Tag Archives: literature

A Rationale for Teaching C.S. Lewis’ Fiction in The Wrong Order

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

I am in my sixth year of teaching “The Fantasy and Science Fiction of C.S. Lewis” at The King’s College in New York City. I inherited this online course from Dr. Sørina Higgins, who followed the original mind behind the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Dante, liberal arts, lion the witch and the wardrobe, literature, Narnia, Reading, Science Fiction, Teaching, The Ransom Cycle, The Screwtape Letters, theology, Till We Have Faces | 16 Comments

A Brace of Tolkien Posts for his 131st Birthday (#TolkienBirthdayToast)

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

As J.R.R. Tolkien was born about 68,899,680 minutes ago, the Tolkien Society is once again raising a toast to the Professor on his birthday, 3 January 2022 (see here). After Bilbo left the Shire on his eleventy-first birthday in The … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Reviews | Tagged art, Bilbo, Blogging, books, film adaptation, J.R.R. Tolkien, Leaf by Niggle, literature, Lord of the Rings, Mythopoeia, Peter Jackson, Rings of Power, The Hobbit, The Nature of Middle-earth, Tolkien BIrthday Toast, Tolkien Society | 13 Comments

“A Sense of the Season”: C.S. Lewis’ Birthday Pivot and the Cambridge Inaugural Address (Updated 2022)

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

In the autumn of 1954 at the age of 56, C.S. Lewis was at the height of his academic career. With a chance to speak to the academic community at Cambridge and the listening world on the BBC, Lewis used … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Abigail Santamaria, anthropology, autoethnography, BBC Talks, C.S. Lewis, De Descriptione Temporum, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, F.R. Leavis, I.A. Richards, J.R.R. Tolkien, Joy Davidman, literature, Mere Christianity, Narnia, OHEL, Reflections on the Psalms, Surprised by Joy, The Discarded Image, theology, WWI | 6 Comments

CFP: TexMoot 2022: Starships, Stewards, and Storytellers (Mar 22nd 2022, Call for Papers)

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

TexMoot 2022: Signum University’s Fourth Annual Texas Literature & Language Symposium 26 March 2022 at the Norris Conference Center 2525 W. Anderson Ln Austin, TX 78757 and online What is a “Moot”? The word “moot” refers to a meeting or … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged ecology, environment, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, Signum University, TexMoot, The Lord of the Rings | 1 Comment

A Brace of Tolkien Posts for his 130th Birthday (#TolkienBirthdayToast)

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

As J.R.R. Tolkien was born about 68,374,080 minutes ago, the Tolkien Society is once again raising a toast to the Professor on his birthday, 3 January 2022 (see here). After Bilbo left the Shire on his eleventy-first birthday in The … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Reviews | Tagged art, Bilbo, Blogging, books, Digital Humanities, film adaptation, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Garth, Leaf by Niggle, literature, Lord of the Rings, Mythopoeia, Peter Jackson, The Hobbit, Tolkien BIrthday Toast, Tolkien Society | 5 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 art, art of letter writing, children's literature, Christmas, Christopher Tolkien, fantasy, Father Christmas, J.R.R. Tolkien, letters, literature, Lord of the Rings, myth, Santa Claus, The Hobbit, writing | 15 Comments

“A Sense of the Season”: C.S. Lewis’ Birthday Pivot and the Cambridge Inaugural Address (Updated 2021)

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Posted in Lewis Biography, Original Research, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged anthropology, autoethnography, BBC Talks, C.S. Lewis, De Descriptione Temporum, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, F.R. Leavis, I.A. Richards, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, Mere Christianity, Narnia, OHEL, Reflections on the Psalms, Surprised by Joy, The Discarded Image, theology, WWI | 6 Comments

Accidental Riddles in the Invisible Dark (Throwback Thursday, and The Hobbit Read-Along, and Hobbit Day)

Posted on September 23, 2021 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 Reviews | Tagged Bilbo Baggins, books, Eucatastrophe, film adaptation, Gollum, Hobbit Day, Hobbit Read-Along, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, myth, Peter Jackson, Providence, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings | 17 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 | 24 Comments

Affirming Creation in the Lord of the Rings

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 →