Tag Archives: canon

An Essential Reading List from C.S. Lewis: An Experiment on An Experiment in Criticism (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

At A Pilgrim in Narnia we have an occasional feature called “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own blog-hoard or someone else’s–and throw it back out into the digital world. … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research, Throwback Thursdays | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, books, C.S. Lewis, canon, Deconstructionism, George R.R. Martin, literary criticism, literary history, Margaret Atwood, Marilynne Robinson, Narnia, Reader Response Criticism, Reading, Sherlock Holmes, The Western Canon, writing | 45 Comments

Harold Bloom and “The Western Canon”: A Note on His Death

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

I received news this week that Harold Bloom has died. Bloom (1930-2019) was an avid reader, a rapid writer, and a penetrating critic whose essays and books on literature are breathtaking in scope and exemplary in their attention to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, canon, Charles Dickens, Charles Williams, Dante, fantasy, feminism, Harold Bloom, J.R.R. Tolkien, Leo Tolstoy, literary criticism, literary history, Milton, mimesis, Reading, Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, The Western Canon, Ursula K. LeGuin | 20 Comments

What Counts as an Old Book? A Response by Dale Nelson

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

This is a response to “What Counts as a Classic? A Conversation with C. S. Lewis and Goodreads,” a blog post I wrote on 18 Dec. 2018 centred on images like the one above. There was quite a conversation that … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Blogs | Tagged Arthuriana, Bible, C.S. Lewis, canon, Cultural Capital, Dale Nelson, Harold Bloom, John Guillory, literature, The Western Canon, University | 35 Comments

The Sorrows of Young Goethe

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

Let me tell you a story. In the summer of 1772, 245 years ago, a young Johann Wolfgang von Goethe took a position articling in Wetzlar, Germany. He wasn’t a very good lawyer, however, and spent most of his time … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged canon, epistolary fiction, European Literature, Faust, German Literature, Goethe, love, Napoleon, Reading, Romance, Romanticism, suicide, the Romantic Movement, The Sorrows of Young Werther, Werther Fever, writing | 17 Comments

A Narnian Close Read: Friday Feature

Posted on June 2, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

A resource recently came to me from a homeschool mom. I am honestly not very connected to that kind of network, so I was pleased to bump into the “Close Reads Podcast,” hosted at the Circe Institute. Past books featured … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, C.S. Lewis, canon, Feature Friday, Flannery O'Connor, Jane Austen, lion the witch and the wardrobe, podcast, Pride and Prejudice, Reading, The Western Canon, The Wind in the Willows | Leave a comment

“New Every Morning” by Jessica Shaver Renshaw, a Review

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I am at the point in my PhD on C.S. Lewis where everything is narrowing to a point. I have a number of canonical lists pinned up on a bulletin board next to my desk. These are lists of SF, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged American Literature, Anne of Green Gables, canon, Christian fiction, fantasy, Jessica Renshaw, Jessica Shaver Renshaw, mimesis, Narnia, New Every Morning, On Fairy-Stories, Prince Edward Island | 7 Comments

What Art is For: With C.S. Lewis and Dr. Charlie Starr

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I am pleased to be presenting a paper at the International Society for Religion, Literature and Culture in Glasgow, Scotland. This great adventure is mostly to present some of my doctoral research on C.S. Lewis, focussing on his An Experiment … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Original Research | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, art, C.S. Lewis, canon, Charlie Starr, fantasy, ISRLC, myth, mythopoiea, Reading, Taylor University | 34 Comments

Why C.S. Lewis Says My Reading Program is Wrong, or What Cheese has to do with Reading

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

This year on A Pilgrim in Narnia we have been doing some thinking about programs for reading great books: Why I Read C.S. Lewis Chronologically How You Can Read C.S. Lewis Chronologically The Canon of Fantasy Literature Harold Bloom’s “The Western … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, canon, Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, fantasy, Harold Bloom, Reading, research, Science Fiction, The Western Canon, University | 32 Comments

An Essential Reading List from C.S. Lewis: An Experiment on An Experiment in Criticism

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

On A Pilgrim in Narnia we have been playing with lists of the key books to read–what we might call a “canon.” We’ve thought about the key books of Western literature (here and here), thought about the problems of this discussion, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, books, C.S. Lewis, canon, Deconstructionism, literary criticism, literary history, Narnia, Reader Response Criticism, Reading, Sherlock Holmes, The Western Canon, writing | 89 Comments

The Problem of the Canon

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

Lately I have been playing with lists. Partly, this grows out of my desire to read great books. And partly it grows out of attempt to catch up on the severe lack of education I received growing up. So I … Continue reading →