2008 Frances White Ewbank Colloquium on C.S. Lewis & Friends
Even when crouching in the basement laundry room in their pajamas during a tornado warning, the participants of the 2008 France White Ewbank Colloquium on C.S. Lewis & Friends were enjoying each other's company. More than 75 friends of Lewis, MacDonald, Sayers, Williams, Tolkien, and Chesterton gathered on the campus of Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, on May 29th to hear special speakers, present papers (seven on George MacDonald), discuss the new "Prince Caspian" movie, eat together, walk by the lake, and meet new friends. Don King of Montreat College spoke on the collected letters of Joy Davidman and gave us new insights into her character. We experienced the music that Tolkien's poetry has inspired - from Enya to Led Zeppelin. "The Sacrament of the Stranger in Lewis, Tolkien, and MacDonald" was explored and explained by Kerry Dearborn of Seattle Pacific University. We enjoyed a beautiful photographic essay of Lewis's life by Larry E. Fink. Four authors of new books on Lewis & Friends discussed writing and publishing (Kerry Dearborn, Don King, Michael Ward, and Miho Yamaguchi). Gilbert Meilaender of Valparaiso University spoke on Lewis and morality. We were moved by a Readers Theatre presentation of "Pilgrim's Progress" interspersed with Rachel Johnson's narrative of how the George MacDonald family performed the play and how it came to influence and indeed, reflect their lives. Rachel brought with her one of the actual curtains used by the MacDonald's as a backdrop and all enjoyed the display of MacDonald family photographs that the Brown Collection at Taylor University holds. The 7th Ewbank Colloquium on Lewis & Friends is planned for June 3-6, 2010. We hope that you will consider joining us in 2010 as we look forward to learning more from and about these authors and making new friends!
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
- Gilbert Meilaender
- Don King
- Kerry Dearborn
Schedule for the 2008 Colloquium
Inklings Forever Vol VI
