Monthly Archives: August 2016

Lewis, Wagner, and Frankenstein: Literary Accident or Reader’s Providence?

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I call “Pilgrim’s Providence.” This is when we as travelers embrace the challenges and opportunities that come along our pathway as a kind of opportunity provided for us. It is a perspective … Continue reading →

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What Art is For: With C.S. Lewis and Dr. Charlie Starr

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I am pleased to be presenting a paper at the International Society for Religion, Literature and Culture in Glasgow, Scotland. This great adventure is mostly to present some of my doctoral research on C.S. Lewis, focussing on his An Experiment … Continue reading →

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Madeleine L’Engle and the Poetry of Us

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

Originally posted on Eclectic Orthodoxy:
by Alana Roberts Madeleine L’Engle as a poet doesn’t muddle herself into blah, kneel to politics, or contemplate evil. Yet she will never be considered by such as Harold Bloom to be a first-rate or…

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Some British Nonscents

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I am sitting in a sort of international hipster clubhouse. It’s a makeshift lean-to made of corrugated plastic and 3×3 poles. On two walls there is the old brick garden wall; on a third wall there is fishing net. Wooden … Continue reading →

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A Love Hymn by Thomas à Kempis

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

The Imitation of Christ, often called Imitatio Christi, is a Latin devotional handbook attributed to Thomas à Kempis. Perhaps the most widely read devotional book other than the Bible, the Imitatio is not merely a classic Christian text, but where … Continue reading →

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The Invisible Fellowship of Readers, with Annie Dillard

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

At a recent conference, we were sitting around on Sunday morning in the afterglow of the great weekend. Someone asked what we might do to attract more university students and young scholars to the next conference–not because we were lacking in … Continue reading →

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Chris Armstrong’s Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

Chris R. Armstrong, Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians: Finding Authentic Faith in a Forgotten Age with C. S. Lewis (2016) You might say that old is the new new. As culture commits itself further to its pathological aversion to stillness, … Continue reading →

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Why C.S. Lewis Says My Reading Program is Wrong, or What Cheese has to do with Reading

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

This year on A Pilgrim in Narnia we have been doing some thinking about programs for reading great books: Why I Read C.S. Lewis Chronologically How You Can Read C.S. Lewis Chronologically The Canon of Fantasy Literature Harold Bloom’s “The Western … Continue reading →

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The Narnian Pilgrim in the UK

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

Dear Fellow Pilgrims, I chose the image of pilgrimage when I began this blog 5 years ago last week (here was my first blog, on Letter Writing in a Digital Age). I come from a Christian tradition that has tended … Continue reading →

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An Essential Reading List from C.S. Lewis: An Experiment on An Experiment in Criticism

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

On A Pilgrim in Narnia we have been playing with lists of the key books to read–what we might call a “canon.” We’ve thought about the key books of Western literature (here and here), thought about the problems of this discussion, … Continue reading →

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