Tag Archives: Trump

A Fatal Flaw in Contemporary Writing: Thinking About Identity in Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven (Part 2)

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Earlier this week I put a review up of what I think to be a strong, engaging literary sf book, skillfully written to accomplish two things that many authors could not do. First, Emily St. John Mandel has created in Station Eleven … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian literature, On Writing, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Turn Off CNN and Talk to Actual Americans: On Division in the United? States of America

Posted on August 14, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

Are you ready for a shock? As I sat down to write this, CNN had on the front page of its website an article putting Donald Trump in a dim light. Hard to believe, I know. And–are you ready for … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 63 Comments

Good Political Leadership According to Narnia

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I made the statement almost by accident to some of my grad students: Narnia has a pretty sophisticated political philosophy, especially when you consider it is written for children. As soon as I said it, I knew it to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 76 Comments

The Words C.S. Lewis Made Up: Viricidal

Posted on November 29, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

We all know C.S. Lewis as the Narnian, but behind the children’s work 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, … Continue reading →

Posted in Studies in Words, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The Words C.S. Lewis Made Up: Part 1: Bulverism

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

As far as I know, Lewis never used the phrase, “wordsmith.” When it comes to writing, he preferred images of stone, greenery, and song to metaphors of fire and steel. Yet there were times that Lewis turned to the forge … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, Studies in Words | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

On The Importance of Having a Permit, Or Truth-Telling and Our Response to Charlottesville

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

I am a university teacher, and my classroom is a space for many views. It is not quite a “safe space” for any idea. As a participant in the discussion, you would be responsible for slander or plagiarism. You could … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

The Other President: Donald Trump’s First Briefing by the Magical Congress

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

The President sighed, put his hands in his pockets, and looked at the portrait of George Washington above the mantle. He thrived on crowds and cheers and chaos, so had never believed that he would be relieved for the silence. … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Writing, Fictional Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Why I Chose not to Perform at Trump’s Inauguration

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

After deep consideration and advice from my friends and family, I have decided to join the growing list of those who have chosen not to perform at Trump’s Inauguration on Friday. That includes A-list celebs like Kanye West, Céline Dion, … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

A Pilgrim in Narnia … in Italian (Friday Feature)

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

I had a gentleman from Italy contact me to see if he could translate a blog post I did back in the Spring, when this sort of thing was still kind of a joke. The original blog was, “David Foster … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments