Monthly Archives: August 2015

Letter to a Friend on the Front Line of the Culture War

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

Dear Friend, This letter may shock you, but I think we’ve known each other long enough that I can mention this. I’ll just come out and say it: You know that person/group that you admire so much? Well, I disagree with … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged culture war, disagreement, love, Partisan Politics, philosophy, Politics, Theology of Culture | 17 Comments

Orwellian Advice: A Guest Post by the Mere Inkling

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

The title of this post is slightly misleading. In truth, it does contains advice from Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950) whose pen name was George Orwell. However, because of the impact of his two dystopian classics, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Blogs, Memorable Quotes | Tagged 1984, Animal Farm, C.S. Lewis, dystopia, George Orwell, Politics of the English Language, Science Fiction, The Four Loves, writing | 13 Comments

Is Animal Farm Greater than 1984? C.S. Lewis’ Thoughts about George Orwell’s Work

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

On Dec 12th, 1954 there was a live BBC TV adaption of George Orwell’s chilling dystopia, 1984. Although it was voted one of the top 100 British TV events, it is doubtful that C.S. Lewis took the time to watch it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Reviews | Tagged 1984, allegory, Animal Farm, C.S. Lewis, dystopia, George Orwell, myth, mythopoiea, That Hideous Strength | 62 Comments

George Orwell’s 1984 and C.S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength: A Conversation about Influence and Pride of Place

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

This post is a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the publication of C.S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Why did That Hideous Strength, which preceded 1984 and was reviewed by Orwell, remain mostly a fan favourite while 1984 … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | 52 Comments

George Orwell’s Review of C.S. Lewis’ “That Hideous Strength”

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

This week we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the publication of That Hideous Strength (THS). While George Orwell’s 1984 is considered among the great 20th c. dystopian novels and C.S. Lewis’ THS is read mostly by fans of dystopia or of Lewis’ work, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged 1984, Animal Farm, books, C.S. Lewis, dystopia, fantasy, Fictional Universes, g k chesterton, George Orwell, Nazism, Newspeak, Ransom Trilogy, technocracy, technology, That Hideous Strength, totalitarianism, WWII | 52 Comments

“Men Without Chests”: A C.S. Lewis Doodle

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

This is the 70th anniversary of the publication of C.S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength. While it remains an obscure book, it is an important dystopia from the WWII-era. In fact, it dropped the same week as Animal Farm by George Orwell. Over the next couple … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Reflections | Tagged 1984, Animal Farm, books, C.S. Lewis, C.S. Lewis Doodle, dystopia, George Orwell, Men Without Chests, That Hideous Strength, The Abolition of Man | 19 Comments

Even on Chairs of Bronze

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

I was walking from my in-law’s house to work the other day. It is longer than my normal commute by foot, but is no great punishment. Prince Edward Island, when not beset by winter storms that are just starting to … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, art, Charlottetown, History, Maritime Christian College, Mark Butcher, Prince Edward Island | 8 Comments

On Pretending to be in a PhD (pt. 2)

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

In my 400th blog post I noted that in 2011 I began pretending I was in a PhD. It is doubtless an odd thing to say, though it has been normal for me for so long I didn’t even think … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Reflections | Tagged Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, Fictional Universes, Flannery O'Connor, graduate school, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, Marilynne Robinson, Marion E. Wade Center, phd students, Regent College, Ursula K. LeGuin | 22 Comments

How I Stumbled into C.S. Lewis (“On Pretending to be in a PhD” pt. 1)

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

In my 400th blog post I noted that In 2011 I began pretending I was in a PhD. It is doubtless an odd thing to say, though it has been normal for me for so long I didn’t even think … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Albert Camus, archive, biblical studies, C.S. Lewis, christianity and culture, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, graduate school, Inklings, Regent College, Sartre, Teaching, theology, Theology of Culture, writing | 30 Comments

Random Thoughts on my 400th Post!

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

That’s a lot of words. A lot of posts, a lot of time. These little blogiversaries are fun ways to take stock of where we are in our creative worlds. We all have different reasons for blogging. Sometimes those reasons … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | 35 Comments