by Steve Laube
If you want the perfect gift for the bibliophile in your life consider this new book from C. S. Lewis called Image and Imagination (under $20 in paperback). To quote the description from the Cambridge University Press site:
This selection from the writings of C. S. Lewis gathers together forty book reviews, never before reprinted, as well as four major essays which have been unavailable for many decades. A fifth essay, ‘Image and Imagination’, is published for the first time.
Included are his reviews of Tolkien’s Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
But the crowning jewel is the 20 page essay “Image and Imagination.” This unpublished piece was found handwritten in a ruled notebook used by Lewis for his early drafts. Walter Hooper, who compiled this book, suggests that the essay was originally intended for but never sent to T.S. Eliot’s journal The Criterion in 1931. It is a rather dense exploration of ideas which, like much of Lewis’ academic work, demands much concentration of the reader.
The reviews are fun, especially those of Tolkien and Dorothy Sayers. But what struck me was the incredible diversity in Lewis’ reading. It is an inspiration and a personal challenge to widen my own reading that much more.
Use this book to continue your celebration of the life and work of C.S. Lewis. While you are waiting for your copy of the book to arrive enjoy this fifteen minute video presentation from Alister McGrath called “Lewis on Reason and Imagination in Apologetics.”
[Thank you to Rebecca LuElla Miller’s blog for the tip about the video.]
