C S Lewis Centenary Group
Number 12, May 1998
Monthly from the C S Lewis Centenary Group
VOTING FOR THE CENTENARY PLAQUE
C. S. Lewis was born at Dundela Villas, Belfast. The Villas were demolished in 1952, and Dundela Flats stand today on the site.
The Ulster History Circle has agreed to co-operate with the Centenary Group in placing a memorial BLUE PLAQUE at Dundela Flats. The plaque will be similar to that already in place at LITTLE LEA, where Lewis is described as 'Author and critic'. Unveiling is planned for June 16th, 1998.
The subscribers to 'Merelewis', the email bulletin board, were recently given the chance to vote for the form of words used to describe Lewis on the plaque. Three options were given - (a) 'Writer and scholar', (b) 'Christian writer', and (c) 'Writer and Christian apologist'. 25 people voted. The voting was;
'Writer and scholar': 8 VOTES, 32 %
"Christian writer": 1 VOTE, 4 %
"Writer and Christian apologist": 16 VOTES, 64%
Various alternatives were suggested, using more words;
'Christian writer and scholar' (twice), "literary scholar, author, and Christian apologist", 'Writer, scholar and 'mere' Christian', "Writer, scholar, and Christian apologist", "Narnia Chronicler and Christian Apologist" or "Mythmaker and Christian Apologist", "writer, scholar, and Christian.", "Sub-creator and Scholar", "Scholar, Author, Defender of Christianity" or "Scholar, Author, Christian Apologist", and "Scholar, writer and Christian apologist".
More news on the plaque next issue.
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN AWARD
'Christian author Katherine Paterson (whose Newbery Award-winning "Bridge to Terabithia" is about the influence of the Narnian Chronicles) has won the 1998 Hans Christian Andersen award.
The Hans Christian Andersen Award is often referred to as the little Nobel Prize. It was established in 1956 by the International Board on Books for Young People and is awarded every two years to living authors who have made an important international contribution by their complete work rather than a single book. Five different countries are represented on the selection committee, and since 1966 they also award medals to illustrators.'-Kathryn Lindskoog
WORLD BOOK DAY was on 23 April 1998. For that day, Penguin published a special 'The Children's Book of Books' in which celebrities chose their favourite children's book. Some unexpected ones chose C. S. Lewis!
'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' was chosen by (a) Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls (b) Liam Gallagher of Oasis, and (c) Peter Mandelson MP, Minister without Portfolio.
The book included a list of the nation's favourite children's book from the 1997 poll conducted by the BBC's 'Bookworm' and Waterstone's Bookshops.
1 MATILDA - Roald Dahl
2 THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS - Kenneth Grahame
3 THE LION, THE WITCH and THE WARDROBE - C. S. Lewis
4 WINNIE-THE-POOH - A.A. Milne
5 THE HOBBIT - J.R.R. Tolkien
6 CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - Roald Dahl
7 SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS - Arthur Ransome
8 THE BFG - Roald Dahl
9 ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND - Lewis Carroll
10 THE SECRET GARDEN - Frances Hodgson Burnett
REPORTS
WHEATON THEOLOGY CONFERENCE
Dr Christopher Mitchell writes;
SEVENTH ANNUAL WHEATON THEOLOGY CONFERENCE, April 16-18,
"Returning Theology to the Masses." In recognition of Lewis's exceptional ability to write for "everyman", the conference sought to examine the various ways in which Lewis proclaimed the Gospel and cultivated the theological literacy of lay people, and to identify ways in which Lewis's methods can aid us today in improving the theology aimed at the lay community. The six highly qualified keynote speakers, David L. Jeffrey (University of Ottawa), Armand M. Nicholi (Harvard Medical School), Chuck Colson (Prison Fellowship), Gilbert Meilaender (Valparaiso University), Mark A. Noll (Wheaton College), and J.I. Packer (Regent College) addressed a delightful mixture of students, theologians, pastors, professionals, and people from the community. Nineteen others papers were read whose titles ranged from "Aslan Counters Relativism: The Importance of Theology in the Living Room," to "Writing What Your Readers Will Hear: Lewis, Analogy, and the Lay Mind." Those who may be interested in next year's conference may contact Dr. Timothy Phillips, Dept. of Theological Studies, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. 60187, U.S.A., or email him at "Timothy.Phillips@wheaton.edu".
THE C. S. LEWIS TRAIL The first Guided Tour of the C. S. Lewis Trail took place on Saturday 2 May. Ms Lynn Maudlin of the Mythopoeic Society was a guest, and 16 members of the public attended.
1998 TRAIL BROCHURE Hoped-for funding has not materialised. And so we have been unable to publish the brochure so far. Its future is now in doubt.
"WHAT C S LEWIS HAS MEANT TO ME"
Second in our series is FREDA B. BIRNBAUM, who is Jewish.
'Well, my views are probably pretty idiosyncratic and I wouldn't want to present them as "the" Jewish view...
I was first exposed to CSL because someone recommended the trilogy as a good read (a close friend in college kept bugging me to read it, and as I perceived that he was trying to use this to get me to "see the light" about his religious views as well as about his, shall we say, extremely non-feminist views, I wasn't interested). At the particular time when I me, as stories, even as I see what he's doing.)
I find most of his stuff very interesting although I thought _Problem of Pain_ was not satisfactory (I know, he was much younger then) and saw _A Grief Observed_ almost as an antidote to that. I also think _Reflections on the Psalms_ is a real clunker, but I'm coming from such a different place than he is that I don't really expect for that to work for me. Examples for me of some of his best essays are in _The Weight of Glory_.
I'm always referring people to "The Inner Ring", and "Learning in War-Time" is classic.
And I can forgive him almost anything, for writing that wonderful eulogy for Dorothy L. Sayers!'
RESEARCH
NARNIA AND NARNI
Some people may be surprised to know that C. S. Lewis took the name of 'Narnia' from an ancient Roman town in the Italian province of Umbria. An incident in the Punic Wars took place there.
The Italian city on the site today is called 'Narni'. Narni now has a web page at http://www.assind.krenet.it/umbria/narni/naring.htm.
In December 1996, WALTER HOOPER wrote;
'It will perhaps surprise you to hear that I spent a day (in Narni/Narnia) in October (1996). In fact, this was my second trip, as my godson and I were there first five years ago. C. S. Lewis came across the name 'Narnia' in a classical atlas he used as a boy, and continued to use it all his life. I have it now, and it's interesting to see that he underscored the name when he first saw it back in about 1914. In Italian Narnia is called 'Narni', and it's under that name that you will find it on modern maps.
It was already a very ancient town when the Romans conquered it in about 299 BC. In a little history of the place, it is stated that 'Although Neolithic people lived in this region, the first historical document, mentioning the town, is dated 600 BC, when Nequinum and its inhabitants are mentioned. In 299 BC, Narni was a Roman colony under the name of Narnia, a name that comes from the Nar river, which today is called the Nera.'
For me one of the most surprising things about Narnia is that a very popular local saint is called 'Blessed Lucy of Narnia.' She was a Dominican nun of the 16th century, but whether Lewis had ever heard of her I don't know. My godson, to whom the Lewis COMPANION is dedicated, and I first went there in October 1991. We knew about Blessed Lucy of Narnia, but we didn't know whether she was still remembered by the inhabitants of Narnia. To our delight, she is buried in a beautiful chapel attached to the 12th century cathedral of Narnia, and is very popular in that area…
But - oh! - what a beautiful place Narnia is. It's only about 50 miles north-east of Rome, and very easy to get to by train, or car. So far it remains unvisited by tourists, and so I've never encountered crowds there on my two visits.'
LYNDA OCHSNER writes: 'Ford's _Companion to Narnia_ also notes that Lewis may have read at least seven references to Narnia in Latin literature, including four mentions of Narnia in Livy's _History_. Other references include Tacitus' _Annals_, and Pliny the Elder's comment in _Natural History_ about Narnia's unusual weather (it became drier during the rainy season). A seventh is "Pliny the Younger's letter to his mother-in-law, in which he mentions the excellence of the accommodations of her villa at Narnia, especially its beautiful baths." Apparently Lewis only mentions this last reference, in a letter to Arthur Greeves and published in _They Stand Together_.
JANIE MCNEILL
REV JOHN YOUNG of Belfast remembers JANIE MCNEILL, the close friend of C. S. Lewis:
[Janie McNeill's] 'friendship with C. S. Lewis arose through her association with Campbell College where her father was Headmaster for many years.
Janie was a lovable eccentric with a mischievous sense of humour. Her loves were deep and lasting as were her dislikes which sometimes grew by apparently geometric proportion into abiding hates. My strongest memory of her was in her car driving up or down the Belmont Road with her collie type dog, its head out of a window, barking incessantly at all and sundry.
Her car was essential to her mobility since even with a stick she had great difficulty in walking. She loved children and the love was reciprocated. She taught in Belmont Presbyterian-Ed] Church Sunday School for many years and she had a vivid art of communication. I feel that I was privileged to know her well & through her I learned of CSL years before his writing achieved wide acclaim. She died as she had lived with great composure.'
C S LEWIS AND THE TITANIC (2)
A further Lewis connection with the TITANIC has emerged. C. S. Lewis wrote of his second cousin, Gundreda Ewart, that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. After her marriage, Gundreda, her husband, and her family, lived for a while in the old Manor House, on the Main Square in Comber, Co Down. Gundreda's family included her daughter, today Mrs Primrose Henderson. Dr Philip Robinson claims that the Manor House was the home of Thomas Andrews, designer of the TITANIC. Andrews went down, heroically, with TITANIC and after his death a hall was built to his memory in Comber. Today Andrews Memorial Primary School owns the hall.
TWENTY YEARS ON
Recently Mrs Kathryn Lindskoog recovered from her files a copy of a letter written her in 1977 by DR ALAN KERR of Belfast. Dr Kerr discussed in his letter (a) the reputed lack of interest in C. S. Lewis in Belfast and (b) a Belfast relative of CSL's.
"You refer to the apparent lack of appreciation of Lewis in Belfast. I doubt if this is really the case, altho' it is difficult to be sure. The religious bookshops here all have about 8 of his better known works in paperbacks, at any one time, so presumably they are selling some of them. However, I have been amazed at how many Belfast people I have come across who have read and been helped by his books, who haven't realized that he was originally from this part of the world. I worked with C. S. Lewis's cousin Dr J. T. Lewis, but one of the big regrets of my life is that Dr J T had died before I knew of their relationship."
Dr Kerr writes to Mrs Lindskoog today:
'I must admit to having only the vaguest of memories of having written to you in 1977 although I can still clearly recall the joy of first coming across your book 'C S Lewis: Mere Christian'. Up until that time I had read quite a few of Lewis' books but until I saw the Bibliography of yours hadn't realised how many more there were. I wrote to some of the publishers at that time and got some of them and then, I think it was in 1976, I was delighted to come across a Logos Bookshop in the States with a full section on Lewis and Friends. It was probably something arising out of that that led me to write to you. I still get enormous satisfaction and help out of Lewis' writings and return to him time and again.
Dr J T Lewis, known as Ted, was an elderly consultant physician in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital, when I was a medical student. (Probably he was younger then than I am now!) I spent 6 weeks full-time in his Wards in 1956 and got to know him quite well but, as I said, I wasn't aware of the relationship at that time. I shall be off work for a while but when I return I plan to go to the Archivist of the Royal Victoria Hospital and see if there is anything of note on Ted, in relation to CSL, in the files... Sadly, my current illness has already limited my opportunities for involvement in the Centenary activities, and may do so further. Thank you for taking the trouble of resurrecting my letter from your files and thank you also for your book. It was great, and indeed still is.'
Dr Kerr has our good wishes for his full recovery from coronary bypass surgery.
TY ISA
'Ty Isa' is the house built by Richard Lewis, grandfather of CSL. The name is Welsh for 'the house on its own' - . MRS LEONE LYONS of Belfast writes;
[A relation of a neighbour is selling] 'a 6-bedroom house, Tyisa(?), at the lower end of Parkgate Avenue, Sydenham, near Connsbrook Avenue. From the deeds they have discovered it was built by a Mr. Richard Lewis in 1888, though the lease is dated 1877 with a promise that it was a 'noise-free' zone! Mr. Lewis sold the house in 1903… Houses have been built round Tyisa (sic) and only a small part of it is visible from the gate.'
OUR CONTEMPORARY
'The Canadian C. S. Lewis Journal', Spring 1998, c/o Western Pentecostal Bible College, Box 1700, Abbotsford, B. C. V2S 7E7, Canada, half-yearly. Annual subscriptions $15.00 (Canada), $12.00 (US), £6.00 (UK).
STOP PRESS
It is reported that a copy of C. S. Lewis's will has come to light among legal documents found in a house in Belfast. More next time.
ENDS
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