Tag Archives: writing

“Sweet Quarantine” by Nicolas Riel (Single Launch)

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

I’m pleased to announce that my son, Nicolas, is launching his new single today! With singer-songwriter wit in an indie rock performance, “Sweet Quarantine” was written out of the depths of Nicolas’ experience of our most recent apocalypse, the COVID … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, News & Links | Tagged COVID-19, End of the World, Local Music, music, Nicolas Riel, pandemic, Prince Edward Island, writing | 3 Comments

“The Woman Who Spanked the King” by L.M. Montgomery, Emily Byrd Starr, and Mistress McIntyre

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Last week’s Platinum Jubilee celebration and my rather loose reflection, “A Note on C.S. Lewis and the “Tragic Splendour” of British Monarchy on Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee,” put me in mind of how I was introduced to L.M. Montgomery’s novels … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Emily Climbs, Emily of New Moon, jubilee, L.M. Montgomery, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Prince Albert, Prince Edward Island, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, Scotland, Victorian Era, writing | 9 Comments

John Bunyan’s Apology for his Book with a Note from C.S. Lewis on Writing as Holistic Discovery–and How Narnia Achieved the Bigness You See

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

In my blog post last week, “Bunyan and Others and Me: Vicarious Bookshelf Friendship and a Jazz Hands Theory of Reading,” I offered two “Theories of Reading” from my experience of trying to find sympathy with John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, On Writing, Reflections | Tagged A Pilgrim's Regress, Arthur Greeves, BBC, C.S. Lewis, Dante, John Bunyan, John Milton, Selected Literary Essays, Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to be Said, Spenser, spiritual theology, The Pilgrim's Progress, writing | 7 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

“Befriending the Darkness, L.M. Montgomery’s Lived Theodicy in Anne’s House of Dreams” My New Paper Published in the Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I am pleased to announce that my essay, “Befriending the Darkness, L.M. Montgomery’s Lived Theodicy in Anne’s House of Dreams,” has been recently published in the Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies! Here is a bit of my story about how … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research, The MaudCast | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Anne's House of Dreams, Elizabeth R. Epperly, L.M. Montgomery, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside, The Fragrance of Sweet-Grass, writing | 10 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 | 49 Comments

The Thieves of Time and Waking Wonder: Writing as Discovery and the Stone-Carver’s Art

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

After weeks of too little sleep, I have had two terrible half-nights awake. These torturous midnight hours of hazy, half-insomniac puzzles and quandaries and obsessions, the darkness that infuses weariness into the bone-soul of life… I would purchase a single … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged academic writing, C.S. Lewis, CBC, Dymer, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, JP Saxe, L.M. Montgomery, Q, The Screwtape Letters, Till We Have Faces, writing | 9 Comments

My 18 Phrenetic Stages of Academic Paper Writing, Or Why Writing is So Hard

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Writing is both beautiful and challenging, with heart-breaking hopefulness in the shadows of sheer impossibility. By creating this digital space, I have been able to create a writing environment where I can bypass many of the dead-ends and disasters of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged academic writing, academics, C.S. Lewis, essay writing, L.M. Montgomery, Ransom Cycle, The Screwtape Letters, writing | 14 Comments

A Pilgrim in Narnia Mid-Stride: Looking Both Ways with Brenton Dickieson (InklingFolkFellowship Guest Talk, Fri, Nov 20, 4pm ET)

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

I am pleased to be hosting a conversation about my blogging here at A Pilgrim in Narnia on Friday, hosted by Dr. Joe Ricke. All are welcome to join in. I have gone to about a dozen of these Friday … Continue reading →

Posted in News & Links, Original Research | Tagged Blogging, essay writing, Joe Ricke, On Writing, writing | 3 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 →