Doxacon X

Fantasy Fiction and Spiritual Retreat

This past weekend, November 3-4, I attended a science fiction and fantasy convention known as Doxacon. From what I heard at the conference, Doxacon was started 10 years ago by Orthodox Christians out of St. Mary Orthodox Church. It was a small, yet energetic group and a lot of fun. The conference took place at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. As far as I know, it is the only explicitly Orthodox science fiction and fantasy convention out there. Catholics were a significant minority of attendees but made up the majority of speakers this year.

If this conference has been going on since roughly 2013, then why did I choose to attend this year? That is a good question since I work from home and have four children under seven. I did not want to leave my wife alone in the trenches (even though her parents helped get the kids to bed both nights and my parents were ready to swoop in as reinforcements) unless I had a really good reason.

In fact, I did. The reason I traversed from frigid Minnesota to slightly less frigid Virginia was due to the amazing line-up of speakers, two of whom have appeared on my show.

For those who have been listening to my podcast, I Might Believe in Faeries, these last few years would have learned by now that Tim Powers is one of my favorite authors. I mention him in nearly every episode of the show and I have even interviewed him twice; once as an introduction to his work and again for his newest book, My Brother’s Keeper! The recent episode just came out on Halloween, 2023. I could not pass up an opportunity to meet him in person.

Tim was just as hilarious and eccentric in person as he is in interviews and in his books. As the host was introducing him, Tim was standing outside in the hall talking with some other speakers. I was wondering if he even knew it was almost time for him to speak. He entered the room with his hands full of Coca-Cola cans and everyone cheered like he just won the lottery. He looked slightly bewildered and amused as he was handed the microphone.

The main point of his talk was that everyone, even “mature, materialist adults”, believe in the supernatural deep down in their subconscious. While they might be afraid of climate change and urban gangs during the day, they will jump to a supernatural explanation if they hear something dragging down the stairs in their homes at 3:00 am.

In his books, he tries to “trick” the reader into thinking that he is recounting the real history of Kim Philby, Blackbeard, Albert Einstein, etc. and to sneak past the watchful dragons of the conscious minds of his readers. He doesn’t like when reviewers describe his books as “alternate history” because he insists that his telling of events, backed up with mountains of research, are true history. “They take place in our world, you can look it up!”

His main advice to writers is to avoid the popular trends that are currently selling such as “climate change, homophobia, and, I don’t know, veganism”, and don’t try to insert a message into your fiction. Let your subconscious worry about any themes and messages. Just focus on the story. Powers said he was once asked what themes or messages he focuses on in his fiction. His answer: “Never play games with traffic safety.”

One questioner asked, “all well and good, but what about C. S. Lewis and George Orwell? They have messages in their fiction relevant to society.” Powers’ answer was perfect, “well, if you’re a genius, then you can do that.”

Tim was very busy, but I was able to chat with him for a few minutes before he ran off to evening Mass. He kindly signed my copy of Declare as well:

In addition to Tim, Eleanor Bourg Nicholson was there as well with her mom and brother. Eleanor greeted me like I was an old friend and introduced me to her family, who were very kind people. We bonded over our shared love of books, including our appreciation of Tim Powers, and they generously drove me to and from the university. I am very grateful to have met them.

Eleanor is the author of two gothic fiction novels, A Bloody Habit and Brother Wolf, both of which I now own thanks to this conference (I also bought a mug for my wife). Eleanor has also twice been a guest on my show, where we discussed Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.

Eleanor gave a joint presentation with Karen Ullo, co-founder of Chrism Press, an independent fiction publisher that publishes both Catholic and Orthodox authors the Evangelical and Secular presses are too uncomfortable to touch. Karen’s 2017 book, Cinder Allia, won the Louisiana Indie Author Project shortly before the conference started!

Their presentation revolved around the idea that pagan myths and, later, fairy tales, are pregnant with yearning for Someone to be ritually dismembered and buried to fix our broken, twisted world.

Photo credit: John Paul Donlon (Eleanor’s brother). Eleanor is on the left. Karen is on the right.

Deacon Nicholas Kotar gave the clergy keynote speech the night of November 3rd. He referred to St. Basil’s Address to Young Men on Greek Literature about how literature shapes us morally. He also discussed the necessity of a shared, inherited tradition to ground us and to give us a frame work to engage with the rest of the world. It was an excellent speech and a perfect way to start the conference. The other speakers made reference to the good Deacon’s speech throughout the next day.

Tim, Nicholas, Karen and Eleanor, as well as board game designer, Kenneth Hite, participated in a panel discussion where each answered questions related to re-enchantment, the writing process, characters, Lovecraft and more.

Photo credit: John Paul Donlon. From left to right: Dcn. Nicholas Kotar, Kenneth Hite, Karen Ullo, Eleanor Bourg Nicholson, Tim Powers.

I met some very fine people, many of whom might appear on I Might Believe in Faeries in the near future.

In addition to the conference, this trip inadvertently became a sort of spiritual retreat for me. I landed on November 3rd at 11:00 am and had some time to kill before the conference started at 6:00 pm that night. I wandered Arlington and found St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. That weekend, the church had a 40 hour Eucharistic Adoration event, so I spent some time in front of The Blessed Sacrament. It was a relief for me to find a place of familiarity in a relatively unfamiliar city.

The next day, the conference started with a beautiful hymn called the Akathist: Glory to God for All Things. The event planners organized a choir to be in attendance, so I was privileged to hear their Orthodox music. In standard Eastern Orthodox practice, we all remained standing for the duration of the hymn. However, the chant was so simple, that even I could sing along about half-way through.

The packet with the lyrics described this akathist as follows:

“This akathist, also called the ‘Akathist of Thanksgiving,’ was composed by Protopresbyter Gregory Petrov shortly before his death in a prison camp in 1940. The title is from the words of Saint John Chrysostom as he was dying in exile. It is a song of praise from amidst the most terrible sufferings.”

A sample:

Kontakion 1

Everlasting King, Thy will for our salvation is full of power. Thy right arm controls the whole course of human life. We give thee thanks for all thy mercies, seen and unseen. For eternal life, for the heavenly joys of the Kingdom which is to be. Grant mercy to us who sing Thy praise, both now and in the time to come.

Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age!

Ikos 1

I was born a weak, defenseless child, but Thine angel spread his wings over my cradle to defend me. From birth until now Thy love has illumined my path, and has wondrously guided me towards the light of eternity: from birth until now the generous gifts of Thy providence have been marvelously showered upon me. I give Thee thanks, with all who have come to know Thee, who call upon Thy name.

Glory to Thee for calling me into being!
Glory to Thee, showing me the beauty of the universe!
Glory to Thee, spreading out before me heaven and earth,
like the pages in a book of eternal wisdom!
Glory to Thee for Thine eternity in this fleeting world!
Glory to Thee for Thy mercies, seen and unseen!
Glory to Thee through every sigh of my sorrow!
Glory to Thee for every step of my life’s journey,
for every moment of glory!
Glory to Thee, O God, from age to age!

At the end of the day, Saturday, after an amazing line up of speakers, we prayed Orthodox Vespers. Again, we all stood together, but this time the choir sung because the chant was more complicated.

The saints being celebrated were Sts. Galaction and Episteme, whose joint feast was Sunday, November 5th. I do not have the text of the hymn the choir sang, but the Roman Martyrology for Nov 5th describes them as follows:

“At Emesa, in Phoenicia, during the persecution of Decius, the holy martyrs Galation, and Epistemis, his wife, who were scourged, had their hands, feet and tongue severed from their bodies, and finally consummated their martyrdom by decapitation.”

May these two martyrs be a model for married and engaged couples everywhere.

It was a wonderful experience being around Christians who value the moral importance of stories. It was also wonderful being around more fans of Tim Powers, who is not as well known as he should be.

My main takeaway from this conference is that there is a small, but growing, subculture in American Catholicism and Orthodoxy that can support these authors. As Karen and Eleanor told me, Evangelical, secular, and even other Catholic publishers are not that interested in gothic, fantastical, mythical fiction infused with a sacramental worldview. That is why, they said, they founded Chrism Press.

My conviction to write more and often returned after this conference with an eye toward writing some fiction myself someday. We need more people beating this drum and, hopefully, I can contribute in my own small way.