Interview: Dr Dennis Wise

In this fascinating discussion, Dr Dennis Wise (University of Arizona) and I talk about a range of topics related to Tolkien studies, including the state of the academic field, the place of Critical Theory in the reception of Tolkien, theories about metafiction in Tolkien's fiction, the 'ontological' status of Tolkien's creation myth, and how we can approach Tolkien through the theories of Leo Strauss. Dr Wise is a lecturer in the Writing Program at UofA, and he has published extensively on Tolkien and other SF/F topics in a range of journals. His website is https://english.arizona.edu/people/dennis-wise This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit benjaminbassett.substack.com