C.S. Lewis Minute

Learn more about Lewis in 60 seconds!

The concept behind the C.S. Lewis Minute is to provide information about the life or work of Lewis that doesn’t take a lot of your time. Having worked professionally in radio years ago and having previous produced one-minute features I believe I should use that experience for my first venture into podcasting on C.S. Lewis. While you can quickly read the minute, I record them for those who enjoy short audio features that can be enjoyed on your MP3 player. I began doing this in September 2011 as a blog on Wordpress that continues to this day and is the best way to read and/or listen to the previous minutes.

So how do I come up with my topics? Simple, I think about something related to Lewis that I know or I wish I knew, do some research and then write about it!

Puddleglum

Remembering Four Signs

The Abolition of Man

Lewis Didn’t Like Screwtape

Click on any title to read/listen

Cair Paravel

Don’t Call Me “Clive”

Understanding and Appreciating C.S. Lewis

Recent Minutes

051 - Lewis Had a Brother

This close friend of C.S. Lewis wrote over half-a-dozen books, lived with him and was a member of the Inklings.

Born three years before Jack, Warren Lewis (also known simply as "Warnie") is often overlooked because of his more famous brother. However, Warnie was a writer himself, with his main focus being on various aspects of 17th-century France. Prior to the start of WWI he entered the Royal Military Academy and served as a second lieutenant when the war started, ultimately becoming a career soldier.

He actually renewed his Christian faith before Jack and is the editor of the unpublished Lewis Family Papers, a multi-volume collection covering their family history. And, as already noted, he was an active member of the Inklings, a group of friends who gathered and often shared each others writings.

050 - Comments to
Sister Penelope

As previously noted C.S. Lewis wrote a lot of letters. While some were fairly routine correspondence, you can frequently find in them much of his beliefs on a range of issues.

Lewis first heard from Sister Penelope, a nun at the Community of St. Mary the Virgin, in 1939 when she wrote to tell how much she enjoyed Out of the Silent Planet. This began an exchange of letters lasting Lewis's life. On one occasion in 1943 he replied back to her on the subject of symbolism in children's stories.

In this letter he admitted that many children do not always understand the symbols used in stories. However, this shouldn't discourage writers from using them, because later in life it may have a positive impact. Of course, it was less than ten years after this that Lewis himself used such a tool with his Narnia stories.

049 - Giants in the Land

What's tall, lacking in good looks and usually on the low end of the intelligence scale?

I'm sure you know the answer is a Giant...and they are often found in the Narnia stories. For obvious reasons they are useful as allies if you have to go to battle. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Rumblebuffin is on the good side and helpful during the First Battle of Beruna.

There are, however, some giants you want to avoid. In The Silver Chair we find those living in Harfang can seem nice, but if you are human you especially want to avoid them during their great autumn feast. Marsh-wiggles should also heed this caution. The giants at Ettinsmoor are also best avoided, as you might be hit by one of the stones they often throw at one another!