Category Archives: Original Research

“A Sense of the Season”: C.S. Lewis’ Birthday Pivot and the Cambridge Inaugural Address (Updated 2022)

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

In the autumn of 1954 at the age of 56, C.S. Lewis was at the height of his academic career. With a chance to speak to the academic community at Cambridge and the listening world on the BBC, Lewis used … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

CFP: “Gardeners of the Galaxies: How Imaginary Worlds Teach Us to Care for This One” by Sørina Higgins and Brenton Dickieson (Academic Deadline Extended to May 30th)

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

I am about to talk about gardening while my own garden is suffering from busy-related neglect. Even my little seedlings, planted with plenty of time for our last frost day (usually about June 10th in Prince Edward Island) have not … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

My Conference Papers this Week in Canada and K’zoo on C.S. Lewis’ Constructed Language and Intertextuality, with a Note on the Impostor Syndrome

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

In an intriguing confluence of events, this week is Canada’s annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress2022–what scholarly Canadians used to call “the Learneds”–and is at the same time as the International Congress on Medieval Studies, hosted by … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Original Research, Studies in Words | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

My New Online Short Course: “Spirituality in the Writing of L.M. Montgomery” at AST in May, 2022

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Happy Friday fair readers! I am super pleased to announce my new Short Course with the Atlantic School of Theology: “Spirituality in the Writing of L.M. Montgomery.” This May 2022 4-week online audit course is completely open to anyone who … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Which Image Triggered C. S. Lewis’ Enthusiasm for Wagner’s Ring Cycle? A Proposal by Norbert Feinendegen

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Since the first time I read C.S. Lewis’ peculiar and beautiful memoir, Surprised by Joy, I have been fascinated by Lewis’ numinous experience of joy that came with his encounter between a moment in Wagner’s Ring Cycle and one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The Literary Past and Future in C.S. Lewis’ “The Quest of Bleheris”: My Talk Tonight at the New York C.S. Lewis Society (Fri, Apr 8, 2022, 7:30pm Eastern on Zoom)

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

I am very pleased to be speaking tonight at the New York C.S. Lewis Society, the world’s oldest active society for sharing the enjoyment and considering the impact of C.S. Lewis‘ life and works. The New York C.S. Lewis Society … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

CFP: Gardeners of the Galaxies: How Imaginary Worlds Teach Us to Care for This One by Drs. Sørina Higgins and Brenton Dickieson

Posted on February 24, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Hello dear readers! I am super pleased to announce that I am co-editing an academic book with my long-time friend and scholar, Dr. Sørina Higgins (of The Oddest Inkling fame, with edited volumes like the Mythopoeic Award-nominated Charles Williams play, … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Screwtape Pop-up Mini-Conference 2022 (Friday, Feb 18, 2022 at 4pm Eastern)

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Last week, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the first book publication (February 9, 1942) of C. S. Lewis’s first real blockbuster, The Screwtape Letters. I published my piece “All Things Screwtape: A Pilgrim in Narnia List of Resources on … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research | 5 Comments

All Things Screwtape: A Pilgrim in Narnia List of Resources on C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters by Brenton Dickieson

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Today is the 80th anniversary of the publication of The Screwtape Letters in book form in the UK. As it has been a decade since I gave my last “Nefarious Nod to our Favourite Degenerate Demon” at the 70th, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

A Grief Observed: A Talk on the Anniversary of My Parents’ Deaths, with C.S. Lewis

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Here is a little piece on a special day: the anniversary of the death of my father and brother on a villainously cold night when I was fourteen, and on the eve of the anniversary of my mother’s passing in … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments