Category Archives: Reflections

“Can C.S. Lewis and L.M. Montgomery be Kindred Spirits?” My Talk for the 2021 C.S. Lewis & Kindred Spirits Society Conference (Nov 18-20) and How You Can Go to Romania With Me

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Alas, when I say that “I am speaking in Romania this weekend”–I am, in fact, speaking at this Romanian C.S. Lewis conference–I must admit that am doing so from my desk in Prince Edward Island. While pre-flight check-in is quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Alan Snyder, Anne of Green Gables, Anne With an E, Anne's House of Dreams, C.S. Lewis, C.S. Lewis & Kindred Spirits Society, Dorothy L. Sayers, Emily of New Moon, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Como, Jerry Root, Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson, L.M. Montgomery, Malcolm Guite, owen barfield, Rainbow Valley, That Hideous Strength, The Inklings, The Lion, The Screwtape Letters, the Witch and the Wardrobe | 18 Comments

A Head Full of Homer, A Trench Full of Blood (Remembrance Day Reblog from Tom at Alas Not Me)

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Last year I followed a link from Tom Hillman (@alas_not_me) on Twitter to one of his 2017 reflections on war and reading. At the Alas, Not Me blog, Tom consistently writes thoughtful reading reflections and books studies, often connected to … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Homer, Reading, Shakespeare, war, WWI, WWII | 3 Comments

The Doom and Destiny of Tolkien’s Chaucer Research: A Note on John M. Bowers, Tolkien’s Lost Chaucer (2019)

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Tolkien’s Lost Chaucer is a book about a book that was doomed from the start. As I have been preparing for a Canterbury Tales section in a class I’m teaching, I have been using this recent winner of the Mythopoeic … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Beowulf, C.S. Lewis, Chaucer, Christopher Tolkien, Harold Bloom, J.R.R. Tolkien, John M. Bowers, Middle English, The Canterbury Tales, The History of Middle-earth, Tolkien’s Lost Chaucer | 8 Comments

Living in a World with Octobers: A Greeting from Prince Edward Island, A Note from Anne of Green Gables, and a Blog Post from L.M. Montgomery Scholar Benjamin Lefebvre

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

It is a gorgeous fall day here in Prince Edward Island on this first day of October. Our autumns usually begin about the third week of August, which makes for a heart-breakingly short summer for Islanders–and for visitors from around … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Anne With an E, Benjamin Lefebvre, Emily Climbs, Kevin Sullivan, L.M. Montgomery, Lucy Maud Montgomery | 5 Comments

Full Video: Emily of New Moon Round Table with E. Holly Pike, Kate Sutherland, and Brenton Dickieson (Conversations about #LMMontgomery Series)

Posted on September 27, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I was pleased to be part of a great online conversation on Saturday, a “Round Table” about L.M. Montgomery’s novel, Emily of New Moon. This is by far my favourite Montgomery novel in terms of artistry and thoughtfulness, a Cinderella … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Benjamin Lefebvre, Canadian literature, Carmilla, Emily Climbs, Emily of New Moon, Emily's Quest, Kevin Sullivan, L.M. Montgomery, L.M. Montgomery and Gender, Megan Follows, Sheridan Le Fanu | 3 Comments

Upcoming Signum University and Mythgard Online Events (For Tolkien, Fantasy, SF, and Language Lovers)

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Happy Friday dear friends! As regular readers will know, I teach at Signum University in their online MA program. Part of Signum’s culture is to have some local gatherings–moots, they are appropriately called, and now hybrid events for those who … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Andrew Peterson, Emily of New Moon, Hutchmoot, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jerry Root, JJ Heller, L.M. Montgomery, Mythgard Academy, Mythmoot, Signum University, TexMoot, The Gray Havens, the Rabbit Room | Leave a comment

Emily of New Moon Round Table with E. Holly Pike, Kate Sutherland, and Brenton Dickieson (which is me!), Sat, Sept 25th, 2pm Eastern (Conversations about L.M. Montgomery Series)

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I am pleased to announce that I am part of a “Round Table” conversation on L.M. Montgomery’s novel, Emily of New Moon. While it is not always my favourite work of Montgomery’s in terms of sheer readerly relexation, it is by … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Benjamin Lefebvre, Emily Climbs, Emily of New Moon, L.M. Montgomery, L.M. Montgomery and Gender | 2 Comments

Great and Little Men: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Letter about C.S. Lewis and T.S. Eliot

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

For much of the last week, I have been fighting through the relationship between C.S. Lewis and T.S. Eliot relationship. In my 2015 post about Eliot’s striking lyrical poem, “…In the Vacant Places,” I was more than a bit optimistic … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged A Grief Observed, A Preface to Paradise Lost, An Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, E.M.W. Tillyard, F.R. Leavis, I.A. Richards, J.R.R. Tolkien, Reflections on the Psalms, T.S. Eliot, The Inklings, The Personal Heresy, The Waste Land | 25 Comments

Marsha Daigle-Williamson’s Reflecting the Eternal and Dante in the Work of C.S. Lewis, with Thoughts about Intertextuality (Good C.S. Lewis Studies Books That Did Not Win the Mythopoeic Award Series Insert)

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Intertextuality: The Books Inside the Books We Love to Read I am very much interested in the books that sit behind the books we read, or the idea of “Intertextuality.” I have tackled this topic before (see the list at … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Dante, intertextuality, Marion E. Wade Center, Marsha Daigle-Williamson, Narnia, Reflecting the Eternal: Dante’s Divine Comedy in the Novels of C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, Till We Have Faces, Voyage of the Dawn Treader | 15 Comments

Your Invitation to Epic Fantasy in Everyday Living: Ursula K. Le Guin: Worldbuilder by Signum University’s Bronwyn Rivera (Reblog)

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I am pleased to announce that I am part of a team delivering a course at Signum University this fall on Ursula K. Le Guin: Worldbuilder. Prof. Kris Swank, PhD candidate at the University of Glasgow, is delivering a series … Continue reading →