Category Archives: Reflections

A Rationale for Teaching C.S. Lewis’ Fiction in The Wrong Order

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

I am in my sixth year of teaching “The Fantasy and Science Fiction of C.S. Lewis” at The King’s College in New York City. I inherited this online course from Dr. Sørina Higgins, who followed the original mind behind the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Dante, liberal arts, lion the witch and the wardrobe, literature, Narnia, Reading, Science Fiction, Teaching, The Ransom Cycle, The Screwtape Letters, theology, Till We Have Faces | 9 Comments

New Tolkien book on The Battle of Maldon, together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Originally posted on Tolkien and Alliterative Verse:
Thanks to the Tolkien Guide, we have an announcement of a forthcoming book that will be important for the study of Tolkien’s alliterative verse: The Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of…

Posted in Reflections | Tagged A Secret Vice, Beowulf, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kullervo, On Fairy-Stories, The Fall of Arthur, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, The Tolkien Reader, Tree and Leaf | 14 Comments

Back in the Light After 12 Days: Lessons from Hurricane Fiona

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

It is day 13 since Hurricane Fiona, and I have been updating my feed on Facebook with daily notes about life without power. But it is day 1 of being restored to the electrical grid. I woke up to this … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Hurricane Fiona, Prince Edward Island | 12 Comments

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Orange Shirt Day, Day 7 Without Electricity

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation here in Canada, what we have been calling Orange Shirt Day for a few years. Today, as Canadians, we remember our historic relationship with the first peoples of this land. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Canada, Hurricane Fiona, Indigenous Peoples, Mi'kmaq, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, National Indigenous Peoples Day, Orange Shirt Day, Prince Edward Island, Residential Schools | 5 Comments

Stone Soup, Cherry Trees, and Shorelines: An Update from Prince Edward Island on Hurricane Fiona

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Dear friends, I wanted to provide an update on our Hurricane Fiona experience here in Prince Edward Island. Since the storm hit on Friday night, we have been amazed at just how powerful it was. I appreciate the kind personal … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Hurricane Fiona, Prince Edward Island, Stone Soup, trees | 13 Comments

“The Saxon King of Yours, Who Sits at Windsor, Now. Is There No Help in Him?” Thoughts on the British Monarchy from “That Hideous Strength” by C.S Lewis on the Death of Queen Elizabeth II (by Stephen Winter)

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Originally posted on Wisdom from The Lord of the Rings:
That Hideous Strength by C.S Lewis (Pan Books 1983) pp.286-294 The death of Queen Elizabeth II in this last week leaves a huge gap in my life and in the…

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Alan Lee, Anglican, C.S. Lewis, Church of England, Death of Queen Elizabeth II, England, King Arthur, King Charles III, Malvern College, Malvern Hills, That Hideous Strength, The Ransom Cycle, Wales | 7 Comments

The “Tragic Splendour” of British Monarchy and the Passing of Queen Elizabeth II

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

“The Queen is dead, long live the King!” I don’t know if anyone was there today to carry on this royal tradition of succession. The media reports of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing had the feeling of children and grandchildren witnessing … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Death of Queen Elizabeth II, Duchess Camilla, King Charles III, King George, Louis XIV, Narnia, Prince Charles, Prince Edward Island, Queen Elizabeth, Ruth Pitter, The Chronicles of Narnia, The King's Speech, the lion the witch and the wardrobe, The Splendid Century, Till We Have Faces, Victorian Era | 18 Comments

A Garden Gate Summer Note on Teaching and the First Days of School

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Summertime has come and passed–at least here in Prince Edward Island. Island folk wisdom has it that summers break on the weekend of the Gold Cup & Saucer race in mid-August. How global weather patterns know about a two-minute horserace … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged ACLC, Autumn, C.S. Lewis, Digital Literacy, L.M. Montgomery, leadership, liberal arts, Prince Edward Island, Regent College, Signum University, Soulcraft, The King's College, the lion the witch and the wardrobe, University, University of Prince Edward Island, UPEI | 12 Comments

“We Became to America what the Huns Had Been to Us”: C.S. Lewis and the European Colonization of America

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

One of C.S. Lewis’ funniest and punchiest books is also his longest. And, arguably, it is his most important work of literary criticism and his greatest academic achievement. The snazzily titled English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, excluding Drama was … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Colonialization, Columbus, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Indigenous Peoples, John Donne, OHEL, Out of the Silent Planet, Science Fiction, Shakespeare, Spenser, United States | 16 Comments

An Author Who Has Changed My Life, Frederick Buechner, Has Died (1926-2022)

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

On Saturday, just as I was waiting to go onto a church platform to officiate a wedding, I heard that Frederick Buechner had passed away. At 96 years old, the news did not come as a surprise. And though he … Continue reading →