Mythopoeic Society's Phillip Fitzsimmons and Mythcon 54

Mythopoeic. The word means myth-making and it is the name of the fantasy society that is coming to Weatherford.Part fan club and part literary academics, the Mythopoeic Society was formed in the late 1960s after the group’s founder threw a birthday party for Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in Los Angeles, California.This year they’re hosting their biannual conference in the town where an Oklahoma librarian has made Southwest Oklahoma State University the home for the society’s fantastical archive.Since 2017, archivist and librarian Phillip Fitzsimmons has digitized about five thousand items belonging to the society that have been downloaded more than 1.5 million times around the world.Members have come from across the US and the world to attend the conference and discuss fantasy.“It's not just a matter of hiding from the real world,” Fitzsimmons said. “Sometimes reading these books gives the reader answers as to how it is that they can survive and prosper in the real world.”Fitzsimmons first read Tolkien in middle school and is now 63, and he says The Lord of the Rings still provides guidance for him.“I would say that in many ways, The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's work feeds me emotionally, psychologically in a way that, you know, I have lots of books that interest me that I read and like, but they're not doing anything other than satisfying my curiosity or entertaining me."This year’s theme is “Get Your Fantasy Kicks on Route 66.” The keynote speakers are fantasy author David R. Slayton and Mythopoeic scholar Dr. Joe R. Christopher.You can find out more about Mythcon 54 here.