Reading, Writing, and Loving with Lewis

 . . . C. S. Lewis, that is. This may be one my longest posts, because there's a lot that can be said about Clive Staples Lewis, a man of many hats. Feel free to skip around by topic headings, or read the entire post straight through!

Why am I writing this post?

Lewis has long been one of my favorite writers, and is becoming even more of a favorite currently. If you know me in person, you know that it's almost impossible for me to decide on a favorite for anything, so Lewis is pretty significant. Because I've been easing my way into more philosophical and theological reading over the past year, plus listening to the Space Trilogy with my husband in 2023, I wanted to learn more about Clive.

Also, my friend Kristina suggested a theme of love for February posts, specifically referencing The Four Loves. Said book happened to be written by you-know-who, and as I had read it back in college my interest was piqued. Whether you've read 0 or 30 Lewis books, I believe he is well worth your time to peruse.

Why is Lewis in my top 3 favorite authors? Five characteristics come to mind:

• He has a clear writing style that I can understand and imitate. I love writing inside and outside of my day job, so this is a high priority for writers I read.
• He was a devout Christian, specifically an Anglican, so that is near to my heart since I am a new Anglican (different denomination . . . more on that in a later post.)
• His works integrate topics my husband and I are both interested in, including philosophy, languages, theology, and science.
• He is unpretentious. Intellectual humility is a must!
• He and J. R. R. Tolkien were good friends, actually co-founders of The Inklings.

What did Lewis say about reading?

According to the official C. S. Lewis website, he had a lot to say. His advice relates to (1) characteristics of good reading material, (2) one's mindset in reading, and (3) the process of reading.

Good-quality reading material, according to Lewis, is real, authentic, and generally older. The choice of "real" books, written by a single author who was personally invested in and experienced with the subject matter, is wholly compatible with Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy advising the choice of "living" books over "twaddle." The two authors were contemporaneous (Lewis 1898-1963, Mason 1842-1923). 

His rationale for advising us to choose older books, including Christian classics from authors such as Augustine, Aquinas, and Hooker, was that the longer ago a book was written, the more likely it was to be a primary source and less likely it was to need many other books for context. The Great Conversation started when thinkers started talking and writing, and continues to this day.

What about one's mindset during reading? Lewis, a committed Christian, speaks primarily to other Christians (including via thousands of pages of letters to various people), but I will sort out the pieces of advice he had for everybody versus only Christians. To everyone, he advised (1) humility, (2) positivity, and (3) curiosity. 

Humility toward the subject matter, especially as one gets more knowledgeable about it, is critically important but notoriously difficult to keep, as seen in the common Dunning-Kruger effect. A positive attitude can be restated as treating reading not as a chore but as a tasty treat. Finally, by curiosity he means that readers should have the goal of expanding themselves. He said that truly literary readers re-read carefully selected books. For Christian readers, Lewis adds that one's mindset during reading should be the same as in other parts of life - that of a converted Christian. In other words, don't compartmentalize your worldview.

Finally, what does a healthy reading process look like, according to Lewis? First, pay attention to the language the writer uses, and analyze it as you're able. Words matter! Second, if a chapter is clearly irrelevant to you, skip it without feeling guilty. (Note to self . . .) Third, when reading original sources, especially the Bible, read commentary alongside. This is because the books of Scripture were written not primarily to convert the uninitiated (although they've been used for that ever since) but mainly to instruct those who had already learned something about the faith and had converted to the faith without fully understanding.

On this last point, I couldn't help but think of Old Testament scholar John Walton's often-used phrase describing Scripture as written "for us, but not to us." All this means is that we, living now, are not the primary intended audience of any part of Scripture, so in order to discern how the text may apply to our situations today, we must consider the historical context of the human authors inspired by God.

What did Lewis say about writing?

C. S. Lewis had almost as much valuable advice for would-be writers as for would-be readers (information is from The Gospel Coalition). These relate, as well, to characteristics of writing material, one's mindset, and the process of writing.

What should one write about? Ideally, what one is interested in. Sometimes, though, uninteresting topics can't be avoided. Lewis also recommends saving old fragments of your own writing for potential later use, unless they're hopelessly horrible. For me, this brings to mind a paper I wrote in freshman or sophomore year of college, that the professor told me to publish but I never did. Maybe someday . . . although it has no relationship to my current day job. We'll see.

On mindset, not surprisingly, Lewis says to prepare to write by reading a lot, specifically good books. See the previous section for what he classifies as "good" reading. Christians writing should make their writing reflect Christian teachings, implicitly if not explicitly.

On process, he has many different tips that work together toward the common goal of clarity for the reader. Throughout, he advises a minimal-distraction environment and the choice of handwriting over typing (this is backed by ongoing research).

When you are choosing words, use a word only if you know its meaning. Prefer simple, appropriate words to complex ones. Instead of relying on adjectives, use nouns and verbs to describe so that the reader's mind thinks of the adjectives you were trying to convey. Use words and sentences with only one possible meaning.

When you are crafting sentences, make sure the language sounds good (versus just looking good). Imagine that someone is reading it aloud. (On an educational note, check out the oral-language chapter in Your Child's Growing Mind by psychologist Jane Healy.) Also, be as clear to the reader as humanly possible. This often means revisions upon revisions, and pilot testing (beta readers). Written language is the only means available to your mind to communicate to the reader's mind. Lewis's analogy is to think of one's writing as closing off all doors except the one the reader should go through.

How was Lewis inspired to write?

The Lion's Call blog lists several people who had a marked influence on getting Lewis to start writing, keep writing, and write about what he did.

1. Edith Nesbit - Lewis imitated her style in a fictional trilogy.
2. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien - influential not only in Lewis's conversion from atheism to Christianity, but also as a co-founder of The Inklings, a literary discussion group at Oxford.
3. George MacDonald - Lewis quoted frequently from his writings.
4. Florence Lewis - Lewis's mother, who died from cancer when he was 10 years old.
5. Robert Capron - an abusive schoolmaster at a boarding school Lewis went to (and who served as the likely inspiration for one of the characters in The Chronicles of Narnia).
6. Maud Barfield - the wife of a close friend.

What did Lewis write about love?

Information for this section comes from the C. S. Lewis official site and the C. S. Lewis Institute for apologetics. The "things" he actually wrote on this topic were one radio show (the only surviving audio we have of him), his book The Four Loves, and a letter he wrote in 1954.

In The Four Loves, Lewis expands on the concept of love based on the existence of four commonly used Greek words for "love." These are storge (familial affection), philia (friendship), eros (erotic, between romantic partners), and agape (literally "charity"). In all types of love, the concept of action is communicated--rather than just feelings--and this action involves taking a risk to make oneself vulnerable to the possibility of the other person rejecting or injuring us.

On agape love specifically, he writes that it is first commanded and exemplified by God. Therefore, loving God is a prerequisite for loving others, and it's impossible to love God "too much" or more than He loves us. According to Augustine, agape is a proper, never-inappropriate, kind of love. It sacrifices itself for someone else. The most natural context for this kind of love, besides between each Christian and God, is marriage.

Hopefully, by now your interest in "Jack" Lewis has increased. So . . .

What should I read by C. S. Lewis?

This author truly has something for (almost) everybody. I thought I knew, before writing this post, that I had a good handle on what he wrote. As it turns out, I was missing a good chunk of his works (books in order listed here, and an analysis of his letter writing here).

• Letters? He wrote around 3,700 pages in total, mostly answering questions that Christians wrote to him. He wrote most of the letters in the 1940s, increasing the length and number of letters as the years went by, particularly when he was associated with Oxford University.
• Poetry? We have 3 collections published to date.
• Novels? Besides The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy, he wrote at least 5-10 additional fiction novels that convey a distinctively Christian worldview in a literary way.
• Nonfiction? There are at least 20 books in this arena, including The Four Loves and God in the Dock (an essay collection that fits together as well as a typical book).
• Academic works? There are 8 that I know of. I haven't read any yet, so can't offer an opinion.

Based on this, I have unofficial recommendations for the best Lewis works for all ages.

• Read aloud to elementary school-aged children: Chronicles of Narnia and World of Narnia
• Have older children read independently those same books
• High school age: nonfiction books
• Adult: academic books, Cosmic Trilogy (I think I read Perelandra too early, because I remember it scaring me as a high schooler or thereabouts)

I hope you've enjoyed reading this post as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Now go and enjoy a good book.