Wade Center

Is the man buried in Poet’s Corner a great poet? In this week’s episode Don W. King, Professor of English at Montreat College, sits down with Crystal and David to discuss the poetry of C.S. Lewis. Why did Lewis succeed as a novelist but not as a poet? Also, why did Lewis marry Joy Davidman but not Ruth Pitter, a fellow English poet?

Dr. Harry Lee Poe argues that C.S. Lewis fell "in love with a story," and that he kept telling this "there and back again" story "over and over again." Dr. Poe is the Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture at Union University and an indirect descendant of Edgar Allan Poe. In this week's episode, he sits down with Crystal and David to discuss his latest project as well as his thesis about Lewis's one great idea.

The recently released “Tolkien” movie, starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins and directed by Dome Karukoski, is shining a light on J.R.R. Tolkien’s early life but does it offer an accurate picture? Dr. Holly Ordway and Laura Schmidt sit down with Crystal and David to offer their expert opinions on the film and discuss several missed opportunities. Their conclusion: Sometimes the truth about Tolkien’s life is more cinematic than the biopic.

Why would anyone forge C.S. Lewis's signature? It turns out, there is a thriving market for used and rare books by Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the other Inklings. Indeed, collectors pay thousands of dollars for a signed copy! Crystal and David sit down with Stan E. Shelley, of Shelley and Son Books, to learn about forged signatures and the fascinating world of rare books. Stay tuned until the end to hear an excerpt from an unpublished letter by Joy Davidman about falling in love with C.S. Lewis.

President of Wheaton College, Dr. Philip Ryken sits down with Crystal and David this week to discuss his 2017 book The Messiah Comes to Middle-earth. Dr. Ryken addresses the inspiration for his book, based on his 2015-2016 Hansen lectures. He also discusses the difference between allegory and "applicability" in Tolkien, as the creator of The Lord of the Rings was famously averse to one-on-one correspondences in storytelling.

Scholars are fond of calling the Victorian era "the age of doubt" and skepticism. In this week's episode, Crystal and David discuss with Dr. Timothy Larsen the topic of his recent book, "George MacDonald in the Age of Miracles," a product of the Hansen Lectureship Series at the Wade Center. Dr. Larsen discusses the ways in which MacDonald sought to counteract skepticism and reclaim a belief in the miraculous. They also discuss MacDonald's place in Victorian literature and the impact of his fairy tales on the religious imagination.

What or who inspired J.R.R. Tolkien as he created The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings? Most scholarship focuses on sources from the Middle Ages that inspired Tolkien's timeless tales. However, in this week's episode Dr. Holly Ordway sits down with Dr. David Downing and Laura Schmidt (Wade Archivist) to discuss the overlooked modern sources and authors who influenced Tolkien, based on her forthcoming book, Tolkien's Modern Sources: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages. If you are a Tolkien fan, you do not want to miss this episode.

Dr. K. Alan Snyder discusses why Lewis is so famous in America as well as Lewis's own thoughts about America based on the research from his new book America Discovers C.S. Lewis: His Profound Impact. Tune in as Drs. Crystal and David Downing dig into Snyder's theories about why C.S. Lewis resonates so deeply with Americans.

Dr. Stephanie L. Derrick sits down with Dr. Crystal Downing to discuss her recent book The Fame of C. S. Lewis: A Controversialist’s Reception in Britain and America. They analyze the reasons why Lewis is so much more famous and well-loved in America than in Britain. Derrick also shares some of the fascinating stories and lesser-known tales of Lewis from her research in England.

This week’s episode features an inspiring and insightful interview with Reverend Dr. Malcolm Guite about the intersection of theology, literature, and the arts. Drs. Crystal and David Downing also discuss Guite’s conversion encounter as well as the impact of Romantic poets like Shelley, Coleridge, Blake, and C.S Lewis on his spiritual journey and worldview. Malcolm is the Chaplain and a Bye-Fellow at Girton College, Cambridge. He is the author of five books of poetry, several books on Christianity and theology, and regularly performs as a singer and guitarist with the rock band “Mystery Train.”