Monthly Archives: October 2018

Inklings Graves in Oxford

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Isn’t that the coolest name? Quarry Hollow. So lovely and evocative and spooky. I wish I had been there at night to take a proper Hallowe’en picture. I took this picture when I was cutting through some alleys in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Austin Farrar, Beren and Lúthien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, graveyards, Halloween, Hugo Dyson, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Blish, Joy Davidman, Kenneth Grahame, Lord of the Rings, Max Müller, Narnia, Oxford, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Warren Lewis | 50 Comments

John Donne’s “The Flea”

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Part of the great fun of teaching is having students bring work to me. In just one class students have had me scurrying to Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, J.R.R. Tolkien‘s “The Last Ship,” Beowulf, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, Bruce Elliot’s “Wolves Don’t Cry,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Beowulf, Halloween, Hayao Miyazaki, John Donne, Le Morte d’Arthur, Malory, Poetry, Spirited Away, vampires | 20 Comments

When Books Went To War: Guest Post by Trevor Brierly

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I am always on the lookout for great resources that helps me get into the critical moments behind the Inklings–the close of the Victorian era, the birth of fantasy and SF, the death of Tennysonian poetry in WWI, the emergence … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged books, Bram Stoker, Dracula, H.P. Lovecraft, J.R.R. Tolkien, Molly Guptill Manning, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Reading, Sidney, Smith of Wootton Major, Verlyn Flieger, When Books Went to War, WWII | 11 Comments

On the Passing of Eugene Peterson, with Gerard Manley Hopkins

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

For those that know of Eugene Peterson‘s work and have felt the impact of his life spent as a pastor-theologian, you probably already know that he passed away earlier this week. Christianity Today has a nice write-up (see here), and so … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged American evangelicalism, As Kingfishers Catch Fire, C.S. Lewis, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, Ephesians, Eugene Peterson, evangelical, Frederick Buechner, George MacDonald, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Regent College, Under the Unpredictable Plant | 11 Comments

The Shape of the Cross in C.S. Lewis’ Writing: My Oct 23rd Talk at the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I’m pleased to announce that I will be giving a talk at the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society next week (Tues, Oct 23rd, 8pm for 8.15pm start at Pusey House). The Society was very kind to fit me in on my … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, cruciformity, Dymer, lion the witch and the wardrobe, Mere Christianity, Oxford, Oxford C.S. Lewis Society, self-death, spiritual theology, The Great Divorce, The Pilgrim's Regress, The Problem of Pain, theology, Till We Have Faces | 10 Comments

Is Saint Denys in the Headless Hunt? Martyr Legends and Nearly Headless Nick’s Fate

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

In the great Cathedrals, art is hidden everywhere in plain sight. At the Chester Cathedral yesterday morning, I was able find tiny busts and secret gargoyles and subtle shades of art in every alcove. Even below my feet in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged cephalophores, Chester, Chester Cathedral, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Headless Hunt, J.K. Rowling, John Cleese, martyrdom, martyrology, Nearly Headless Nick, Saint Denis | 43 Comments

A Place for “Till We Have Faces,” by David C. Downing, Wade Center Co-Director

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Originally posted on Off the Shelf:
Recently the Wade Center unveiled a new display in its museum space, recounting the story of C. S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces (1956) and how it came to be written. The exhibit features…

Posted in Feature Friday, News & Links | Tagged C.S. Lewis, david downing, Marion E. Wade Center, Till We Have Faces | 37 Comments

The Sea a Sham Born of Uniformity: On Subverting the Normal with Gene Wolfe (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

This year I introduced an occasional feature I call “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own vault or someone else’s–and throw it back out into the digital world. This might be … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, On Writing, Throwback Thursdays | Tagged Anne McCaffrey, books, fantasy, Gene Wolfe, Harry Potter, literature, myth, Science Fiction, The Shadow of The Torturer, Ursula K. Le Guin, ursula le guin, writing, Writing Wednesdays | 15 Comments

Peruse Some More Old Books with C. S. Lewis: Guest Post by Dale Nelson

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I want to welcome back Prof. Dale Nelson. Dale has written for us before (see here and here and here), and he is following up his great Peruse Some Old Books With C.S. Lewis post with some more! Drawing on … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Blogs, Reviews | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, Frank Frankfort Moore, Guy Mannering, H. Rider Haggard, James Thomson, lion the witch and the wardrobe, Lord of the Rings, Montezuma’s Daughter, Reading, Selected Literary Essays, She, Sir Walter Scott, The Lion | 12 Comments

L.M. Montgomery’s Portrait of the Artist as a Ridiculous Young Man

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

While there is humour and light and poetry in Mongomery’s prose style, I suspect that most of L.M. Montgomery’s readers are first captured by her characters. Absolutely there is Anne Shirley of Green Gables: impetuous, magical, an invitation to wild … Continue reading →