Monthly Archives: September 2016

Bandersnatch and Creative Collaboration by Diana Pavlac Glyer

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I am a rapid writer, someone who works in fits and starts. I benefit from binges of work, closeted away to get down what’s been rolling around my chest for hours or days. It took a decade for me to … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged art, Bandersnatch, C.S. Lewis, Diana Pavlac Glyer, Humphrey Carpenter, intertextuality, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, Michael Ward, Middle Earth, Narnia, subcreation, The Company They Keep, Walter Hooper, writing | 51 Comments

A Normal Day in C.S. Lewis’ Life as a Student

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

Though the halls of Oxford are not yet filled for Michaelmas term, University students and faculty are back to work here in North America. No doubt, students are already concerned about how much they can accomplish. As they hustle between … Continue reading →

Posted in Letters, Lewis Biography | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Cecil Harwood, diaries, History, owen barfield, Oxford, Poetry, University, writing | 32 Comments

The PEI Bomb Threat and the Politics of Twitter

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

Just a little while ago I was writing away in my campus office and a policeman tells me we are evacuating. This is a strange message to get in the land of Anne of Green Gables, this getaway Island of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, antisemitism, conservativism, Donald Trump, Election 2016, Hillary Clinton, Islam, Prince Edward Island, terrorism, UPEI | 85 Comments

I Am Legend: Book vs. Film(s)

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

Can a film be better than the book? It depends on how we define “better,” but book-lovers tend to say two sorts of things about adaptations: “The book was a richer experience.” “The film adaptation was not faithful to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Bob Marley, books, film adaptation, I Am Legend, Middle Earth, Night of the Living Dead, Peter Jackson, pop culture, Reading, Recovery, Redemption Song, Richard Matheson, Theology of Culture, vampires, Will Smith, zombies | 9 Comments

Mark Twain’s Letters from Earth: A Pre-/Post-Screwtapian Discovery

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

One of the readers of A Pilgrim in Narnia tipped me off to a lost-but-found work by Mark Twain. Letters from Earth was written in 1909 but not published until long after his death in 1962. This little book, incomplete … Continue reading →