Paper Session 2-A: Much Ado about Lewis

Dating Lewis\u27s Undated Poetry - Charlie W. Starr At the last Taylor conference I presented a plenary lecture on the analysis I have made of C. S. Lewis\u27s handwriting. Charting changes in Lewis\u27s handwriting has made it possible for me to date never before dated manuscripts (including the Summa at Taylor). Since that presentation I have continued the work most notably dating every undated manuscripts in the Wade Center collection (150 mss). Recently I worked with Don King who had just published the first complete (or near so) collection of Lewis\u27s poetry (The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis: A Critical Edition). After the book\u27s release I realized that King, the leading expert on Lewis\u27s poetry, was unable to date almost 40 of Lewis\u27s poems. I contacted Don and, together, using his expertise and my Lewis handwriting analysis chart (LHC), we were able to date almost all of the undated poems (and re-date some poems which King mis-dated). In this paper, I will present our findings, paying special attention to the poems Lewis wrote just after his theistic conversion in 1930. We now know that, though he considered himself a failed poet, Lewis\u27s immediate response to his belief in God with a pouring our of poetry. Friends at Home: C. S. Lewis\u27s Social Relations at The Kilns - David Backmann In this paper, I propose to tell the story of Jack\u27s friendship with the various people who lived at The Kilns, from the purchase of the house in 1930 until his death in 1963. The history of the society at The Kilns can be broken up into eras: the 1930\u27s, the war years with Maureen and Warnie away and the evacuees in residence, the 1950\u27s, which saw the loss of Mrs. Moore and the arrival of Joy, and sadly, the last few years of Jack\u27s life in the 1960\u27s. I hope to include information on the initially delicate situation of Warnie\u27s joining the Kilns household after his retirement, their shared experiences there,m and on Jack\u27s kindness and enjoyment of the evacuees - interesting information for the Narnia fans. As time allows, other anecdotes about society at The Kilns will be added. You will want to know that I am a former Warden of The Kilns (2014-2015). Other personal information: http://thebeckmannblog.blogspot.com/p/revd-beckmanns-curriculum-vitae.html The Perils, Pitfalls, and Pleasures of Writing a New Biography of Lewis - Devin Brown In the fall of 2013, I published A Life Observed, a new biography of C. S. Lewis. While it has been well received and features a generous Foreword from Douglas Gresham, the various steps in its creation were not always easy or anticipated. In this talk I will tell the untold story of how I wrote my biography of Lewis and will offer insights and advice to anyone hoping to write a book of their own