Monthly Archives: April 2014

Why Do They Quote Shakespeare on Mercury?

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

E.R. Eddison‘s challenging and infectious epic, The Worm Ouroboros, has a curious set up. The story itself is about a series of adventures between various warring countries. To begin with, the names of these countries are odd. The primary battle … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Original Research | Tagged C.S. Lewis, E.R. Eddison, fantasy, Fictional Universes, J.R.R. Tolkien, Middle Earth, Philip Pullman, Planet Narnia, Roger Zelazny, Shakespeare, The Worm Ouroboros | 30 Comments

Affirming Creation in the Lord of the Rings

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

Perhaps it isn’t that surprising that J.R.R. Tolkien’s books are so environmentally sensitive. Like Sam Gamgee, Tolkien loved things that grow and good tilled earth. He loved walks–long walks beyond his garden through English towns and villages and vast, untouched … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Reflections | Tagged creation, creation care, Earth Day, environment, fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Legolas, literature, Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Treebeard, WWI | 22 Comments

The Grand Miracle, Or Easter in Everyday Life

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

On this week 69 years ago, C.S. Lewis preached a sermon called “The Grand Miracle” at St. Jude on the Hill Church in London. The talk was published two weeks later in The Guardian–following the last episode of The Great … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | 3 Comments

6 Surprising Celebrity Audiobook Narrators

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

I first discovered audiobooks while taking graduate courses by distance in Japan. I received these world-class lecture packages in the mail, pulled the cassette out of its cellophane wrapper (yes, a tape!), and then popped it into my car’s tape … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged audiobooks, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cornelia Funke, Franz Kafka, Jack Kerouac, Johnny Cash, Madeleine L'Engle, Nicole Kidman, On Writing, Rob Bell, Stephen King, To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf | 30 Comments

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Memoir in Poetry by G. Leibholz

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

Dietrich Bonhoeffer remains such an intriguing figure. A pastor who stayed in Germany in WWII so that he might resist Hitler and Nazism, he is one of the more original and evocative 20th century theologians. The 70th anniversary of his … Continue reading →