12 Comments

Dude, read the novels if you haven’t, they’re amazing. Recognizably from the same planet as Lewis and Tolkien but not really the same continent or, like, sanity waterline. War in Heaven, Greater Trumps, Place of the Lion, All Hallow’s Eve all good bets, save Descent Into Hell for when you’re into it, the only one to avoid is Shadows of Ecstasy which is impossible to find anyway, I hunted down a copy eventually but it’s pretty unreadable. It’s also very worth paging through Poetic Diction if you’re that sort of language person.

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Oct 22, 2022Liked by Ozy Brennan

Poetic Diction is NOT Williams. Poetic Diction is Owen Barfield. Different Inkling entirely and probably on his way from the grave to kill me.

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Also, is your username a Busman's Honeymoon reference? :)

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If you're read That Hideous Strength, it's very clear that Lewis was doing his best Williams impression in that, just as in Perelandra he was doing his best Tolkien impression, and in Out of the Silent Planet he was doing his best Asimov/Burroughs mashup. I love The Place of the Lion, which is doing very much the same basic thing as Anathem, but from a magical perspective rather than a science fictional one.

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Seconding @Shabby here. The novels are bonkers, in a good(?) way. Also they're all available at cwlibrary.com now!

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Apr 21·edited Apr 21

This is an excellent post! You really capture the atmosphere and include important details. There are many small inaccuracies, however--and as CW liked to say, Hell is inaccurate! :) Would it be helpful if I went through and corrected them?

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I got chills when you mentioned Substitution and realized it's in Till we Have Faces.

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Based Tolkien as usual. Do Barfield next. Terrible writer but w/ good ideas

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Really?

I only read his Orpheus, and found it pretty good

https://www.owenbarfield.org/read-online/orpheus/

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I read a little poetic diction and it let me down. I like the idea though

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I assume that date at the end is supposed to be “May 15, 1945”.

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author

Facepalm.

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