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CS Lewis: Fact And Fantasy
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CS Lewis is a household name and regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20
th century. He is the author of more than 30 books, from the much-loved Chronicles of Narnia series to the influential “Screwtape Letters” (1942) and “Mere Christianity” (1952).
His books can still be found on my family’s bookshelves, but what do we actually know of the writer and theologian outside of Narnia?
Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast on November 29, 1898. It was in December 1916 he received a scholarship to University College, Oxford. The following year, during the Great War, he served with the Somerset Light Infantry.
Houghton Library is known for its holdings of papers of 19th-century American writers, and many would say that the jewel in that crown is the Emily Dickinson Collection, the largest collection of the poet’s autograph poems and letters in the world. Every year the library throws a birthday party for Emily, featuring her famous 20-lb black cake, the autograph recipe of which can be found in the collection.
Sadly, we cannot gather in person this year to party and eat cake, so this fall we encouraged intrepid bakers and Dickinson fans from around the world to join us, together at home, in baking her black cake. Our collective efforts will culminate in a live Zoom birthday party on the 10th. (You don’t have to bake the cake to attend, but you still have time to try it if you want!) We’ll be joined by a distinguished roster of poets, food writers, librarians, scholars, students, and literati who will read their favorite Dickinson poems, share what the poet means to them, and gener