Category Archives: Reflections

Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, Owen Barfield, Language, Childlike Faith, Joy, and the Inklings

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I have just begun reading Susanna Clarke’s weighty novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I mean “weighty” in the literal, physical sense: I am finding this 1,000-page wonder, a book I did not believe could be written in this century, … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia, Inklings, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Narnia, owen barfield, Piranesi, Susanna Clarke, The Magician's Nephew | 6 Comments

“I Would Rather Die for Evermore Believing,” with George MacDonald and Frederick Buechner

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

This week, I have been sharing my thoughts about Frederick Buechner‘s recent book, The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life (2017). I have also been sharing some highlights from the text, including quotations from remarkable–and remarkably ordinary–authors. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Curate, Frederick Buechner, George MacDonald, Puddleglum, The Remarkable Ordinary, The Silver Chair, Thomas Wingfold | 3 Comments

“Joy Beyond the Walls of the World, Poignant as Grief,” with J.R.R. Tolkien and Frederick Buechner

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

This week, I have decided to share my thoughts about Frederick Buechner‘s recent book, The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life (2017), and to share some highlights from the text. Drawing materials from his memoirs in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Frederick Buechner, On Fairy-Stories, Surprised by Joy, The Remarkable Ordinary | 2 Comments

2020: A Year of Reading: The Nerd Bit, with Charts

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”~ C.S. Lewis “On Stories” 2020 was my first full year … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Flannery O'Connor, Goodreads, Harry Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Marilynne Robinson, Narnia, Neil Gaiman, Nnedi Okorafor, Reading, Sorina Higgins, Stephen King | 2 Comments

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 | 6 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 | 3 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 | 17 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 →