It should have been front page news, or at least worthy of a front page teaser: “Beloved author C.S. Lewis dies, details inside.” Today we might imagine that it was on the evening news, that newspapers around the world devoted a page to his life, and that fans around the world acknowledged the loss. But actually, it was barely mentioned, and most people took no notice.
It wasn’t because the media didn’t recognize his importance, or because people weren’t interested in him; it was because most people were distracted.
C.S. Lewis died, of all days, on November 22, 1963 – exactly fifty years ago today. Unfortunately, someone else died the same day. As the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy’s death was certainly more important historically. It was more shocking. It was more newsworthy. Indeed it was the news story of all news stories, and even today – especially today – people talk about where they were when they found out about it. (In fact, I just posted a video of my dad recounting what it was like to meet Kennedy and subsequently learn of his death.)
But let us not, whatever else happened fifty years ago, forget about C.S. Lewis. To me, the Inklings are the literary equivalent of the Beatles. They dismissed the stigma of their genre and encouraged each other to put together great works of art that are as imaginative, fresh, and exciting today as when they were written so many years ago. As a fan, it’s difficult to conceive of the void that would exist had they never filled it.
In a lot of ways, Lewis and Tolkien are the yin and yang of fantasy. Lewis liked to write quickly, allegorically, and did not like to edit his manuscripts. Tolkien, on the other hand, wrote slowly, methodically, and did as much editing as writing. And so it was that Lewis wrote all seven Narnia books inside of six years whereas Tolkien spent a whole decade and beyond working on The Lord of the Rings. The two sets of books are two different types of fantasy, but just as Star Trek and Star Wars can coexist, so can these great works of literature, each balancing out each other’s charm. The same can be said for Lewis and Tolkien, two great friends that were so different, yet so connected.
Today let’s remember C.S. Lewis and celebrate his life. He remains a great friend to many a reader, even fifty years after his passing, and his stories will continue to delight children for the next fifty years and beyond.
“I am sorry that I have not answered your letters sooner; but Jack Lewis’s death on the 22nd has preoccupied me. It is also involving me in some correspondence, as many people still regard me as one of his intimates. Alas! that ceased to be so some ten years ago. We were separated first by the sudden apparition of Charles Williams, and then by his marriage. Of which he never even told me; I learned of it long after the event. But we owed each a great debt to the other, and that tie with the deep affection that it begot, remains.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
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What’s a Tolkien fan to do when the extended cut of There and Back Again has come and gone after the holiday season of 2014? With the rights for his other books held by the Tolkien Estate,
it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing further adaptations anytime soon. But over the past couple of days, we’ve been hearing rumblings of a new project in the works that will take a look at the Professor’s life – focusing on his time in college and in the Great War, as well as how his works were influenced by those experiences. Continue reading “J.R.R. Tolkien biopic in the works!”
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Richard Armitage took time in October to sit down with Move Magazine‘s Elle Morris as part of the press junket for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. They talked about starting up a Thorin cocktail competition, what it’s like for him to live in the Big Apple, and a variety of other topics. Continue reading “Richard Armitage Talks with Moves Magazine”
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For a time in 1918, a cottage at Gypsy Green on the Teddesley Park Estate was home to J.R.R. Tolkien and his family, when the young officer was posted in Staffordshire. Now, nearly 100 years later, a local library is celebrating the area’s ties to the renowned author.
Hobbit Festival Family Fun Day will be held this Saturday, November 16, 2013 in Penkridge, Staffordshire, UK from 10 A.M. until 4 P.M at Penkridge Library. Admission for the event is free, along with many fun activities. Only face painting will cost a small charge. Continue reading “Celebrate ‘Hobbit Festival Family Fun Day’ in the (Stafford) Shire!”
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Middle-earth’s Diner is back! Denny’s new Hobbit menu is available in their restaurants from today. Judging by all the preparation and hard work Denny’s have been putting in over the past months, and to which we at TheOneRing.net have been privy, this should be a fun and tempting menu! In their official press release, Denny’s say:
“The quest for Middle-earth inspired adventure begins today at Denny’s, as America’s Diner celebrates the long-awaited release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM). A bold new menu features seven authentic dishes inspired by The Hobbit films, and a bounty of exclusive movie content available only in-restaurant …
“We’re thrilled to bring the taste of Middle-earth back to America’s Diner,” said John Dillon, vice president of marketing for Denny’s. “Last year’s menu attracted both Denny’s guests and fans alike with a combination of movie-inspired elements and traditional holiday flavors. This year we’re elevating the experience with the introduction of adventurous new flavors, exciting exclusive content and once-in-a-lifetime prizes, taking our guests on a truly authentic dining journey.”
Continue reading “Denny’s new Hobbit menu available from today!”
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The CBC radio show Ideas ran this interesting two part series on C.S Lewis and the Inklings.
In the first podcast Frank Faulk explores the early life of C.S. Lewis, and the experiences that would shape him on his journey to becoming one of the 20th century’s greatest thinkers and writers on Christianity. In part two Faulk looks at C.S. Lewis’s conversion from atheism to Christianity, and his deep friendship with Tolkien, Barfield and Williams.
You can download Part One and Part Two here.
A big thank you to Ringer weaver for sending us the podcast.
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