Tag Archives: children’s literature

The Pilgrim’s Progress and the Nursery Bookshelf: A Book’s Journey (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

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

Posted in Reflections, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Christmas With J.R.R. Tolkien: The Father Christmas Letters

Posted on December 25, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

My little 2015 piece on J.R.R. Tolkien’s funny and endearing Father Christmas Letters has had quite a spin around the internet this week. I cannot think of a better Christmas note for you, dear readers of A Pilgrim in Narnia, … Continue reading →

Posted in Letters, Memorable Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

On the Nobody Somebody Has Inside: C.S. Lewis and a Post About Bullying For Pink Shirt Day #pinkshirt

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

By all accounts, the famous children’s author C.S. Lewis was bullied badly in the English private school that he was subjected to as a child. His first school, Wynyard, had a bully as a headmaster. Robert Capron–nicknamed “Oldie” by Lewis … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The MaudCast S01E01: Lesley Clement and the Launch of the L.M. Montgomery Vision Forum #LMMI2020

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Today is Day 1 of the L.M. Montgomery & Vision Forum–the virtual space for the 2020 L.M. Montgomery conference. The “2020 Vision Forum” is now open here. Today and through the week there will be scholarly presentations, creative projects, information on … Continue reading →

Posted in L.M. Montgomery, News & Links | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

My Paper was Accepted for the 2020 L.M. Montgomery Conference! #LMMI @UPEI @LMMI_PEI

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

I am very pleased to announce that my paper proposal was accepted for the L.M. Montgomery Institute’s 14th Biennial conference in 2020! This is the premier Montgomery studies event in the world, gathering scholars and readers together from around the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian literature, L.M. Montgomery, News & Links | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

The Land Where Oz is North of Middle-earth: Reflections of a Speculative Cosmographer (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on July 26, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Over the next year, I am introducing an occasional feature I call “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own vault or someone else’s–and throw it back out into the digital world. … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Writing, Fictional Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Good Political Leadership According to Narnia

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I made the statement almost by accident to some of my grad students: Narnia has a pretty sophisticated political philosophy, especially when you consider it is written for children. As soon as I said it, I knew it to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 76 Comments

Little Rooms of Imagination with Madeleine L’Engle and C.S. Lewis (Friday Feature)

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I tell my students often enough to read the fore-matter in their textbooks. “That’s where the good stuff is,” I argue. “That’s where the author shares his or her vision for writing.” Now, I suspect that students rarely heed my … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, Memorable Quotes, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Is Narnia an Allegory? (A Friday Feature from the Vault)

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

No. It’s not.   While tempted to leave it at that and produce the shortest blog of history, I think it is important to let the Narnian himself address the question. C.S. Lewis was, after all, a literary scholar who … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, Fictional Worlds, On Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Christmas With J.R.R. Tolkien: The Father Christmas Letters

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

What a find! At a yard sale a good friend scored a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Father Christmas Letters and she was good enough to give it to me. Published by his daughter-in-law in 1976 on the 3rd anniversary of Tolkien’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Letters, Memorable Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 48 Comments