This book is about philosophical influence on theological articulations. Specifically, Latta claims that C.S. Lewis, T.S. Eliot, and W.H. Auden’s post-conversion works that have time as a theological theme cannot be completely understood without knowledge of the philosophy of Henri Bergson.

When the Eternal Can Be Met: The Bergsonian Theology of Time in the Works of C.S. Lewis, T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden

Literature & Fiction

Latta, Corey

History & Criticism

Lutterworth Press

C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing is written for readers interested in C. S. Lewis, the writing life, and in becoming better writers. Lewis stands as one of the most prolific and influential writers in modern history. His life in letters offers writers invaluable encouragement and instruction in the writing craft. In Lewis, writers don't just learn how to write, they also learn something about how to live. This volume explores Lewis's life in, as well as his practice of, writing. From his avid reading life, to his adolescent dreams to be a great poet, through his creative failures, to his brilliant successes, to his constant encouragement of other writers, C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing celebrates one of the twentieth-century's greatest authors.

C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing: What the Essayist, Poet, Novelist, Literary Critic, Apologist, Memoirist, Theologian Teaches Us about the Life and Craft of Writing

Religion & Spirituality

Wipf and Stock Publishers

C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing is written for readers interested in C. S. Lewis, the writing life, and in becoming better writers. Lewis stands as one of the most prolific and influential writers in modern history. His life in letters offers writers invaluable encouragement and instruction in the writing craft. In Lewis, writers don't just learn how to write, they also learn something about how to live. This volume explores Lewis's life in, as well as his practice of, writing. From his avid reading life, to his adolescent dreams to be a great poet, through his creative failures, to his brilliant successes, to his constant encouragement of other writers, C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing celebrates one of the twentieth-century's greatest authors. ""Corey Latta has accomplished a rare feat, penning an engaging and exquisite treatment of C. S. Lewis as a voracious reader and writer's writer. It will be relished and savored by Lewis aficionados, and take readers of every sort on a fascinating guided tour of Lewis's literary adventures with an assortment of disparate scenic stops along the way. A book worthy of the subject, it's a fitting tribute to Lewis, often haunting in its beauty and perspicacity, on occasion downright stirring. It shows the indissoluble link between Lewis's prescient and prodigious writing and his wide reading, features a treasure trove of eminently practical advice for the aspiring writer, and fills readers with a poignant sense of the nobility of the writing vocation."" --David Baggett, author (with Jerry Walls) of Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality (2011) and God and Cosmos: Moral Truth and Human Meaning (2016). ""Most interpreters attribute C. S. Lewis's literary success to his content, his brilliant insights, and his vivid imagery. But Corey Latta offers a fresh approach, inviting readers to examine Lewis's style--what Lewis learned from his own reading of great authors, what he observed about his own writing process, and what advice he offered to apprentice writers. Latta shows that Lewis's eminence derives as much from his manner of writing as from his matter, how he learned to embody the classical definition of rhetoric, 'a good man speaking well.'"" --David C. Downing, R. W. Schlosser Professor of English, Elizabethtown College; Author of several award-winning books on C. S. Lewis, including Planets in Peril and The Most Reluctant Convert ""C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing is an enjoyable and instructive treatise on all things writing-related. By uniquely centering the discussion on one of contemporary Christianity's finest writers, clearest thinkers, and staunchest defenders, this handbook guides readers toward writing improvement, encouraging spiritual reflection and edification along the way. With his own lively style and passionate commitment to truth and beauty, Latta serves as both navigator for readers on this educational journey and model of its result."" --Marybeth Baggett, Associate Professor of English, Liberty University; former Associate Editor of Christ and Pop Culture; Associate Editor, MoralApologetics.com ""In this engaging and enlightening volume, Corey Latta shows how C. S. Lewis's reading, writing, and faith formed the man. Whether you come to this study as a writer, a reader, a Lewis aficionado, or merely as a fellow Christian, there is much here to please."" --Karen Swallow Prior, author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me and Fierce Convictions--the Extraordinary Life of Hannah More: Poet, Reformer Abolitionist Corey Latta is a writer, teacher, and public speaker. He writes on C. S. Lewis, the imagination, apologetics, and literary theology. He is the author of Functioning Fantasies, Election and Unity in Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and When the Eternal Can Be Met.

C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing

Wipf and Stock

When the Eternal Can Be Met excavates the philosophy behind the theology of the twentieth century's most prominent Christian writers: C. S. Lewis, T. S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden. These three literary giants converted to Christianity within little more than a decade of one another, and interestingly, all three theological authors turned to the theme of time. All three authors also came to remarkably similar conclusions about time, positing that the temporal present moment allowed one to meet the eternal. Decades before Lewis, Eliot, and Auden sought to creatively construct a fictive or poetic theology of time, the prominent philosopher Henri Bergson wrote about time's power to transform an individual's emotional and spiritual state, a theory well known by Lewis, Eliot, and Auden. When the Eternal Can Be Met argues that one cannot fully understand Lewis, Eliot, and Auden's theology of time without understanding Bergson's theories. From the secular philosophy of Bergson dawned the most important works of literary theology and treatments of time of the twentieth century, and in the Bergson-influenced literary constructs of Lewis, Eliot, and Auden, a common theological articulation sounds out--time present is where humans meet God. ""This study is yet more proof that C. S. Lewis is finally coming into his deserved recognition as a formidable twentieth-century author and intellect. Latta's fine study breaks new ground in identifying how the 'dinosaur' Lewis also belonged to his own age."" --Jameela Lares, Professor of English, University of Southern Mississippi ""It is rare to find a thinker who transcends disciplines in such a seamless way. Latta's work is theologically deep, philosophically sound, and literarily astute. Many pastors may not readily see the implications of a philosophy of 'time' as it relates to ministry, but When the Eternal Can Be Met wisely demonstrates the significance for any thoughtful Christian. This book nourishes my soul, equips my mind, and gives me apt words to speak to my congregation."" --Jim Shultz, Millennial Pastor, Hope Church ""Latta's work here is important--not least because it helps place C. S. Lewis in context with his modernist contemporaries. For too long have scholars read Lewis in isolation from the thinkers to whom he responded. When the Eternal Can Be Met helps paint a picture of Lewis, who wrote in the same world and about the same ideas with which Bergson, Auden, and Eliot wrestled."" --Armond Boudreaux, Assistant Professor, East Georgia State College Corey Latta is currently Vice President of Academics at Visible Music College in Memphis, TN. He is the author of Election and Unity in Paul's Epistles to the Romans (2009) and Functioning Fantasies: Theology, Ideology, and Social Conception in the Fantasies of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien (2010).

When the Eternal Can Be Met

When the Eternal Can Be Met excavates the philosophy behind the theology of the twentieth century's most prominent Christian writers: C. S. Lewis, T. S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden. These three literary giants converted to Christianity within little more than a decade of one another, and interestingly, all three theological authors turned to the theme of time. All three authors also came to remarkably similar conclusions about time, positing that the temporal present moment allowed one to meet the eternal. Decades before Lewis, Eliot, and Auden sought to creatively construct a fictive or poetic theology of time, the prominent philosopher Henri Bergson wrote about time's power to transform an individual's emotional and spiritual state, a theory well known by Lewis, Eliot, and Auden. When the Eternal Can Be Met argues that one cannot fully understand Lewis, Eliot, and Auden's theology of time without understanding Bergson's theories. From the secular philosophy of Bergson dawned the most important works of literary theology and treatments of time of the twentieth century, and in the Bergson-influenced literary constructs of Lewis, Eliot, and Auden, a common theological articulation sounds out-time present is where humans meet God.

When the Eternal Can Be Met: The Bergsonian Theology of Time in the Works of C. S. Lewis, T. S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden

Pickwick Publications