Tag Archives: love

A Grief Observed: A Lecture on the Anniversary of My Parents’ Deaths

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

It was a little eerie returning home on Saturday evening. My wife and I went to see the Oscar-nominated SF Fairy Tale, The Shape of Water. It was cold, terribly cold. With the wind chill it was approaching -30 Celsius (below -20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged A Grief Observed, academics, C.S. Lewis, Death, fatherhood, Frederick Buechner, grief, love, mourning, orpan tales, parenting, Teaching, The Problem of Pain, The Shape of Water | 11 Comments

The Words C.S. Lewis Made Up: Re/Anti/Un/Ness

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

Behind C.S. Lewis’ famous Narnian chronicles was his experience as a teacher of English literature, a writer about the history of literary movements, and a tinker in other forms of fiction. In that tinkering, and in his letters and essays, … Continue reading →

Posted in Studies in Words, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Both Sides of the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, g k chesterton, letters, love, OHEL, Studies in Words, Surprised by Joy, The Four Loves, The Magician's Nephew, The Screwtape Letters, Theology of Culture, writing | 1 Comment

The Words C.S. Lewis Made Up: Disredemption

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

Posted in Studies in Words, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged A Grief Observed, Agape and Eros., Anders Nygren, C.S. Lewis, ethics, love, self-death, Studies in Words, The Allegory of Love, The Four Loves, Theology of Culture | 9 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 | 12 Comments

A 20th Anniversary Post to Kerry

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

Today is my 20th anniversary! Our house this morning was not a La La Land set, but filled the mundane tasks of laundry, breakfast, and off to school. As much as I would expect all the world to break out … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Homer, La La Land!, love, marriage, Odyssey, Prince Edward Island, Sister Act | 11 Comments

A Love Hymn by Thomas à Kempis

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

The Imitation of Christ, often called Imitatio Christi, is a Latin devotional handbook attributed to Thomas à Kempis. Perhaps the most widely read devotional book other than the Bible, the Imitatio is not merely a classic Christian text, but where … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Imitatio Christi, love, self-death, St. Paul, The Imitation of Christ, theology, Theology of Culture, Thomas à Kempis | 14 Comments

Superior Equality in Love: A Thought from “Pride and Prejudice”

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I have just had the great experience of teaching Jane Austen’s great romantic novel Pride & Prejudice. I am sure I gushed, which is not at all fitting for a professor of graduate students. I could not help it: it … Continue reading →