Tag Archives: Margaret Atwood

Ursula K. Le Guin’s Manifesto Against Genre Snobbery

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

One of our greatest speculative fiction writers, Ursula K. Le Guin, has never been one to turn down a fight. A genius in two of my favourite genres, science fiction and fantasy–especially planetary SciFi and magic-world fantasy–Le Guin has also … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, Memorable Quotes, On Writing, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged fantasy, Frankenstein, genre, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, Madeleine L'Engle, Margaret Atwood, Science Fiction, SF, speculative fiction, The Birthday of the World, The Hainish Cycle, The Lord of the Rings, Ursula K. Le Guin | 8 Comments

Three Myths Retold: Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles, Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad, and C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

While I love the Odyssey, I always dread returning to The Iliad. I just find all the war and posturing and characters to be ash and dust and thorn for me, just weariness and work and pain. The moments of greatness within … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged C.S. Lewis, feminism, Hélène Cixous, Homer, Madeline Miller, Margaret Atwood, N.K. Jemisin, Nalo Hopkinson, Narnia, Nnedi Okorafor, Percy Jackson, Perelandra, The Four Loves, The Iliad, The Laugh of the Medusa, The Odyssey, The Penelopiad, The Song of Achilles, The Weight of Glory, Till We Have Faces | 29 Comments

Canadian Authors the Prime Minister Forgot to Read (a #canadareads post)

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Narcity did this little piece last week: “Justin Trudeau Wants Everyone To Read More Canadian Books & Here Are Some Options.” The Prime Minister mentions: Margaret Atwood L.M. Montgomery Douglas Coupland Robertson Davies Heather O’Neill This is all in celebration … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Afrofuturism, apocalyptic literature, Canada Reads, CBC, dystopia, Emily St. John Mandel, Guy Gavriel Kay, L.M. Montgomery, Louise Bernice Halfe, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Margaret Atwood, Mark Sampson, Michael Crummey, Miriam Toews, Nalo Hopkins, The Fionavar Tapestry, Trudeau, Yann Martel | 23 Comments

An Essential Reading List from C.S. Lewis: An Experiment on An Experiment in Criticism (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

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

Posted in News & Links, Original Research, Throwback Thursdays | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, books, C.S. Lewis, canon, Deconstructionism, George R.R. Martin, literary criticism, literary history, Margaret Atwood, Marilynne Robinson, Narnia, Reader Response Criticism, Reading, Sherlock Holmes, The Western Canon, writing | 36 Comments

Is L.M. Montgomery Canada’s Author?

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

In the L.M. Montgomery feature in Penguin’s Extraordinary Canadians series, novelist Jane Urquhart describes how Montgomery’s novels created a literary legacy in her small-town family. Urquhart’s grandmother’s Anne books “electrified” her mother’s childhood, adding “meaning and intensity even to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian literature, L.M. Montgomery | Tagged Alice Munro, Anne of Green Gables, Canada, Canada Day, Canadian literature, Douglas Coupland, FIonavar Tapestry, Guy Gavriel Kay, Jane Urquhart, L.M. Montgomery, Lawrence Hill, Margaret Atwood, Michael Crummey, Michael Ondaatje, Miriam Toews, Prince Edward Island, Robert Munsch, William Gibson, Yann Martel | 16 Comments

2019: A Year of Reading: The Nerd Bit, with Charts

Posted on January 1, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

“With such wishes for the New Year as still seem possible” ~ C.S. Lewis to his father from the WWI trenches in France “Except at my job—where the machine seems to run on much as usual—I loathe the slightest effort. … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged A.N. Wilson, Alan Jacobs, C.S. Lewis, Chaim Potok, Flannery O'Connor, Goodreads, Harry Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Margaret Atwood, Marilynne Robinson, N.K. Jemisin, Narnia, Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card, Rachel Held Evans, Reading, Sorina Higgins, Stephen King, Suzanne Collins, Terry Pratchett | 6 Comments

2019: My Year in Books: The Infographic

Posted on December 30, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

Happy New Year everyone! I will have some fun putting together the data in an upcoming post, including some new date charts. It’s not often I get to play with graphs and charts, so I’m looking forward to it. Meanwhile, … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links | Tagged A.N. Wilson, Alan Jacobs, C.S. Lewis, Chaim Potok, Flannery O'Connor, Goodreads, Harry Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, L.M. Montgomery, Margaret Atwood, Marilynne Robinson, N.K. Jemisin, Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card, Rachel Held Evans, Reading, Sorina Higgins, Stephen King, Suzanne Collins, Terry Pratchett | 5 Comments

2018: A Year of Reading: The Nerd Bit

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

“With such wishes for the New Year as still seem possible” ~ C.S. Lewis to his father from the trenches in France during WWI “Is there any point in wishing each other a happy New Year? Well, yes, I suppose … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, fantasy, Goodreads, H.P. Lovecraft, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, Narnia, Octavia E. Butler, Reading, Science Fiction, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, William Gibson | 24 Comments

What Counts as a Classic? A Conversation with C.S. Lewis and Goodreads

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a little post called “Reading and the Cultural Moment, with C.S. Lewis.” Though I now think I could have said it even clearer, I was sharing once again C.S. Lewis’ critical idea that … Continue reading →