Monthly Archives: March 2022

John Bunyan’s Apology for his Book with a Note from C.S. Lewis on Writing as Holistic Discovery–and How Narnia Achieved the Bigness You See

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

In my blog post last week, “Bunyan and Others and Me: Vicarious Bookshelf Friendship and a Jazz Hands Theory of Reading,” I offered two “Theories of Reading” from my experience of trying to find sympathy with John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, On Writing, Reflections | Tagged A Pilgrim's Regress, Arthur Greeves, BBC, C.S. Lewis, Dante, John Bunyan, John Milton, Selected Literary Essays, Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to be Said, Spenser, spiritual theology, The Pilgrim's Progress, writing | 8 Comments

Trees, Leaves, Vines, Circles: Reading and Writing The Layered Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fiction: A Note on “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” and “Leaf by Niggle”

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

When I was teaching J.R.R. Tolkien‘s “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” for the first time a couple of years ago, we had a strong conversation around the “Debate between Finrod and Andreth.” For those who have not yet discovered it, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Arthurian Torso, Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth, C.S. Lewis, Carl Hostetter, Charles Williams, Christopher Tolkien, Inklings, Leaf by Niggle, Morgoth's Ring, subcreation, The History of Middle-earth, The Nature of Middle-earth, Tolkien Reading Day | 29 Comments

Bunyan and Others and Me: Vicarious Bookshelf Friendship and a Jazz Hands Theory of Reading

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

I have been quite open about the fact that I have had some difficulty finding true sympathy with John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. I even went so far as to admit that the text at one time had been for … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged A Pilgrim's Regress, Auerbach, C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Dante, Enid Blyton, George MacDonald, Harold Bloom, Huckleberry Finn, Jane Eyre, John Bunyan, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, literary friendship, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott., Mark Twain, Middlemarch, Milton, mimesis, Prince Edward Island, Spenser, The Allegory of Love, The Land of Far-Beyond, The Pilgrim's Progress | 9 Comments

The Pilgrim’s Progress and the Nursery Bookshelf: A Book’s Journey (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

At A Pilgrim in Narnia, we have an occasional feature called “Throwback Thursday.” By raiding either my own blog-hoard or someone else’s, I find a blog post from the past and throw it back out into the digital world. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Reviews | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, children's literature, Education, Emily of New Moon, English Literature, fantasy, Frances Hodgson Burnett, John Bunyan, John Milton, L.M. Montgomery, literacy, Louisa May Alcott., Mark Twain, Shakespeare, The Pilgrim's Progress, The Pilgrim's Regress, Tyndale | 7 Comments

The Literary Magic of L.M. Montgomery’s Storied Domains: The King Orchard and The Story Girl

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

While Lucy Maud Montgomery was a prodigious journal-keeper, leaving us thousands of pages of material to study in the decades after her death, she was far less dedicated as a memoirist. Thus, it is sometimes hard to know how to … Continue reading →