Tag Archives: cultural criticism

“To rail is the sad privilege of the loser”: C.S. Lewis and the Future of our Words

Posted on April 24, 2024 by

I was in a room on campus this week with English literature scholars from different disciplines. One of them tried to find words for C.S. Lewis‘ relationship with “politics.” “Lewis wasn’t political…” he began, and then added after a pause, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Addison, Alexander Pope, C.S. Lewis, cultural criticism, Jonathan Swift, literature, rhetoric, scholarship, Selected Literary Essays, The Abolition of Man, writing | 8 Comments

Happy 125th Birthday C.S. Lewis! (#CSLewisReadingDay)

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

“It’s my 125th birthday!” C.S. Lewis might cry out in celebration to a gathering of a few dozen of his closest friends. If he could have lived until he was 125, that is. And if he was a rather remarkable … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, cultural criticism, fairy tales, J.R.R. Tolkien, literary history, literature, Narnia, Poetry, speculative fiction, The Screwtape Letters, theology | 11 Comments

Inkling Folk Fellowship Conversation about Nightmare Alley (Free Online Event Friday, Jan 7, 2022 at 4pm Eastern) (Nightmare Alley Series)

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

At A Pilgrim in Narnia, we are in the midst of the “Nightmare Alley Series,” inspired by Guillermo del Toro’s new film starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe, and Toni Colette. Moving back from visually stunning film … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Bill Gresham, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, cultural criticism, film adaptation, film criticism, Helen Walker, Joy Davidman, Mark Osteen, Nightmare Alley: Film Noir and the American Dream, Nightmare Alley, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Greater Trumps, The Shape of Water, Tyrone Power, William Lindsay Gresham | 7 Comments

“The Fine Lines Between Mind Reader and Geek”: Thoughts on Nightmare Alley, Film Noir, and the American Dream by Mark Osteen (Nightmare Alley Series)

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Bill Gresham, C.S. Lewis, cultural criticism, film adaptation, film criticism, Helen Walker, Joy Davidman, Mark Osteen, Nightmare Alley: Film Noir and the American Dream, Nightmare Alley, Tyrone Power, William Lindsay Gresham | 3 Comments

Announcing my New C.S. Lewis Course at the University of Prince Edward Island (Registration Open for January 2022)

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

C.S. Lewis is one of the more prolific public figures of the 20th-century. A scholar, educator, poet, fantasist, and cultural critic, this author of the globally famous Narnian chronicles produced work in dozens of different genres and modes. Thus, I … Continue reading →