Monthly Archives: December 2020

A Screwtape Christmas Miracle

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

With all the modern skepticism in the world, I still have not been able to shake off a belief in Father Christmas. And I mean here more than that “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” approach to the season … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Christmas, Santa Claus, The Screwtape Letters, The Screwtape Letters: Marvel Comics | 11 Comments

A Very Merry MaudCast, and Fireside Poetry for Winter Solstice

Posted on December 28, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

I must admit that this calendar year, 2020, is one upon which I will be pleased to turn the calendar. Among many of the terrible, terrible events of 2020–events that sound more like the Apocalypse or a Creedance Clearwater Revival … Continue reading →

Posted in L.M. Montgomery, News & Links, Reflections, The MaudCast | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Windy Poplars, L.M. Montgomery, Lucy Maud Montgomery, O. Henry, Poetry, Signum University, The Gift of the Magi, The MaudCast | 7 Comments

Bethlehem as the Hingepoint of History: C.S. Lewis’ Christmas Revolution Poem

Posted on December 25, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

It is difficult to see this poem in the Christmases that most of us are subjected to. I think that’s why C.S. Lewis became a bit of a Christmas curmudgeon in his latter days. But in the midst of his … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Christmas, cruciformity, Jerry Root, Poetry, spiritual theology, the cross, The Surprising Imagination of C.S. Lewis, The Turn of the Tide | 4 Comments

Always Winter, Never Christmas Dinner

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

I admit it: the turkey was a bit of a panic purchase. There had been an article in the news about a run on Christmas turkeys, and I found myself settling for the store brand version of a Butterball instead … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, Christmas, COVID-19, lion the witch and the wardrobe, Narnia, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, pandemic, Scrooge | 13 Comments

The Legacy of Walter Hooper, C.S. Lewis’ Better Than Boswell

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

In the warm and appreciative introduction to a festschrift honouring Walter Hooper (1931-2020), C.S. Lewis and the Church (eds., Judith Wolfe and Brendan N. Wolfe), Andrew Cuneo compares Walter Hooper to James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck and biographer of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged Andrew Cuneo, C.S. Lewis, Dr. Johnson, God in the Dock, James Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson, Mere Christianity, Narnia, Of Other Worlds, owen barfield, Past Watchful Dragons, Spirits in Bondage, The Dark Tower, The Preface to Paradise Lost, Walter Hooper, Warren Lewis | 38 Comments

My “Spin Time” Session as Guest DJ on CBC

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Here is a super local moment on this global blog: I have recently been the Spin Time DJ on our local afternoon CBC radio show, Mainstreet. That means that on the Friday drive home, I got to choose 3 songs … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged Bad Day, Blue Like Jazz, C.S. Lewis, CBC, Chagall Guevara, Dan Fogelberg, Daniel Powter, Kiss Me, L.M. Montgomery, Leader of the Band, Sarah MacLaughlan, Sixpence None the Richer, Steve Taylor, The Screwtape Letters, Walt Whitman | 8 Comments

MaudCast S01E06: Carolyn Strom Collins and the Anne of Green Gables Manuscript

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Recently, I was privileged to sit down with Carolyn Strom Collins for an interview about her work. Carolyn is an author and independent scholar, having written and edited books and articles on L.M. Montgomery (you can see her Montgomery Studies … Continue reading →

Posted in L.M. Montgomery, News & Links, Reflections, The MaudCast | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Carolyn Strom Collins, Frances Hodgson Burnett, L.M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott., Lucy Maud Montgomery, The MaudCast, The Secret Garden, The Shining Scroll | 9 Comments

Walter Hooper, C.S. Lewis’ Literary Secretary, Has Died (1931-2020)

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

I have received news from a credible source that Walter Hooper has passed away, following a brief illness. I have been working on a more significant reflection upon Walter Hooper’s legacy, but I wanted to leave a brief note for … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Douglas Gresham, owen barfield, Oxford, The Kilns, Walter Hooper, Warren Lewis, Will Vaus | 25 Comments

Crystal Downing, Subversive: Christ, Culture, and the Shocking Dorothy L. Sayers (Book Launch, Friday Feature)

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

I am pleased to share the video of the Book Launch for Crystal Downing’s new book, Subversive: Christ, Culture, and the Shocking Dorothy L. Sayers. Famous detective club novelist, strident correspondent, generation-leading scriptwriter, essayist, lecturer, and controversialist, and the producer … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, News & Links | Tagged Crystal Downing, D.L. Sayers, Dante, david downing, Dorothy L. Sayers, feminism, Literary Theory, Marion E. Wade Center, Mind of the Maker, Postmodernism, The Divine Comedy, The Man Born to be King, theology and literature, Theology of Culture | 16 Comments

Enslaved to the Pressure of the Ordinary: What Screwtape Taught Me About my COVID Experience

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

It really has been an extraordinary year. For those future readers who haunt these literary halls, 2020 began easily enough. The British were brexiting, the Americans were engulfed in a couple of primaries to see which old white man would … Continue reading →