Tag Archives: J.R.R. Tolkien

The First Animated Hobbit, and Other Notes of Tolkienish Nonsense

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I have had a wonderful and difficult and exceptionally busy week, preparing for Mythmoot and then attending live online. I have so much I would like to say, but I thought, for now, and for a smile, I would simply … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged film adaptation, J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings | 4 Comments

5 Affordable Ways to Purchase Digital Books By and About C.S. Lewis

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

It is true for me that there is no pleasure quite like pulling a book off the shelf, flipping to the first page, and wandering into a new world of ideas or imagination. Whether this is a new adventure or … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Mere Christianity, Narnia, On the Reading of Old Books, Reading, The Inklings, Ursula K. Le Guin | 5 Comments

5 Ways to Find Open Source Academic Research on C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

“Why don’t you monetize your blog?” I am asked this question with some frequency by caring folks who see me slogging it out here, week after week, producing well-researched imaginative and literary resources for some of the great storytellers of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged academic writing, C.S. Lewis, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mythlore, On Writing, research, Tolkien Society, writing | 31 Comments

“The Poetry of Lucy Maud Montgomery” and the Critical Virtue and Vice of Editors

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

One of the earlier biographers of C.S. Lewis, Chad Walsh once said that although Lewis was not a poet of greatness, he was (and remains) an interesting poet. This observation is relevant for many of the early-to-mid-20th century authors I … Continue reading →

Posted in L.M. Montgomery | Tagged Benjamin Lefebvre, C.S. Lewis, Canadian literature, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, literature, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Poetry, T.S. Eliot, The Poetry of Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Waste Land, The Watchman and Other Poems | 14 Comments

“Just Enough Light: Some Thoughts on Fantasy and Literature,” the 2021 Tolkien Lecture by Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I was pleased last week to watch the 8th annual J.R.R Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature, an annual lecture on fantasy literature held at Pembroke College, Oxford, this year broadcast online. The Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature was established in … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian literature, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Adam Roberts, fantasy literature, Guy Gavriel Kay, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kij Johnson, Lev Grossman, Marlon James., speculative fiction, Susan Cooper, Terri Windling, The Tolkien Lecture, V.E. Schwab | 12 Comments

Experimenting on Students: A Thought about Playfulness and Personal Connection in Teaching

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I recently recorded a couple of lectures in my role as “Distinguished Lecturer in Romantic Theology” in the innovative Doctor in Theology and Ministry at Northwind Seminary. A heady title! I wanted to take the role seriously and do something … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, lion the witch and the wardrobe, Narnia, online teaching, Ransom Cycle, spiritual theology, Teaching, theology and literature, Theology of Culture, Theology of the Small, Till We Have Faces | 7 Comments

An Old Pictorial Map of Central Oxford (Are There Links to C.S. Lewis’ Fiction?)

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

A couple of months ago, I wrote about “‘The Country Around Edgestow’: A Map from C.S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength by Tim Kirk.” Tim Kirk’s fantasy map was part of an early Mythlore article, “Arthurian & Cosmic Myth in That … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Fantasy Maps, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Garth, Mythlore, Oxford, Perelandra, Ransom Cycle, speculative geography, That Hideous Strength, The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, Worcester | 9 Comments

Why Did Star Wars Stick? #MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWarsDay

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As much as we wonder about it, it’s a question that is not perfectly easy to answer. Cheesy lines, over-the-top acting, zippers up the back of the monster’s costume–how many films just like it have found their way into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Reviews | Tagged #MayThe4thBeWithYou, A New Hope, Dune, film, George Lucas, J.R.R. Tolkien, Larry Niven, May the Fourth, myth, mythopoiea, Ringworld, Ron Howard, Science Fiction, Star Wars, That '70s Show, The Force Awakens | 16 Comments

Lewis and Tolkien among American Evangelicals: Guest Post by G. Connor Salter (Lewis Scholarship Series)

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

This guest blog by G. Connor Salter is a response to a series of pieces called “Why is Tolkien Scholarship Stronger than Lewis Scholarship?” (see parts 1, 2, and 3). There are some deep conversations within the comments section of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged American evangelicalism, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Christian Smith, Dune, evangelicalism, Frank Herbert, Frank Peretti, Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Noll, Narnia, Sørina Higgins, The Lord of the Rings, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind | 43 Comments

Affirming Creation in the Lord of the Rings #earthday

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Perhaps it isn’t that surprising that J.R.R. Tolkien’s books are so environmentally sensitive. Like Sam Gamgee, Tolkien loved things that grow and good tilled earth. He loved walks–long walks beyond his garden through English towns and villages and vast, untouched … Continue reading →