Scott Freeman

The first two published works of C.S. Lewis were poems. Spirits in Bondage was published in 1919 when Lewis was 21 years old. Dymer followed 7 years later.

These are the only two works of his before his conversion so they offer somewhat of a different glimpse of the great writer who would emerge in the coming decades.

Reading these works, although both of them were relatively brief, was a chore for me for two reasons:

1) I don’t enjoy poetry. Before you think me a complete and totally uncultured cad you must understand the second reason:

2) I don’t get poetry. The skills required to truly enjoy poetry: reading slowly, savoring each line, focusing on the power of individual phrases over and apart from the whole are lost on me.

So, while I didn’t really enjoy either of these works, I must acknowledge that may be due to my own professed lack of appreciation for the genre. Again, both of these titles are brief and can be read in about an hour. I’ll refrain from giving a grade on both of these.

Spirits in Bondage

Lewis’ first work is the only one that has passed into the Public Domain. You can read it online for free here. I encourage you to read it and share your thoughts.

It is a cycle of lyrical poetry that is divided into three parts: The Prison House, Hesitation, and The Escape.

Lewis’ reaction to his service in WWI and his hatred of the boarding school experiences of his youth obviously color his writing.

In French Nocturne he refers to sacked villages and buzzing planes.

Satan features prominently in The Prison House:

I am the flower and the dewdrop fresh,
I am the lust in your itching flesh.

I am the battle’s filth and strain,
I am the widow’s empty pain.

I am the sea to smother your breath,
I am the bomb, the falling death.

What I see as a constant throughout this work is his own agnosticism. God is distant and uncaring to the young Lewis:

Yet I will not bow down to thee nor love thee,
For looking in my own heart I can prove thee,
And know this frail, bruised being is above thee.

Our love, our hope, our thirsting for the right,
Our mercy and long seeking of the light,
Shall we change these for thy relentless might?

Laugh then and slay. Shatter all things of worth,
Heap torment still on torment for thy mirth–
Thou art not Lord while there are Men on earth.

But, ultimately, I see a searching for Truth in the words of this poem: “Who shall be our prophets then?” But at this stage in his life there is no true answer.

Spirits in Bondage shows the depth of his intellect but doesn’t display the depth of wisdom that would come in later years. Then again wisdom is not a common commodity for a 21 year old.

Dymer

Dymer would come along 7 years later, although it was probably completed some time prior to 1926.

I found it to be overwhelmingly bleak, which might give us insight to the depth of Lewis’ spiritual crisis at this point in his life. It is a tale, in Lewis’ words, “of a man who, on some mysterious bride, begets a monster: which monster, as soon as it has killed its father, becomes a god.”

For those familiar with Plato the narrative will seem familiar. Upon escaping from the totalitarian “perfect world” Dymer is able to see more clearly. However, he will soon find that not only is totalitarianism not an ideal environment, anarchism is equally flawed.

Set free from the restrictive totalitarian state upon killing his teacher, Dymer finds a banquet and feeds his lust. His desires are acknowledged and answered through abundance and sex.
But that is fleeting. And self-love, the Occult, and other avenues of fulfillment come up wanting.

Without spoiling the ending, Dymer realizes that his desires have produced severe consequences. The ending is bleak and devoid of hope and, ultimately, is a mess. We have little inkling here of the writer Lewis would become.

Up Next: The Pilgrim’s Regress

Wow. I don’t always agree with Piper. But this is great stuff. Take 3 minutes and watch this smack-down of “Health and Wealth”

This is my first time to try to do a video. Still trying to figure it all out. Forgive the song. It was the only CD I had lying around.

Since we have passed the midway mark of this year I thought it an apropos time to look back at the best the music world has had to offer through June.
Understand that this list is not static and is likely to change considerably as the year progresses. At this point last year, The Dixie Chicks held my spot for best album. By the end of the year they had fallen to number 9.

Because I’m a YouTube junkie, I’ll give you pertinent videos as well.

10. The Twilight Sad–Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters: These Scottish rockers create an aural masterpiece that harkens back to the Wall of Sound era. These songs are in no way upbeat but they possess a beauty that is able to contain but somber and melancholy lyrics alongside a near symphonic sound. The Scottish brogue may be off-putting for some but, to me, it stands up well as a bridge between the downcast and the upbeat.
Here is a link to an MP3 of the opening track Cold Days From The Birdhouse.

9. Storyhill–Storyhill: This singer-songwriter duo from Montana are all about majestic harmonies and simple tunes. They have the bearing, lyricism and soaring melodies that hints of a modern day Simon and Garfunkel. This is a song they wrote for one of their weddings. It’s called “Highlight” and is my favorite cut on the album:

8. Susan Werner–The Gospel Truth: Werner calls this an “agnostic gospel” album. But what you will find is an album of great faith. This is one of a small influx of more progressive Christian recordings a la Derek Webb that is slowly coming into its own. From the hilarious “Our Father” to the foot-stomping inclusion anthem that is “I Will Have My Portion” Werner continues to demonstrate that she is a tremendous lyricist and a voice that needs to be heard. Here is “I Will Have My Portion”

7. Sinead O’Connor–Theology: If you had told me that I would ever include an O’Connor album in my “best of” anything, I would have laughed at you. But this two-disc set is a revelation and further evidence of the gathering storm of an alternative to CCM. Broken into two different sessions, The Dublin recordings are stark and introspective. The London recordings are largely the same tunes with a full band backing. The difference is between prayer and celebration. Meditation and praise. And her voice beautifully centers the entire project. Here is Something Beautiful:

6. Bright Eyes–Cassadega: Yeah, Conor Oberst is cocky and smug. But he makes a great album. It opts for more cryptic and less heavy-handed political ruminations than some of their previous outings. And that makes for a more enjoyable, diverse collection of tunes. Here is the great “Four Winds”

5. Patty Griffin–Children Running Through: If you have never heard Patty Griffin then you are missing out on one of the great unsung voices in music today. She is an accomplished lyricist, tremendous guitarist. And that voice! Oh, that voice. She can shift from one musical genre to another without breaking a sweat. And this may be her best album yet. Interesting tidbit: when Kelly Clarkson performed on the Idol Gives Back show she chose the Martin Luther King tribute “Up The Mountain” from this album. Here is “No Bad News”

4. Brandi Carlile–The Story: The problem here is how to adequately describe the power and dramatic flair that comes through in Carlile’s vocal. It would be a grave disservice to merely dismiss her as another angst-y female vocalist. She has a range that can transform a song from a maudlin ballad to a roots rocker in one beat. You may remember this song if you watch Grey’s Anatomy. “The Story”

3. Mavis Staples–We’ll Never Turn Back: I’ve had a difficult time not listening to this disc over the last two weeks. Take the greatest songs from the Civil Rights Era, sung by one of the greatest living voices of the Blues and update it for a contemporary audience with the guitar licks of a living legend and you get this collection. Check out this scorching version of “99 & 1/2.” “My God is a freedom God”

2. The Avett Brothers–Emotionalism: If the Beatles did bluegrass it might sound like this. Any other year and this would be my #1 album. Stellar harmonies, clever lyrics, multiple styles converging to produce a pop confection are reasons enough to put this at the top of any list. Here is my favorite track, “Shame”

1. Michael McDermott–Noise From Words: At this point I don’t know what more I can say. It’s not hyperbole to say that this is greatest songwriter of my generation. And this is his best outing since his 1996 self-titled album. It is a crime of the highest order that he is not a house hold name. No song-writer has ever touched me lyrically like Michael has. If you buy any album this year, get this one. Here is the debut video, “Mess of Things”

Honorable Mentions
Todd Snider–Peace, Love and Anarchy
Mary Chapin Carpenter–The Calling
Bon Jovi–Lost Highway
Kelly Clarkson–My December (Note: I love Kelly Clarkson and I really want to love this album. So far, I just can’t.)
Maria McKee–Late December
Lucy Kaplansky–Over The Hills
Of Montreal–Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Son Volt–The Search?

What has been your favorite of the year?

I had originally intended for this summer to be an exercise in reading fiction. Yet the further I went into the process the more I began to long for something a little more specific.

I view life and approach things through series. I read, watch TV and movies, preach and teach systematically and orderly. I like a clear progression. So, I thought I would try to read all the Pulitzer prize winners for Fiction. But, honestly, some of those titles don’t appeal to me in the least. I was more interested in the Booker Prize winners but decided against that one as well.

I decided that I would like to read through an author from beginning to end. To walk with a singular voice through the development of his thought.

So I began to consider just who I should read. I thought of Barth and Yoder. Of Yancey and Tozer. Of Hauerwas and Wright.

But who better to begin a journey like this than C.S. Lewis? His work is as relevant today as it was at the time of publication. By working through Lewis I will get a sampling of fiction and non-fiction, allegory and poetry. And I can walk through the thought progression of a complex individual.

So, I began the process of assembling the works of C.S. Lewis. Some will be harder to track down than others. I will read them in order of publication. I will re-read, in the correct order, the many works of his that I have already consumed. I will read the 37 works that were released prior to his death and the 22 works released posthumously. I will blog about each of these books as I work through them inviting you to come along with me.

I have no time-table for this. It could take a couple of months. It could take a couple of years. The one requirement I have is just to enjoy the writings of this great thinker.

C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 and died exactly one week short of his 65th birthday. The date of his death was overshadowed in America by the assassination of JFK which took place on the same day. Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, died the same day as well.

Later this week, I will talk about Spirits in Bondage: A Cycle of Lyrics and Dymer. These poems were his two first published works and the only ones to be published before he became a Christian.

Question for you: What are your favorite Lewis works? Why?