C S Lewis Centenary Group
Number 16: September 1998
Monthly from the C S Lewis Centenary Group
11 Raglan Road, Bangor, Co Down BT20 3TL, Northern Ireland.
Web site: http://www.d-n-a.net/users/cslewis/
E-mail: cslewis@dnet.co.uk (editorial) and coiace@iol.ie (subscriptions)
The great Christian writer, C S Lewis, was born in Belfast on 29th November 1898. The C S Lewis Centenary Group formed in 1994, so that Lewis’s native land might suitably celebrate his Centenary in 1998.
IN SEPTEMBER
September 2nd-1939, children evacuated from London because of the [risk of-Ed] bombing were received by Warren and C. S. Lewis at their home.
September 3rd-1918, C. S. Lewis's first book of poems, 'Spirits in Bondage', was accepted by Heinemann publishing company.
September 4th-1950, Warren Lewis attended the wedding of beloved Lewis friend Jill Flewett to Clement Freud, grandson of Sigmund Freud.
September 8th-1947-C. S. Lewis was featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine.
September 10th-1956, C. S. Lewis's favorite book, 'Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold', was published.
September 11th-1951, C. S. Lewis completed the last of three short holidays in Crawfordsburn, Northern Ireland; he had greatly needed the rest.
September 13th-1933, Warren and C. S. Lewis, holidaying in Hampshire, went for a stroll in Upper Canterton Wood. This place seems to have been the model for the Wood Between the Worlds that C. S. Lewis described 20 years later in 'The Magician's Nephew'. [But see item below-Ed]
September 19th-1955, C. S. Lewis published his autobiography, 'Surprised by Joy'.
September 22nd-1952, C. S. Lewis was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Literature by Laval University in Quebec.
September 24th-1967, Warren Lewis attended, for the first time, a Sunday service at a Congregational Church.
September 27th-1916, C. S. Lewis wrote to his friend Arthur Greeves to say that he was reading Milton's long poem 'Comus', an absolute dream of delight, all magic and distressed ladies and haunted woods.
September 28th-1931, C. S. Lewis accepted Christianity on his way to Whipsnade Zoo with Warren Lewis.
-from 'Around the Year with C. S. Lewis and his Friends', by Kathryn Lindskoog, reprinted in 'C. S. Lewis Journal', ed Susan Wavre, Eagle, Guildford, 1998, by permission of Kathryn Lindskoog.
NEW LEWIS FILM
The film 'C. S. LEWIS; AN EXAMINED LIFE' is announced. The makers of the documentary film is GEORGIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING of 260 Fourteenth Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30318, a 9-station public television and radio network affiliated with PBS, Public Service Broadcasting. Personnel involved:
Corporate investment of $140,000 as one of 3 underwriters will give advertising benefits, and a personal investment of $5,000 will allow an individual's name to be listed in the closing credits as a benefactor. Filming in Ireland is expected in early 1999.
BBC DOCUMENTARY
BBC Northern Ireland has scheduled the broadcast of Moore Sinnerton's 50-minute documentary on Lewis for WEDNESDAY 11TH NOVEMBER (although this date could change). It is doubtful whether the film will ever be shown outside Northern Ireland.
Filming is largely complete, although Moore Sinnerton is hoping to include a shot of St Mark's Church spire, without its current web of scaffolding. BUT completion of the stone restoration work at St Mark's is not due until November 1998.
PRONI ARCHIVE
a) At its September meeting, the C. S. Lewis Centenary Group decided to donate all the materials in the Archive to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), after the dissolution of the Centenary Group in December 1998.
b) Stephen Scarth of PRONI writes (31 July 1998); 'As regards copying expenses, PRONI is reluctant to make copies in-house because of the risk that they might be damaged. Consequently, we will send them to a private photographer, Elser Crawford. They charge a set handling fee of £13 and a single copy costs £4,70 and where there is no negative available, a further £9.40 will need to be paid. However, there is a cheaper alternative which is to produce a picturestat (a high-quality photocopy on photographic paper) costing a mere £4.68. Any photographic orders are sent on Thursdays and are returned the following Thursday.
As regards further requests for copies, the simplest way forward is to forward photocopies of any such requests to myself and PRONI can arrange to have the documents copied.'
PRONI will eventually have negatives for all the photographs. 'C S Lewis News' will publish a list of the photos available in a future issue.
DR JAMES I. PACKER
Well-known author and theologian, Dr James Packer, visited 'Little Lea' in July (see last issue). In a letter dated 25th August, Dr Packer reports that he has written 3 'fairly solid' articles for the Lewis centenary year, none published yet.
Rev Ron Troup guesses that one of these articles has appeared in the Sept. 7 issue of "Christianity Today", an American Evangelical Christian magazine. The title is "Still Surprised by Lewis" and the subtitle 'Why this non-evangelical Oxford don has become our patron saint.'
Rev Troup remarks-'From editor's introduction- '... J.I.Packer explains why a man whose theology had decidedly unevangelical elements has come to be the Aquinas, the Augustine, and the Aesop of contemporary evangelicalism.'
Two interesting tidbits--
Best quote (from a sidebar, which edits the full sentence in the article)- "Lewis's mind was so highly developed that all of his arguments are illustrations, while all of his illustrations are arguments."
For those of you not familiar with J.I.Packer-- he is an Evangelical theologian rooted in the English Puritan tradition; his skill, precision, and careful judgements make this article well worth the reading.'
C. S. LEWIS AND THE SEA
C. S. Lewis crossed and re-crossed the Irish Sea many times on the ferries. He gives his 'Narnia' a long coastline and sets one of his 'Narnia' books on a ship, 'The Dawn Treader'.
JOAN MURPHY NEE LEWIS, CSL's first-cousin-once-removed, today lives herself in Oxford. On her recent visit to Belfast, Joan explained how remote Oxford is from the sea, of her homesickness for the sea and for the sights and sounds of Belfast Lough. As we passed the LIVERPOOL FERRY, Joan explained how that must have been the scene of many painful partings for CSL. In 'Surprised by Joy', CSL writes 'The sound of a ship's hooter conjures up my whole boyhood.'
TITANIC AGAIN Finbarr Flanagan has sent a copy of an article on the 'Titanic' taken from the magazine 'Christian Living Today', recommended to him by our friend Claude Cunningham of Randburg. Finbarr has sent as well a copy of George Sayer's review of A. N. Wilson's biography from the 'Chesterton Review' of Aug-Nov 1991. And a photograph of Durban City Hall, or 'ICITY Hall yeTheku'. Durban City Hall is modeled on Belfast City Hall
* FORTHCOMING EVENTS
'SHADOWLANDS', Portstewart, Co Londonderry, Tuesday 8 September. With Sylvia Read & William Fry, directed by Roger Redfarn, 'Theatre Roundabout, London', Portstewart Baptist Church Hall, 7.30 pm, Ticket Donation £5 (students £3).
EUROPEAN HERITAGE OPEN DAYS, September 12-13. Numerous historic buildings throughout Europe are open to the public on these days. In Northern Ireland, the event was opened by Northern Ireland Office Government Minister LORD DUBS in ST MARK'S CHURCH, Dundela, Belfast. Mr Tony Wilson of the Centenary Group showed the C. S. Lewis sites in the Church, and Lord Dubs revealed that his wife was an admirer of Lewis's writings.
THE GREAT DANCE, September 14-October 31. 'THE GUARDIAN' (London) of 22 August announces "the astonishing laser dance spectacular The Great Dance featuring Joss Ackland as C. S. Lewis." Tours from September 16 to October 31, appearing in Wembley, Sheffield, Birmingham, Exeter, Cardiff, Newcastle, and Edinburgh
'THE CONVERSION OF C. S. LEWIS', Friday 18 September. Mr James O'Fee leads a discussion, 'Under 5 Group', Dundonald, Co Down.
ASPECTS: A CELEBRATION OF IRISH WRITING, Bangor, Co Down, 27 September. Tel: (01247) 271200. Kenneth Irvine writes; 'The events on Sunday 27th September will be 'A CELEBRATION OF C. S. LEWIS'
'CS LEWIS: WRITER AND APOLOGIST' Belfast. This evening course begins Tuesday 29 September.10 weekly lectures each Tuesday at 7 pm. Fee £38 (concession £23), Department of Continuing Education, Queen's University, Tel: 01232 273323/4/6.
SOUTHWESTERN CONFERENCE ON CHRISTIANITY AND LITERATURE, Dallas, Texas, 2-3 October. Sponsored by Dallas Baptist University. Arlington Hilton Hotel, Arlington. One session on "Present Readings in C. S. Lewis."
LIBRARY EXHIBITION, Belfast, Monday 2-Monday 30 November. C. S. Lewis Exhibition at Belfast Central Library, Royal Avenue. Smaller displays in the Branches at Holywood Arches and Ballyhackamore; and a Display will tour other Belfast Branches.
TALK, Belfast, 2 November. Mr James O'Fee will give an illustrated talk on C. S. Lewis in Holywood Arches Branch Library, Belfast, 7.00 pm.
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UNVEILING OF THE MEMORIAL SCULPTURE, Friday 6 November, Belfast. Holywood Arches.
'JACK', Saturday 7 November. A tribute in words and music by Keith Getty and Douglas Gresham. World Premiere at Belfast Waterfront Hall. Booking Office 01232 334400 (credit card line 01232 334455-but credit card is dearer).
ONE-DAY CONFERENCE AND LEWIS WEEK, 9-13 November, Worcester.
Contact Mrs Margaret Bradley, 25 Comberton Avenue, Kidderminster, Worcs DY10 3EG.
'C. S. LEWIS'S NORTH DOWN', Saturday 28 November, North Down. A Guided Tour by private car, of the sites that Lewis knew in North Down, guided by the C S Lewis Centenary Group. Meet at the car park of the 'Old Inn', Crawfordsburn, at 10 am. No charge.
'C S LEWIS'S 100th BIRTHDAY PARTY', Sunday 29 November BELFAST. Includes-
SOUTH CENTRAL MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION, New Orleans, 12-14 November. Radisson Hotel-New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. In Session 17, Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, on 13 November at 9:00 a.m.
Lewis's 'Ministering Angels'".
THIRD ANNUAL LITERARY FESTIVAL, Belton, Texas, 7-9 January 1999. Third Annual University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Literary Festival, Belton, Texas. In "C. S. Lewis: The Centennial," on 8 January 1999 at 10:00, the speakers will be Joe R. Christopher, George Musacchio, and Kathryn Presley.
SLIDE-SHOW, 'C. S. Lewis and Belfast', Whitehead, Co Antrim, April 1999. Mr Tony Wilson.
* REPORTS
CONFERENCE REVIEWS Lois Westerlund writes; 'I think it would have been possible to spend this entire Centennial summer floating from conference to conference, had one unlimited time and resources. I was privileged to attend three: Seattle, Oxford and Cambridge, and Belfast.
THE SEATTLE CONFERENCE hosted a rich array of speakers, including Peter Kreeft, Thomas Howard, Philip Johnson, Earl Palmer, Richard Purtill, and Bruce Edwards--all this in a two-day conference! In addition, the morning and afternoon concurrent sessions on Friday had us all wishing we could be in three places at once. I heard a fascinating talk by Don King of Montreat College, NC, on the correspondence between Lewis and Ruth Pitter. The Lewis of the letters that Don had uncovered in the Bodleian was a Lewis I did not know. This Lewis positively burbles over Pitter's poetry, and asks for, and despairs of getting, honest criticism from her on his own poems. I eagerly await Don's forthcoming book on Lewis's poetry!
Friday evening we attended a brilliant performance of Sayers' _Busman's Honeymoon_ at the Taproot Theatre in Seattle. What fun! A man sat next to me, I introduced myself, and he did the same, saying affably, "I'm Phil Johnson." A moment later the name sank in. I turned to him in great excitement, exclaiming that his _Darwin on Trial_ was the best book on evolution I had ever read! Phil turned to the person on the other side of him, "I have a woman of remarkable intelligence and perception sitting next to me.
"OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE": How does one write about a conference of 600 people, in two medieval towns, listening to three plenary sessions, a "morning meditation", and a "whimsy"(comic or dramatic interlude) each morning, dining, impeccably served, in dark-paneled college refectories, under the gaze of painted greats, reveling in afternoon focus groups such as "The Christian and the Contemporary University" and "Reason and Imagination in the Writings of C. S. Lewis", going on tours to The Kilns, worshiping in Ely Cathedral (1000 AD), and dining and dancing at Blenheim Palace?
Not to mention singing in the opening worship service in St. Mary the Virgin's, with Earl Palmer speaking from the pulpit where Lewis gave his "Learning in Wartime" sermon. Or Joss Ackland reenacting Lewis's inaugural address, "De Descriptione Temporum", and David Suchet delivering Lewis's "The Weight of Glory" sermon. (Those of you who enjoy _Mystery_ on television know David Suchet as the unflappable Agatha Christie detective, Hercule Poirot.) Suchet prefaced his enactment with the story of his conversion, in Seattle! I was delighted--to find that MY loved "Hercule Poirot" is my brother in Christ!
And The Lamb's Players' adaptation of _Till We Have Faces_ moved me to tears. They managed to capture the drama of the novel, and the weight of the Greek myth in one superlative performance!
Of course, the joy of any conference is not just the speakers and the program, but the discoveries and delights of conferring with others of like mind. One of the surprising pleasures for me was the almost daily meeting up with someone I had known in the past, or who knew those that I knew. Finally, I figured out that if you reach your sixties and have read Lewis for decades, and sought out other Lewis readers wherever you happened to be, and whatever you happened to be doing, it is not surprising that a 600-strong conference in England brings a number of them together!
About BELFAST, you have already heard [August issue-Ed]. What a richness, hearing about Lewis's early life from those who knew him, or lived near him, as well as literary and philosophical perspectives. Two papers that I particularly relished (every attendee would have his or her list) were Colin Duriez's "C. S. Lewis and Evangelicalism", and Professor Joy Alexander's "That Which We Have Seen and Heard Declare We Unto You: Lewis's Imaginative Landscape." I also appreciated recent graduate Paul Burgin's warnings not to make an idol of Lewis, and we all enjoyed John Bremer's humorous and informative "Lewis and the Chancellor's Prize Essay 1921". But all were fine papers.
In Belfast, I was able to worship Sunday morning in St. Mark's, and imagine a young Lewis sitting with his parents in a nearby pew. In the church is the beautiful stained glass window commissioned by Jack and Warnie and given to the church in honor of their parents.
In Belfast I had the privilege of getting to know Martin Moynihan, Lewis's pupil and friend. Martin heard Lewis give that Inaugural address that I had heard reenacted in Oxford. One dinnertime, I met a retired doctor (I wish I could supply his name) who had heard Lewis's radio talks during the war, and found Lewis's explanation of the Trinity to be the first that made sense to him. Mulling over the events of this Centennial summer, as I was walking with Martin, I said, "What would Lewis think of these nonstop conferences? Wouldn't he be amused, if not appalled?" Martin replied, "If it gives glory to God, and is helpful to people, Lewis would consider it a good thing." To which I say, Amen.'
Lois adds- 'A unique feature of the Belfast Conference was visiting Dundela Flats, where Lewis was born, and walking around the grounds of Little Lea, the "new house" Albert Lewis built when Jack Lewis was 7. The grounds are lovely, though they no longer have a view of the Lough from the back, which is really the front, as Albert situated the house facing away from the road. We took pictures sitting on the steps, where we have a photograph of the Lewis family gathered. Well, we are all family, aren't we--literary descendants or something? We saw the home of Arthur Greeves across the street, and the Old Inn where Lewis and Warnie would walk for a Guinness. [Actually, the 'Lynch's Building' in Holywood, formerly the 'Central Hotel'. Nor do we know whether the Lewis brothers enjoyed Guinness. Do we?-Ed] And everywhere we were surrounded by the beauty of the rolling hills of Lewis's loved County Down.'
GUIDED TOURS Numbers attending the public Guided Tours of the C. S. Lewis Trail in Belfast over the summer season were;
Furthermore, the Centenary Group put on private Guided Tours fore the registrants at the Belfast Conference and David Spence's party. Over 25 attended in both these cases.
* RESEARCH
NARNIA Mary Rogers claims that C. S. Lewis told some of the Narnia stories to Joan Murphy's young boys, before the stories had been published CSL and Warren Lewis were baby-sitting the boys, while Joan was taking a further degree at Oxford.
LAMP POST An attendee at a recent Guided Tour said that a large, noteworthy, lamp-post once stood on the Cairnburn Road, Belfast - the road along which CS & Warnie would so often take their walks. She suggested that this lamppost might have provided the inspiration for the lamp post in THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW. The lamppost was later bought and now stands in a private house on the Holywood Road, Belfast.
1798 REBELLION Not only do we celebrate Lewis's Centenary this year, but we remember as well the bi-centenary of the 1798 Irish Rebellion.
In Ulster, the Rebellion had a Presbyterian character. Lewis's Presbyterian friends - W. T. Kirkpatrick, Janie McNeill, Lizzie Endicott and so on - would all have had forbears or relations who were 'out' in 1798. Whereas Lewis's own family background was Tory.
Kirkpatrick, in particular, was a pupil and then a teacher at Royal Belfast Academical Institution. About 1810 the Belfast Radicals - the people who had formented the Rebellion - established 'R.B.A.I.' or 'Inst' in opposition to the 'Belfast Academy'. The Headmaster of the Academy was Dr Bruce and the Presbyterian Radicals accused Bruce of 'treachery', because, like some other Presbyterian Conservatives, Bruce had disowned the Rebellion. Bruce even volunteered and served in the Yeomanry who garrisoned Belfast in 1798 in defense against the Rebels.
Kirkpatrick, a Presbyterian Minister who lost his faith, stands squarely in the 'New Light Presbyterian', and then Radical tradition. Lewis mentions in 'Surprised by Joy' that Kirkpatrick was a Liberal - whereas Lewis's family was Tory.
William Thompson Kirkpatrick, from Boardmills, Co Down, may have been related to the lad, James Thompson, from Boardmills, Co Down. James Thompson visited the rebel camp at Ednavady, Ballynahinch, on Tuesday 12 June 1798. James Thompson went on to become Professor of Mathematics at Glasgow University, but his fame was surpassed by his son, William Thompson, Lord Kelvin (born Belfast), who became one of Britain's leading scientists and President of the Royal Society. Kelvin helped to formulate the Second Law of thermodynamics, gave mankind the submarine cable, and had the Absolute Scale of Temperature named after him.
MORE LEWIS SITES IN ULSTER
C. S. LEWIS'S WILL, AGAIN
Mike Perry of Seattle has transcribed C. S. Lewis's Will (see July issue) to electronic form and plans to make the Will in this form available on the web site of the Discovery Institute, Seattle - http://www.discovery.org/lewis/cslewis.html.
David Gaston, Solicitor, who originally found the copy of C. S. Lewis's Will in Belfast writes; 'I am surprised at the interest which has been generated in the copy of the Will which I unearthed. As a document of public record I had assumed it was already in the public domain.
I am not sure if I can be of much help but will try my best. I would reply to your queries as follows;
You should be able to obtain a copy of the Probate, Will and Codicil from either the Principal Probate Registry or from the Public Records Office. This will be easier now that the date of the Probate is known, i.e. 1st April 1964.'
ANOTHER LEWIS WILL Mrs Linda Greenwood of Belfast Central Library has discovered a copy of Albert Lewis's Will along with his papers deposited in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). C. S. Lewis is a named Executor of Albert's will, and Mrs Greenwood will use a copy of C. S. Lewis's signature in the Exhibition at Belfast Central Library.in November.
* BOOKS, ETC
'THE JOY OF C. S. LEWIS' - also the 'FAITH', LOVE' and 'GRIEF'. A series of 4 attractive gift anthologies from HarperCollins. Complied by Lesley Walmsley, £7.99 each.
THE COMPLETE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, hard back, 528 pages, contains all 7 Narnia Chronicles, HarperCollins, available October 1998.
C. S. LEWIS: AT HOME IN IRELAND David Bleakley's book of this title will be published later this year. It will be the first book published by THE STRANDTOWN PRESS.
CHRIST CHURCH NEWS is the name of the magazine of Christ Church, Kilkeel. The Harvest 1998 issue, September 1998, is a fine 'C. S. Lewis Centenary Edition'. Articles on-
OXFORD CEREMONIES John Bremer has sent a copy of his paper, 'C. S. Lewis and the Ceremonies of Oxford University (1917-1925)', which he hopes will be published in the US. John delivered a paper at Belfast, 'C. S. Lewis and the Chancellor's Prize Essay', which forms part of the longer work.
OXFORD Mary Rogers reports that 2 articles of hers on C. S. Lewis will be published in November 1998; (a) in OXFORD TODAY, magazine of Oxford University, and (b) in OXFORD, magazine of the Oxford Society.
THE LEWIS LEGACY Issue 77, Summer 1998 (see below), re-publishes Mary Rogers' 'NARNIAN ULSTER', first published with the January 1998 issue of 'C S Lewis News'.
AMERICAN SPECTATOR
The 'American Spectator' is an important American right-wing political magazine. Michael Nicholson notes-'Author and investigative journalist Tom Bethell has an article in September's American Spectator magazine (not yet posted on their web site at www.spectator.org) entitled "Controversy in Shadowlands". Bethell more or less sides with Kathryn Lindskoog's published assertions that Walter Hooper forged the Dark Tower mss [This is an exaggeration of Mrs Lindskoog's case-Ed] rather than rescuing it from Warren Lewis' attempts to consign it to the flames, as Hooper claimed in the preface to "The Dark Tower".
Bethell concedes that Hooper's Companion and Guide is "a very well written and absorbing compendium of every aspect of Lewis' life and work, a true labor of love and devoted scholarship. It has been my intermittent bedside reading for the past year.... the essays in his section of Lewis 'key ideas' are outstanding, especially the one on natural law." Yet how strange, Bethell adds, that it contains no mention of "the bonfire story," especially since, supposedly, "the events surrounding it are all we know about the origin of several Lewis manuscripts...the omission of this even by the person [Hooper] who first described it seems incriminatory."
A compelling paragraph in the article: "The [Dark Tower] manuscript is now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and it does look like Lewis' handwriting. But in 1975 Hooper boasted in public that he had learned 'to actually imitate [Lewis'] handwriting and forge his signature.' In fact, Hooper's everyday handwriting came to resemble Lewis'." Bethell remarks on the rather mysterious status of the current ownership of the Lewis estate, noting that after it passed to David and Doug Gresham, they "sold all or part of their interest in 1976" to unknown purchasers. Douglas Gresham, Bethell further notes, is currently a consultant of sorts to the estate and says of him "without elaborating, he [Doug] takes Hooper's side on The Dark Tower...."
ULSTER CHRISTIAN Issue No 18 (see below) has a 2-page article, 'C.S. Lewis: Ulster's gift to the Christian world!' by Ros Bunney. The Acting Editor of the magazine, Pastor Trevor Ramsey, featured C. S. Lewis in a talk in the series 'Thought for the Day' on BBC Radio Ulster in August.
* IN BRIEF
* OUR CONTEMPORARIES
'TRAIL' BROCHURE Free copies of our 1998 brochure 'The C S Lewis Centenary Trail in Belfast and North Down' are available. Write, enclosing a stamped, addressed, 6"x9" (A5) envelope to:
BACK ISSUES OF 'C S LEWIS NEWS' Each back issue costs £1 ($2), or £12 ($24) for issues 1-15 inclusive. Please send your order to;
C S Lewis News (Back Issues), Ace Ventures, 217 Holywood Road, Belfast BT4 2DH, Northern Ireland.
Telephone (working hours) (01232) 672351 or (international) +44 1232 672351. Make checks payable to 'ACE VENTURES'.
ENDS
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