In his preface to “The Screwtape Letters”, C.S. Lewis wrote that, ideally, there should ideally be an angelic counterpart to Screwtape’s advice. In today’s episode we talk with Dr. Charlie Starr about Lewis’ only surviving attempt to do just that! We also talk about movies, books, and C.S. Lewis’ handwriting.
S4E49: “After Hours” with Dr. Charlie Starr (Download)
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Show Notes
Biographical Information
Dr. Charlie W. Starr is an Associate Professor of English at Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia.
He teaches, writes and lectures on Classic and American literature, film, theology, and on the works of C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Dr. Starr has published numerous scholarly essays, over a hundred popular articles, a dozen chapters for book anthologies, and seven books (fiction, non-fiction and scholarly) including his The Faun’s Bookshelf: C. S. Lewis on Why Myth Matters and Light: C. S. Lewis’s First and Final Short Story. He has published over a dozen never-before seen C. S. Lewis manuscripts and has been hailed as the world’s leading expert on C. S. Lewis’s handwriting.
Biographical information for Dr. Charlie Starr
Quote-of-the-week
- There was no question as to what the quote-of-the-week was going to be…
Ideally, Screwtape’s advice to Wormwood should have been balanced by archangelical advice to the patient’s guardian angel. Without this the picture of human life is lopsided. But who could supply the deficiency? Even if a man—and he would have to be a far better man than I—could scale the spiritual heights required, what answerable style could he use? For the style would really be part of the content. Mere advice would be no good; every sentence would have to smell of Heaven.
C.S. Lewis, Preface to The Screwtape Letters (1961)
Drink-of-the-week
- The next thing is our drink-of-the-week, which today is Chrysanthemum tea. This is always my go to whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant – it doesn’t become bitter like Jasmine tea does when it’s over-steeped. Dr. Starr was drinking Green Tea.
- We don’t have a new Patreon supporter to toast today, so instead we’ll toast our guardian angels…
Discussion
Background
- Dr. Starr, to begin with could you tell us a little bit more about yourself, your interest in Lewis and your career?
- You’re known as an expert in C.S. Lewis’ handwriting. How does one become an expert in that?
Screwtape & The Archangel Fragment
- How did your work turn to Screwtape and can you tell us the story of what has become known as the Archangel Fragment?
- How is it that new works and fragments are still discovered?
Light and other books
- There were three other topics I wanted to talk to you about today. The first was your book, Light: C.S. Lewis’s First and Final Short Story. What is this story about and why is it Lewis’ first and last?
- You’ve also written another book, The Faun’s Bookshelf: C. S. Lewis on Why Myth Matters. What was that about?
- Dr. Starr appeared on Mythic Mission, the podcast of another former guest of the show, Michael Jahosky:
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