I actually didn't find Lloyd Alexander until after I read The Lord of the Rings. Still working on completing my collection of his work. (I don't have all the History of Middle Earth books yet either.)
Here's a quote from The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy, complied and edited by Leonard S. Marcus (2006.) This volume contains a series of interviews with a number of well known authors. Here is one question that was asked of Lloyd Alexander.
"Q: Has the attitude toward fantasy changed since you've been writing?
A: Oh yes. When I started in the 1960's it seemed that nobody wanted fantasy. People wanted literature to be 'relevant,' but in a very narrow sense. Now, fantasy is a thriving concern.
Tolkien probably has a lot to do with this. The Lord of the Rings was the elephant in the living room. It was so unmistakeably a major work that it simply could not be overlooked. People had to say, 'Hey, this is great.' It may well have opened it up for other fantasy writers."
One of the things that especially caught my attention in this Stories from the Ashes episode was the comment which M. L. Farb's friend told her that high fantasy had to include dragons. That is not correct. My own understanding of high fantasy, since devouring The Lord of the Rings for the first time in 1979 (as a high school freshman,) was that high fantasy was a genre with epic tales of good versus evil.
HOWEVER, when I finally tracked the term down to its originator, Lloyd Alexander (another of my favorite authors,) I found that my personal definition was also not entirely accurate. Alexander's essay, referred to below, can be found on The Horn Book website, but I do not currently have a subscription so haven't read it. That is here: https://www.hbook.com/story/high-fantasy-and-heroic-romance .
Here's the definition of high fantasy, tracked down via Google, for both Maria and myself. Looking forward to reading her books and determining for myself if they are high fantasy, even if they do not contain dragons. :)
Kathy
"The literary compound term 'high fantasy' was first used by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay High Fantasy and Heroic Romance in which he presents the view of high fantasy as a modern literary form that draws heavily upon the mythology and establishes itself within the tradition and the conventions of the heroic romance." https://journals.uni-lj.si/ActaNeophilologica/article/download/5998/5726/12190
and from Wikipedia:
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy[1] defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.[2] HThe term "high fantasy" was coined by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay, "High Fantasy and Heroic Romance", which was originally given at the New England Round Table of Children's Librarians in October 1969.[2]High fantasy is set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the "real" or "primary" world.[2] This secondary world is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set on Earth, the primary or real world, or a rational and familiar fictional world with the inclusion of magical elements.[3][4][5][6]
[1] "Defining the Genre: High Fantasy". fandomania. 11 May 2011. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2016. High Fantasy is probably one of the most recognizable subgenres of Fantasy.
[2]^ Jump up to:a b c Brian Stableford, The A to Z of Fantasy Literature, (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Plymouth. 2005. ISBN 0-8108-6829-6
[3]^ Buss, Kathleen; Karnowski, Lee (2000). Reading and Writing Literary Genres. International Reading Assoc. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-87207-257-2.
[4]^ Perry, Phyllis Jean (2003). Teaching Fantasy Novels. Libraries Unlimited. p. vi. ISBN 978-1-56308-987-9.
[5]^ Gamble, Nikki; Yates, Sally (2008). Exploring Children's Literature. SAGE Publications Ltd. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-1-4129-3013-0.
Thank you Kathy! These definitions of high fantasy are very helpful. Lloyd Alexander is one of my favorite authors too (I devoured all of his books as a child and teen).
I actually didn't find Lloyd Alexander until after I read The Lord of the Rings. Still working on completing my collection of his work. (I don't have all the History of Middle Earth books yet either.)
That's the order my kids will have their introductions as well. I wonder if it's a good one?
Well, I think maybe Lloyd Alexander would agree?
Here's a quote from The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy, complied and edited by Leonard S. Marcus (2006.) This volume contains a series of interviews with a number of well known authors. Here is one question that was asked of Lloyd Alexander.
"Q: Has the attitude toward fantasy changed since you've been writing?
A: Oh yes. When I started in the 1960's it seemed that nobody wanted fantasy. People wanted literature to be 'relevant,' but in a very narrow sense. Now, fantasy is a thriving concern.
Tolkien probably has a lot to do with this. The Lord of the Rings was the elephant in the living room. It was so unmistakeably a major work that it simply could not be overlooked. People had to say, 'Hey, this is great.' It may well have opened it up for other fantasy writers."
Maria - Dragons do not equal high fantasy.
One of the things that especially caught my attention in this Stories from the Ashes episode was the comment which M. L. Farb's friend told her that high fantasy had to include dragons. That is not correct. My own understanding of high fantasy, since devouring The Lord of the Rings for the first time in 1979 (as a high school freshman,) was that high fantasy was a genre with epic tales of good versus evil.
HOWEVER, when I finally tracked the term down to its originator, Lloyd Alexander (another of my favorite authors,) I found that my personal definition was also not entirely accurate. Alexander's essay, referred to below, can be found on The Horn Book website, but I do not currently have a subscription so haven't read it. That is here: https://www.hbook.com/story/high-fantasy-and-heroic-romance .
Here's the definition of high fantasy, tracked down via Google, for both Maria and myself. Looking forward to reading her books and determining for myself if they are high fantasy, even if they do not contain dragons. :)
Kathy
"The literary compound term 'high fantasy' was first used by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay High Fantasy and Heroic Romance in which he presents the view of high fantasy as a modern literary form that draws heavily upon the mythology and establishes itself within the tradition and the conventions of the heroic romance." https://journals.uni-lj.si/ActaNeophilologica/article/download/5998/5726/12190
and from Wikipedia:
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy[1] defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.[2] HThe term "high fantasy" was coined by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay, "High Fantasy and Heroic Romance", which was originally given at the New England Round Table of Children's Librarians in October 1969.[2]High fantasy is set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the "real" or "primary" world.[2] This secondary world is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set on Earth, the primary or real world, or a rational and familiar fictional world with the inclusion of magical elements.[3][4][5][6]
[1] "Defining the Genre: High Fantasy". fandomania. 11 May 2011. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2016. High Fantasy is probably one of the most recognizable subgenres of Fantasy.
[2]^ Jump up to:a b c Brian Stableford, The A to Z of Fantasy Literature, (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Plymouth. 2005. ISBN 0-8108-6829-6
[3]^ Buss, Kathleen; Karnowski, Lee (2000). Reading and Writing Literary Genres. International Reading Assoc. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-87207-257-2.
[4]^ Perry, Phyllis Jean (2003). Teaching Fantasy Novels. Libraries Unlimited. p. vi. ISBN 978-1-56308-987-9.
[5]^ Gamble, Nikki; Yates, Sally (2008). Exploring Children's Literature. SAGE Publications Ltd. pp. 102–103. ISBN 978-1-4129-3013-0.
Thank you Kathy! These definitions of high fantasy are very helpful. Lloyd Alexander is one of my favorite authors too (I devoured all of his books as a child and teen).
PS - I did find a large portion of Lloyd Alexander's 1971 essay High Fantasy and Heroic Romance quoted in a post on this page:
https://www.terriwindling.com/blog/classic-fantasy/page/5/
Thank you!