Category Archives: Lewis’ Essays

“C.S. Lewis’ Arthuriad: Survey and Speculation” by Brenton Dickieson

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Whatever else they had in common and apart, one of the features of the central Inklings–J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams–is that they each have left their Arthuriad incomplete. In the case of Tolkien and Lewis, they abandoned early narrative … Continue reading →

Posted in Inklings and Arthur, Lewis Biography, Lewis' Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

C.S. Lewis’ “Religion and Coventry” in the Saturday Evening Telegraph (Friday Feature)

Posted on November 17, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

Dominic Russell (@historytalker) recently posted a couple of pics clipped from the Coventry Evening Telegraph. This included two of C.S. Lewis’ short pieces from 1945, including “Work and Prayer” and this clever piece, “Religion and Science.” In a smoking room dialogue, … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, Lewis' Essays, News & Links | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

How to Read All of C.S. Lewis’ Essays

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

A prodigious essayist, it is this area of C.S. Lewis’ work that I find the most provocative—even more so than the fiction and apologetics books (though there is overlap in the latter category). Whether inspirational or controversial, his brevity, clarity … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, Lewis' Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 60 Comments

C.S. Lewis’ Curmudgeonly Essay

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

If you were to judge only from the pieces he published in December 1957, you would assume that C.S. Lewis was a classic case, get-off-my-lawn, wide-jawed, beslippered, well aged, first class curmudgeon. In 1955, he had published a clever piece … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, Lewis' Essays, Memorable Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

From The Hobbit to Harry Potter, From Fairy Tale to Epic

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Brenton Dickieson

In his Cinderella Story essay, “On Stories”—an essay that was passed over when it was first published but now known by anyone who thinks about Fantasy literature—C.S. Lewis defends Fantasy literature by placing it on a higher shelf of literatures. … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Writing, Fictional Worlds, Lewis' Essays, Reflections, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 76 Comments

Virgin Books

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

I am reading C.S. Lewis’ A Preface to Paradise Lost for the first time. This is one of Lewis’ early works (1942), and comes out of his lecturing in English Literature. I was struck immediately on the first page by … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis' Essays, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Essay Chat: “On Three Ways of Writing for Children” by C.S. Lewis

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

My mother went to university when I was in grammar school. One of the great payoffs for me was her Anthology of Children’s Literature. It was a mammoth, double-columned tome of poetry, folklore, myth, and short stories. I loved it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Blogs, Lewis' Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

C.S. Lewis “On Three Ways of Writing for Children”

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Brenton Dickieson

I’m pleased to see this influential essay provided by CatholicCulture.org. Here, Lewis puts critiques authors who are trying to write in a condescending or market-driven way for children, and gives great advice about writing for children, specifically, as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis' Essays | Tagged , , , , | 21 Comments