Due to his immense popularity, there are always interesting articles, books, events, and various types of media floating around about C.S. Lewis at any time of the year; however, it is in the fall — the season of Lewis’s birthday and death — that we often see an increased attention to Lewis. As this fall comes to a close, and the weather becomes more conducive to staying indoors with a book, we’d like to highlight a few things to add to your reading queue this winter: a newly-released book on Lewis, as well as two articles that may pique your interest in Lewis’s often less-read texts.
Friend of the Foundation Dr. Greg Cootsona released a book a couple months ago entitled C.S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian, which explores “how Lewis can also serve as a guide to the ups and downs of the Christian journey.” Dr. Cootsona’s recent article in The Wall Street Journal gives more insight into his new book, as well as further discusses Lewis’s responses of faith in the face of tragedy. Lewis scholar James Como offers this praise for Cootsona’s work:
“Greg Cootsona’s book is as distinctive a contribution to writing on Lewis as any I know. With no claim towards breaking new ground, the author nevertheless brings a perspective so fresh that even a veteran reader of the master will be instructed. Of course, Cootsona knows his Lewis, but he also knows Lewis’s philosophy and philosophers, and he so interanimates that knowledge by way of his own extraordinary pastoral (and personal) touch that the reader emerges refreshed. I could argue a point or two, but that would miss the point of this very readable and generous book.”
You may purchase C.S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian by clicking here.
Although most people know of Lewis as the creator of The Chronicles of Narnia, as well as the author of more popular works like The Srewtape Letters and Mere Christianity, most do not know that he preached numerous sermons during his lifetime. William O’Flatherty reminds us of Lewis’s sermons in his recent article “Learning to the Glory of God,” particularly focusing on Lewis’s first sermon which debuted in 1939.
Another type of writing that Lewis engaged in, but is often looked over for his more popular works, are his many letters. Letters to a Christian Lady, originally published 1967, has been re-released this year for purchase as Letters to an American Lady. For more information on this particular collection of letters, you can read a recent review “The Connected Soul of C.S. Lewis” here, as well as purchase the title by clicking here.
Thank you for these wonderful links to the mind, thoughts, feelings, spirituality of C. S. Lewis. I will definitely pursue them.