John Granger: Unlocking Harry Potter, The Deathly Hallows Lectures, The Hidden Key to Harry Potter
John has spoken about the meaning of the Potter books in settings as diverse as your local Barnes and Noble bookstore, an elite secondary school and church community in Houston, and an academic ‘fan-cons’ about Harry at Disney World in Florida and in Los Vegas. His talk on ‘Alchemy in English Literature’ at Nimbus 2003 was voted best presentation of the 67 academic papers and boards given during the four day conference and was published in the November, 2003, issue of Touchstone magazine as The Alchemist’s Tale. Among 190 “spin-off” books on Harry Potter, Unlocking Harry Potter was highlighted in the May 10, 2007 issue of The Wall Street Journal.
Various groups want John to speak both because of what he has to say and how he says it. His expertise in traditional literature and the Harry Potter books allows him to speak at depth about the meaning of the books and Potter mania. His charity and wit makes his common sense observations as engaging as they are challenging and stimulating. In the summer of 2007 John was a featured speaker in conventions in Philadelphia, Toronto, and London, and in 2008, a featured speaker in Ottawa.
Roderick McGillis: George MacDonald: Literary Heritage and Heirs (editor)
It has been 15 years since Roderick McGillis edited For the Childlike, a landmark collection of essays about George MacDonald’s writings. This latest collection of 14 essays sets a new standard that will influence scholars for many more years. George MacDonald experts are increasingly evaluating his entire corpus within the nineteenth century context. This volume provides further evidence that MacDonald will eventually emerge from the restrictive and somewhat misleading reputation of being C.S. Lewis’ spiritual “master.”
Betty Aberlin: The White Page Poems (with Diary of an Old Soul, by George MacDonald)
Betty Aberlin, a native New Yorker of Russian-Jewish ancestry, raised in post-Holocaust orthodox atheism and nurtured in the arts, responded to MacDonald’s invitation with daily poems of her own. Following the strict poetic form of The Diary of an Old Soul was an illuminating experience. In her own 7-line, 3-rhyme, 10-syllable pattern, Aberlin creates a unique mixture of recurring themes and images. Her vision is fresh and honest, revealing a keen observation of nature and human nature - from the exhilarations of faith, hope and love to the despairs of war, rejection and failure. Here is a contemporary poetic voice who opens additional paths into spiritual reflection.
Betty’s acting life has included musical theater, television and film.
James Como: Why I Believe in Narnia
James Como holds the PhD from Columbia University and is professor of rhetoric and public communications at York College (CUNY). In 1968 he founded the Speech and Theatrical disciplines there, and in 1969 was a founding member of the New York C.S. Lewis Society. His books (Remembering C.S. Lewis and Branches to Heaven: The Geniuses of C.S. Lewis), articles, radio interviews, television appearances, and lectures here and abroad are widely known.
George MacDonald: Diary of an Old Soul and His Complete Works in Ever Yours
George MacDonald (1824-1905) is best known for his wonder-stories and fantasy-romances, but he also wrote novels, sermons, poetry and literary criticism. Born in Scotland, he graduated from King’s College, Aberdeen with a degree in chemistry and later moved to England to earn a degree in theology. After a few years as a Congregationalist minister, MacDonald became a full-time writer and lecturer in 1853. Admirers and literary benefactors include G. K. Chesterton, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.
MacDonald generally worked on three or four books at a time, producing about fifty books in a forty-year period. This CD contains his complete works, plus Louisa MacDonald’s stage adaptation of Pilgrim’s Progress II. The works are arranged chronologically, partly to invite comparisons between the books written close to one another and also to give a perspective of his unfading genius. From Phantastes, a Faerie Romance in 1858, to his crowning achievement, Lilith, a Romance in 1895, MacDonald’s faith and imagination remained strong. A handful of his writings are considered masterpieces and classics, but all his books convey a unique and consistent vision of the harmony of creation and the love of the Creator.
Free Article: George MacDonald: Merging Myth and Method (pdf). The Journal for George MacDonald Studies, Northwind, called this article “an excellent introduction to MacDonald for the genuinely interested reader containing by far the best brief critical overview of MacDonald scholarship yet published.”
Adam Barkman: C.S. Lewis & Philosophy as a Way of Life
John Morrison, To Love Another Person (forthcoming)
Michael Travers, C.S. Lewis: Views from Wake Forest (Ed.)
