“You can’t get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” (C.S. Lewis)

“How these old words smite one out of the dark antiquity!” (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Welcome!

The Library of Tolkien and Lewis is devoted to exploring the books and poems and stories that inspired and influenced J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and to seeking out the wisdom — and delight — offered by this literature. From The Iliad to the novels of Jane Austen, from the poems of the Norse Edda to the sonnets of Sir Philip Sidney and more, there’s a wealth of literary riches to dive into.

Why Tolkien and Lewis?

Many (myself included) have found Tolkien and Lewis’ writings, both fiction and nonfiction, to speak in an unusually clear and profound manner to a whole host of topics: literature, philosophy and theology; history and contemporary events; nature, art, and beauty; what it means to live a true and humane life; and more. Their writings explore questions that are vital in any age, but which perhaps some ages — such as our own — find especially pressing. What is the power of myth, or of a great story? What makes good “good” and evil “evil”? What is the relationship between art and nature and the worship of God? Why does beauty fill us with longing? (And what are we longing for?)

About Me

I hold a B.A. in English Literature and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Medieval Studies. I’m also a longtime reader — and lover — of the works of Lewis and Tolkien (starting, as for so many others, with The Chronicles of Narnia in childhood). I’ve always taken a special pleasure in the way my vocation has involved studying and teaching — and taking true delight in — the literature and languages and academic disciplines that so preoccupied Tolkien and Lewis: Norse mythology and Arthurian legend, the allegories of The Faerie Queene, Medieval Welsh, Old and Middle English, Germanic and Celtic philology, Romantic poetry, etc.

(A beloved former professor once told me “I realized when I was a student that I could spend the rest of my life reading this literature, and teaching it to others.” I know just what he meant.)

I also share a faith with Tolkien and Lewis: like them, I am a Christian, and this is another area where I have taken a special pleasure in shadowing their footsteps. I don’t agree with them on every theological (or literary!) topic, but there are no other authors from whom I have derived so much wisdom and guidance as these two.

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