

[solodancer.livejournal.com]

you should be extremely proud of what you helped put together. I was very impressed and if you read my post you'll see that I really enjoyed it. I think it's really ironic though that the only book I walked away with was one about Harry Potter! LOL!! (not for lack of interest, I assure you, but a lack of available funds)

Thank you for a very enjoyable weekend! And it was a pleasure to finally meet you!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

It was so wonderful to meet you, too! Thanks so much for coming - and for your kind words! :)

[alicambs.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on a good conference and I like the photo!

I have to admit to being somewhat disturbed by the constant emphasis on the 'Christian' aspect of the film. I know C S Lewis was a devout Christian, but I remember feeling highly betrayed when I understood as a teenager that the Narnia books were a Christian allegory. It ruined them for me for some years as I hated being moralised at even then, and as someone who distrusts organised religion, I hate it even more now! I suppose the kids and I will just have to wait and see how it's been filmed and directed. *g*

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your kind words!

Interestingly enough, your point about feeling betrayed by the books (a feeling with which I completely sympathetic) came up repeatedly, especially in an excellent paper about Neil Gaiman's reaction to the Chronicles through his recent "The Problem of Susan" short story, an extremely haunting piece. I really liked the story, and I bet you'd find it interesting, too. I'm intrigued to see how the film's themes will play out, based on (or perhaps despite) how it's being marketed.

[alicambs.livejournal.com]

I remember reading something where someone pointed out that while we were led to feel that Susan had 'betrayed' Narnia and the shared memories, in fact she was doing what all children must do, that is mature and leave behind childish things and move towards adulthood and discover things like sex, relationships etc. It certainly made me reevaluate my attitude towards the 'adult' Susan.

Narnia books

[(Anonymous)]

Y'all are killing me here. :-) The allegory is a hot topic. Technically and by definition, the books aren't allegory, anymore than the Silmarillion is allegory. And don't be too quick to shun books with strong morals -- you'd have to give up both Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, and that would be a shame. That nice Mr. Gaiman's talk to MythCon 2004 is even better re his feelings on Narnia and betrayal. Too tired to talk about Susan right now. But I'm dyin' on the inside.

Dr. S., you really do rock.

grace monk
(and it's not adult to *deny* the truth that something happened, regardless of age)