Download or read book The Surprising Imagination of C S Lewis written by Jerry Root and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Narnia, Perelandra—places of wonder and longing. The White Witch, Screwtape—personifications of evil. Aslan—a portrait of the divine. Like Turkish Delight, some of C.S. Lewis’s writing surprises and whets our appetite for more. But some of his works bite and nip at our heels. What enabled C.S. Lewis to create such vivid characters and compelling plots? Perhaps it was simply that C.S. Lewis had an unsurpassed imagination. Or perhaps he had a knack for finding the right metaphor or analogy that awakened readers’ imaginations in new ways. But whatever his gifts, no one can deny that C.S. Lewis had a remarkable career, producing many books in eighteen different literary genres, including: apologetics, autobiography, educational philosophy, fairy stories, science fiction, and literary criticism. And while he had and still has critics, Lewis' works continue to find devoted readers. The purpose of this book is to introduce C.S. Lewis through the prism of imagination. For Lewis, imagination is both a means and an end. And because he used his own imagination well and often, he is a practiced guide for those of us who desire to reach beyond our grasp. Each chapter highlights Lewis’s major works and then shows how Lewis uses imagination to captivate readers. While many have read books by C.S. Lewis, not many readers understand his power to give new slants on the things we think we know. More than a genius, Lewis disciplined his imagination, harnessing its creativity in service of helping others believe more deeply. “Truly fresh, rhetorically astute works about C. S. Lewis are rare, but this provocative new volume by Jerry Root and Mark Neal emerges at just the right time to reinvigorate Lewis scholarship beyond the clichés we continue to repeat to each other. The Surprising Imagination of C. S. Lewis delivers just that salvo, an ingenious, empathetic, lavishly informed elucidation of Lewis’s understanding of the life of the imagination.” —Bruce L. Edwards, Professor Emeritus of English and Africana Studies, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH “Our grasp of ‘imagination’ is such a pale and paltry thing; Neal and Root offer a much-needed corrective by illustrating Lewis’s robust use of the word. The happy result is a more accurate and nuanced reading of Lewis. But there is more: through their careful work, we are graced with a rich, new vocabulary to discern and describe the many uses of creative imagination all around us.” —Diana Pavlac Glyer, Professor of English at Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA, author of The Company They Keep: C .S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community “This fabulous book on Lewis’s imagination will delight readers new to Lewis and those who, like the authors, have been reading him for decades. It shimmers with the joy of exploration and discovery. The Surprising Imagination of C. S. Lewis is a reliable and inspiring guide not only to Lewis but to a treasure trove of imaginative books that fired Lewis’s own imagination. In Robert Frost’s delightful phrase, this book is the occasion for a ‘fresh think.’” —Wayne Martindale, Emeritus Professor of English, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL “Jerry Root and Mark Neal make excellent use of Lewis's literary criticism of other authors to show how he employed different varieties of imagination in his own works. The result is a good book about Lewis and an even better one on the capacity of imagination to enrich each of our lives every day.” —Mark Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN “For nearly four decades I have been reading books and articles in the field of Lewis studies. This volume is one of the most original and fascinating books on Lewis to appear in a long time.” —Lyle W. Dorsett, Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, Birmingham, AL

Download or read book The Neglected C S Lewis written by Mark Neal and published by Paraclete Press. This book was released on 2020-06-18 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readers who can quote word for word from C.S. Lewis’s theological classic, Mere Christianity, or his science fiction novel, Perelandra, have often never read his work as a professional literary historian. They may not even recognize some of the neglected works discussed, here. Mark Neal and Jerry Root have done students of Lewis a great service, tracing the signature ideas in Lewis’s works of literary criticism and showing their relevance to Lewis’s more familiar books. Their thorough research and lucid prose will be welcome to all who would like to understand Lewis more fully, but who feel daunted by books of such evident scholarly erudition. For example, when you read The Discarded Image on the ancients’ view of the heavens, you understand better why Ransom has such unpleasant sensations when first descending toward Malacandra in Out of the Silent Planet. And when you come across Lewis’s discussion in OHEL of a minor sixteenth-century poet who described the hellish River Styx as a “puddle glum,” you can’t help but chuckle at the name when you meet the famous Marshwiggle in The Silver Chair. These are just two examples of how reading the “Neglected Lewis” can help every reader understand Lewis more fully.

Download or read book Planet Narnia written by Michael Ward and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-01-15 with total page 655 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over half a century, scholars have laboured to show that C. S. Lewis's famed but apparently disorganised Chronicles of Narnia have an underlying symbolic coherence, pointing to such possible unifying themes as the seven sacraments, the seven deadly sins, and the seven books of Spenser's Faerie Queene. None of these explanations has won general acceptance and the structure of Narnia's symbolism has remained a mystery. Michael Ward has finally solved the enigma. In Planet Narnia he demonstrates that medieval cosmology, a subject which fascinated Lewis throughout his life, provides the imaginative key to the seven novels. Drawing on the whole range of Lewis's writings (including previously unpublished drafts of the Chronicles), Ward reveals how the Narnia stories were designed to express the characteristics of the seven medieval planets - - Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - - planets which Lewis described as "spiritual symbols of permanent value" and "especially worthwhile in our own generation". Using these seven symbols, Lewis secretly constructed the Chronicles so that in each book the plot-line, the ornamental details, and, most important, the portrayal of the Christ-figure of Aslan, all serve to communicate the governing planetary personality. The cosmological theme of each Chronicle is what Lewis called 'the kappa element in romance', the atmospheric essence of a story, everywhere present but nowhere explicit. The reader inhabits this atmosphere and thus imaginatively gains connaître knowledge of the spiritual character which the tale was created to embody. Planet Narnia is a ground-breaking study that will provoke a major revaluation not only of the Chronicles, but of Lewis's whole literary and theological outlook. Ward uncovers a much subtler writer and thinker than has previously been recognized, whose central interests were hiddenness, immanence, and knowledge by acquaintance.

Download or read book C S Lewis s Case for Christ written by Art Lindsley and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2005-09-01 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There can be many obstacles to faith, as C. S. Lewis discovered. But he overcame them to become one of Christianity's most ardent warriors of the faith. Art Lindsley provides a readable introduction to C. S. Lewis's reflections on objections to belief in Jesus Christ and the compelling reasons why Lewis came to affirm the truth of Christianity.

Download or read book The Narnian written by Alan Jacobs and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2006-08 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grade level: 9, 10, 11, 12, e, i, s.

Download or read book C S Lewis and Friends written by David Hein and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: C. S. Lewis is one of the best-loved and most engaging Christian writers of recent times, and he continues to be a powerful defender of the faith. It is in his imaginative fiction that his genius finds its fullest expression and makes its most lasting theological contribution. Famously, Lewis had friends who, like him, employed powerfully creative imaginations to explore the profundities of Christian thought and their struggles with their faith. These illuminating essays on C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, Rose Macaulay, and Austin Farrer are written by an international team of Lewis scholars.

Download or read book Splendour in the Dark written by Jerry Root and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Several years before he converted to Christianity, C. S. Lewis published a narrative poem, Dymer, which not only sheds light on the development of his literary skills but also offers a glimpse of his intellectual and spiritual growth. Including the complete annotated text of Lewis's poem, this volume helps us understand both Lewis's change of mind and our own journeys of faith.

Download or read book Conversations with C S Lewis written by Robert Velarde and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2008-03-27 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "C. S. Lewis died in 1963, but I met him last week." Robert Velarde tells of an imaginative journey in which the literature professor mysteriously appears in Thomas Clerk's hospital room. "Call me Jack," the writer says as he invites Clerk to step into a wardrobe. From there the two embark on a remarkable journey through Lewis's life. They experience pivotal events from Lewis's childhood and meet many of his real and imaginary friends; they visit the Kilns with his brother, Warnie, and spend time in Oxford with fellow writers and Inklings J. R. R. Tolkien and Charles Williams. They also sit with Lewis's dying wife, Joy Davidman, and they even enter the world of Narnia. Along the way, Lewis challenges Clerk's thinking about the existence of God, the truth of Christianity, the problem of pain and suffering, the nature of love and much more. Are human beings a cosmic accident? Can we have morality without God? Was Jesus just a guru? Can we really believe in heaven and hell? Tom and Jack discuss these and many other questions, and they invite you to eavesdrop on their conversations. Prepare yourself for some of the most invigorating discussions you may ever experience this side of heaven.

Download or read book Splendour in the Dark written by Jerry Root and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Several years before he converted to Christianity, C. S. Lewis published a narrative poem, Dymer, which not only sheds light on the development of his literary skills but also offers a glimpse of his intellectual and spiritual growth. Including the complete annotated text of Lewis's poem, this volume helps us understand both Lewis's change of mind and our own journeys of faith.

Download or read book Into the Wardrobe written by David C. Downing and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2005-09-09 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Published in the early 1950s, C. S. Lewis's seven Chronicles of Narnia were proclaimed instant children's classics and have been hailed in The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature as "the most sustained achievement in fantasy for children by a 20th-century author." But how could Lewis (a formidable critic, scholar, and Christian apologist)conjure up the kind of adventures in which generations of children (and adults) take such delight? In this engaging and insightful book, C. S. Lewis expert David C. Downing invites readers to join his vivid exploration of the Chronicles of Narnia, offering a detailed look at the enchanting stories themselves and also focusing on the extraordinary intellect and imagination of the man behind the Wardrobe. Downing presents each Narnia book as its own little wardrobe - each tale an opportunity to discover a visionary world of bustling vitality, sparkling beauty, and spiritual clarity. And Downing's examination of C. S. Lewis's personal life shows how the content of these classic children's books reflects Lewis's love of wonder and story, his affection for animals and homespun things, his shrewd observations about human nature, along with his vast reading, robust humor, theological speculations, medieval scholarship, and arcane linguistic jokes. A fun glossary of odd and invented words will allow readers to speak with Narnian flair, regaling friends and family with unusual words like cantrips, poltoonery, hastilude, and skirling. A masterful work that will appeal to both new and seasoned fans of Narnia, Into the Wardrobe offers a journey beyond Narnia's deceptively simple surface and into its richly textured and unexpected depths.

Download or read book The Romantic Rationalist written by John Piper and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2014-09-08 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "We are far too easily pleased." C. S. Lewis stands as one of the most influential Christians of the twentieth century. His commitment to the life of the mind and the life of the heart is evident in classics like the Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity—books that illustrate the unbreakable connection between rigorous thought and deep affection. With contributions from Randy Alcorn, John Piper, Philip Ryken, Kevin Vanhoozer, David Mathis, and Douglas Wilson, this volume explores the man, his work, and his legacy—reveling in the truth at the heart of Lewis's spiritual genius: God alone is the answer to our deepest longings and the source of our unending joy.

Download or read book Studies in Words written by C. S. Lewis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1990-09-13 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: C. S. Lewis explores the fascination with language by taking a series of words and teasing out their connotations.

Download or read book C S Lewis and the Art of Writing written by Corey Latta and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2016-11-02 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing is written for readers interested in C. S. Lewis, the writing life, and in becoming better writers. Lewis stands as one of the most prolific and influential writers in modern history. His life in letters offers writers invaluable encouragement and instruction in the writing craft. In Lewis, writers don't just learn how to write, they also learn something about how to live. This volume explores Lewis's life in, as well as his practice of, writing. From his avid reading life, to his adolescent dreams to be a great poet, through his creative failures, to his brilliant successes, to his constant encouragement of other writers, C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing celebrates one of the twentieth-century's greatest authors.

Download or read book Surprised by Joy The shape of my early life written by C. S. Lewis and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-07-21 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life" is an autobiography by C. S. Lewis in 1955. Yet, it's not the complete story of his life. The biography describes Lewis's life from early childhood until his conversion to Christianity in 1931 but does not go beyond that date. Anyway, it gives a reader a chance to get into this wonderful author's thoughts and early life.

Download or read book Surprised by Joy written by C. S. Lewis and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2017-02-14 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A repackaged edition of the revered author’s spiritual memoir, in which he recounts the story of his divine journey and eventual conversion to Christianity. C. S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—takes readers on a spiritual journey through his early life and eventual embrace of the Christian faith. Lewis begins with his childhood in Belfast, surveys his boarding school years and his youthful atheism in England, reflects on his experience in World War I, and ends at Oxford, where he became "the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England." As he recounts his lifelong search for joy, Lewis demonstrates its role in guiding him to find God.

Download or read book C S Lewis Letters to Children written by Clive Staples Lewis and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1996-06-03 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of letters from the English author of the Narnia books to a variety of children.

Download or read book Sehnsucht The C S Lewis Journal written by Bruce R. Johnson and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-01-11 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal, established by the Arizona C. S. Lewis Society in 2007, is the only peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of C. S. Lewis and his writings published anywhere in the world. It exists to promote literary, theological, historical, biographical, philosophical, bibliographical and cultural interest (broadly defined) in Lewis and his writings. The journal includes articles, review essays, book reviews, film reviews and play reviews, bibliographical material, poetry, interviews, editorials, and announcements of Lewis-related conferences, events and publications. Its readership is aimed at academic scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, as well as learned non-scholars and Lewis enthusiasts. At this time, Sehnsucht is published once a year. Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal, established by the Arizona C. S. Lewis Society in 2007, is the only peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of C. S. Lewis and his writings published anywhere in the world. It exists to promote literary, theological, historical, biographical, philosophical, bibliographical and cultural interest (broadly defined) in Lewis and his writings. The journal includes articles, review essays, book reviews, film reviews and play reviews, bibliographical material, poetry, interviews, editorials, and announcements of Lewis-related conferences, events and publications. Its readership is aimed at academic scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, as well as learned non-scholars and Lewis enthusiasts. At this time, Sehnsucht is published once a year.