Category Archives: Uncategorized

Promises to My Creative Self

In my senior seminar class, students study the creative process, then create an artifact to help them to remember how they want to live their lives. One of my students designed a poster, and this is what it said:
Promises I Swear To Keep To My Creative Self
1) I promise that I will do something creative every single [...]

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Are You a Writer?

When do you know that you are --really-- a writer?
When you see a picture of your book on Amazon?
When you win a writing award?
When you actually hold your first published article in your actual hand?
When you get your first fan letter?
When wikipedia decides that you are "notable"
When you read a glowing review of your book?
When you pull out a special pen and [...]

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Tolkien Reads “The Tale of Tinuviel”

In my lecture this weekend, I'll talk about Tolkien's poem "The Tale of Tinuviel." Here is a link to a recording of Tolkien reading that incomparable poem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhDgJwcJcVk&feature=related
"The leaves were long, the grass was green,
The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,
And in the glade a light was seen
Of stars in shadow shimmering.
Tinuviel was dancing there
To music of a pipe [...]

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ENGL111: Poetry

I teach a required general studies course called Introduction to Literature. It's a standard course at most universities. When I teach it, we spend the first seven weeks looking at poetry. I have a step-by-step method of analysis that I teach them: I take all the usual stuff like metaphor and rhythm patterns and onomatopoetic [...]

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Upcoming Talk at Wheaton College

From the news page of The Marion E. Wade Center
Talk by Dr. Diana Glyer at the Wade Center:
"C.S. Lewis’s Fingerprints on the Map of Middle-earth”
Wednesday, October 20, 4:00 p.m.
Diana Pavlac Glyer, Ph.D. will present a talk based on her investigation of collaboration among the Inklings at the Marion E. Wade Center. The lecture, "C.S.Lewis’s Fingerprints on the [...]

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Colored Staples

Sometimes "inspiring creative connections" is nothing more than sharing the way that something very small and particular can light up your day. Here ya go:

Blog: Jeri's Organizing & Decluttering News
Post: The Little Things: Colorful Staples
 Link: http://jdorganizer.blogspot.com/2010/09/little-things-colorful-staples.html

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Meditation on Genesis One

My church asked me to write and record a short video giving some thoughts on Genesis One. Here is the text of my talk:
Genesis 1 for Glenkirk Church   August 2010
When I look at the first few chapters of Genesis, I like to pretend that I am Steven Spielberg, I like to think about how I would make [...]

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Voyages Class at Glenkirk, Glendora

This November, Jim Miller and I will be working together to present a series of talks about C. S. Lewis and Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Save the dates: 11/2, 11/9, 11/16, and 11/23. Details will follow.

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Hey! Gimme Back My Idea!

At the recent Mythcon in Dallas, I gave a talk called "Doing What the Inklings Did: Practical Advice for Writing Groups." I talked about different kinds of writing groups (critique groups, mentoring groups, network groups, fellowship groups, prayer groups) that can be of benefit to creative people, and I talked about the nuts and bolts [...]

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Samples

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