The Mythic Mind Collaborative Substack
In late January, while reading Humphrey Carpenter’s biography of Tolkien, I started to develop a longing for a literary group such as the Inklings or the TCBS, both of which played a significant role in shaping Tolkien’s life and work, as well as that of Lewis and the others. Without a great deal of forethought, I sent out a tweet voicing this desire.
Engagement instantly took off with rapid notifications and direct messages. It seems that there are many who are hungry for this kind of community. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do much with it right away, as I was in the midst of preparing to defend my doctoral dissertation. Once that was behind me, I launched the Mythic Mind Discord server through my Patreon in the middle of March. Over the following couple of weeks, about 20 people signed on, including scholars, writers, storytellers, content creators of various kinds, students, book-lovers, and general enthusiasts of the humanities. In addition to the ~25 patrons that had already gathered around the Mythic Mind podcast, this was makings of a profound community.
As should be expected in a group such as this, we are already spinning off in some productive directions. For now, I am very excited to announce the Mythic Mind community Substack. We have many diverse voices present, representing a wide range of theological and philosophical frameworks, educational backgrounds, interests, and specialties. When you subscribe to our articles, you will find many of these voices challenging you, and even each other, to move forward on the upward path of renewal. You will find standalone articles on philosophy, religion, psychology, history, books, movies, cultural analysis, and other topics related to the humanities. You will also find response pieces, serialized stories, and more. This is a unique project, and I believe you will be enriched by the things that follow.
"And the house of Elrond was a refuge for the weary and the oppressed, and a treasury of good counsel and wise lore." - Tolkien, The Silmarillion
We aim to become a digital homely house in these dark days. This is a gathering place for Christian readers, scholars, subcreators of various kinds, and general enthusiasts of the humanities. Our aim is to promote upbuilding conversation around books, music, philosophy, history, theology, etc., to collaborate on projects, to offer feedback on works in progress, and to systematically promote each other’s content to the broader world. Whether you are Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant (all of which are already represented), whether you are an established or aspiring writer, a podcaster or a blogger, a scholar or simply someone who loves good stories, this is the place for you.
To join the Mythic Mind community, head over to patreon.com/andrewnsnyder. If you do not want to be an active member at this time, but you see the value in what we’re doing, I humbly welcome your financial support through a paid Substack subscription. Every little bit buys more time for me to invest in making this an ever-more meaningful and productive venture.
Even if you do not invest financially at this time, I welcome you to follow along with us as we seek to trod meaningful roads ahead.
About the Author
Andrew Snyder holds a Ph.D. in theology with a dissertational focus on Søren Kierkegaard’s theology of self-formation. He is an adjunct professor of philosophy and religion, a contributing author to The Holy Spirit and the Reformation Legacy, the host of the Mythic Mind podcast, and the founder of the Mythic Mind Collaborative Community. You can follow him on Twitter @andrewnsnyder and subscribe to his personal Substack on The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien at
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