Will Vaus

On Sunday, October 26 I left sunny Southern California and returned to the decidedly chilly east coast. The C. S. Lewis Society of Frederick, Maryland, led by the very capable Corey Kinna, was the next stop on The Professor of Narnia Book Tour. The C. S. Lewis fans in Frederick proved to be a very cordial audience. Not only did I sign a number of copies of "The Professor of Narnia", the crowd also put in a number of orders for "Mere Theology", my first book on Lewis's thought. (I ran out of copies of "Mere Theology" and "My Father Was a Gangster" while in California. The nice bonus of having a new book for sale is that it has led to sales of my other books as well!) I have also been giving out free copies of the June 2008 edition of Decision magazine in which I had an article published. Now I'm sitting at home by my laughing fire as the snow flurries descend outside. Yes, I said snow flurries. It often snows in Monterey, Virgin...

The Professor of Narnia teamed up with Inklings expert Diana Pavlac Glyer, author of The Company They Keep , for a special Narnia Night at the Mystery & Imagination Bookshop in Glendale, California last night. We were joined by many and various Narnia characters. . . . We were told that these were, in actuality, students from a local Christian school who were receiving credit (can you believe it?) for attending Narnia Night and dressing up as Narnia characters! The upper room at Mystery & Imagination was packed full with C. S. Lewis, Narnia and Inklings fans as you can see from the photo below. . . . In fact, as the night wore on, we were joined by even more characters. . . . So much so that people were sitting on the stairs, in the aisle, and all over the place! We were even joined by Stan Mattson . . . . . . President of the C. S. Lewis Foundation, protector and guardian of Lewis's house, now a study center, in Oxford, England. Diana Glyer ga...

Judging by my experience today I would say there are a lot of C. S. Lewis fans at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California! I was blessed beyond measure to share with two freshman writing classes about my spiritual journey with C. S. Lewis and I got to hear how Lewis has impacted their lives. As their English teacher, Candy Ramirez, expressed to me, what is so refreshing about Lewis is his honesty. And in that honesty he helps us to be honest about our questions and doubts as we wrestle with God. This, I think, is an especially important message for college students, and perhaps more so at a Christian college than anywhere else. They need permission to doubt, permission to question, and guidance to seek reliable answers from Scripture and from some of the great Christian writers down through history, like C. S. Lewis. Perhaps some of the students were pleasantly surprised to encounter a guest speaker and author who was interested in what they had to say. I encouraged them to co...

Thanks to the hospitality of the Arizona C. S. Lewis Society, I got to walk through the wardrobe into Narnia at the Arizona Science Center Narnia Exhibition on Wednesday afternoon, October 22. It was absolutely enchanting! I hope to take my family to see the exhibition when it comes to The Franklin in Philadelphia next month. The first room of the Narnia exhibit is designed to resemble C. S. Lewis's study and includes, among other things, the real wardrobe that used to belong to C. S. Lewis's brother, Warren. From the study you get to enter Narnia through a wardrobe with real fur coats in it. The snowflakes from Lantern Waste stayed in my hair for quite some time afterwards! The whole exhibit is extremely well done and includes many of the original props, pieces of the set and costumes from the two recent Narnia movies. This exhibit really is a must-see for all Narnia fans. Two of the tour guides were thrilled that I was there when they learned that I was the author o...

On Wednesday night, October 22, I had the privilege of speaking to a enthusiastic group, made up mostly of young people, at the Scottsdale First Assembly of God Dream Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. I shared with them about my 35-year journey in reading and studying the works and life of C. S. Lewis. The question and answer time which followed my presentation was worth my entire visit to Phoenix. Of course almost all of the questions related to C. S. Lewis and Narnia. However, one of the young people present asked me, "What do you hope to accomplish with your life?" I was startled by the question which has to rank as one of the most important questions any of us can ask ourselves. I immediately answered: "I hope to communicate the love of Christ to as many people as I possibly can." I think that also sums up the goal of much of C. S. Lewis's life and writing as well as the goal of a much more ancient communicator. The Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:24, B...

The Professor of Narnia Book Tour took me to Fuller Theological Seminary in Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday, October 22. Pictured above are the leading lights of The Arizona C. S. Lewis Society. From left to right: Del Kehl (emeritus Professor of English at Arizona State University), Bruce Johnson (Senior Pastor of Scottsdale Presbyterian Church and President of the Arizona C. S. Lewis Society), Me, Grayson Carter (Associate Professor of Church History, Fuller Seminary Phoenix) and Jim Helfers (Professor of English and Chair of the Department of humanities at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix). The Arizona C. S. Lewis Society publishes a wonderful C. S. Lewis Journal in cooperation with Fuller Seminary Southwest. The title is Sehnsucht (a German word meaning "desire, yearning for the transcendent; an experience of transcendent joy"). Of course those who are familiar with the writing of C. S. Lewis know that sehnsucht is a very important concept in his thought. You can learn ...

Stop #2 on The Professor of Narnia Book Tour: The Chattanooga Tennessee C. S. Lewis Society meeting at Rock Point Books. It was my privilege to enjoy the warm hospitality of David and Sheila Beckmann who fed me, housed me and gave me a delightful tour of Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain. (David started the C. S. Lewis Society in Chattanooga a few years ago.) Rock Point Books had me sign more books than I think I have signed in any one event . . . ever! And they hosted all attendees at the event in great style with wine and cheese. Thanks Rock Point! The questions posed by those in attendance were excellent. Since it was primarily an adult crowd we covered everything from: "What was the exact nature of Lewis's relationship with Mrs. Moore?" to "Was Lewis's conversion sudden or gradual?" and many questions in between. If every group on the tour is as congenial as this one was I will be a blessed man indeed.

The Professor of Narnia was welcomed with enthusiasm at Stonewall Jackson Elementary School in Bristol, Virginia today, as evidenced by the T-shirt above. I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with some 100 fourth and fifth grade students about my thirty-five year journey in reading C. S. Lewis and Narnia. As you can see in the photo above the event was covered by the local NBC News affiliate. All of the students had excellent questions. They obviously had done their homework in studying the life of C. S. Lewis under the gifted leadership of their teacher, Heather Lawson. I had a fun time, not only signing copies of The Professor of Narnia: The C. S. Lewis Story , but also seeing the students' "webs" describing the life of C. S. Lewis. They certainly know a lot more about his life than I did when I was 10 years old! I feel like my life has come full circle, having been introduced to Narnia by my fourth grade public school teacher some 35 years ago, and now deb...

Professor of Narnia presentations and booksignings will be taking place in the following locations over the next few months: Oct 16, Stonewall Jackson Elementary School Bristol, VA Oct 17, C. S. Lewis Society, Chattanooga, TN Oct 22, Fuller Seminary, Phoenix, AZ Oct 22, 1st Assembly Dream Center, Scottsdale, AZ Oct 24, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA Oct 25, Mystery & Imagination Bookstore, Glendale, CA Oct 27, C. S. Lewis Society, Frederick, MD Nov 1, Barnes & Noble, Manassas, VA Nov 3, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL Nov 6, Taylor University, Upland IN Nov 7, C. S. Lewis Society, Indianapolis IN Nov 8, Barnes & Noble, Indianapolis IN Nov 10, Highland County Public Library,Monterey VA Nov 14, New Covenant Christian School, Lynchburg VA Nov 15, Inklings Bookshop, Lynchburg VA Nov 17-19, Pittsburgh PA Nov 21, Barnes & Noble, Harrisonburg VA Nov 22, Barnes & Noble, Frederick MD Jan 9, New York C. S. Lewis SocietyNew York Cit...

The Professor of Narnia: The C. S. Lewis Story is now in print! To read more about it click here: http://narniaprof.blogspot.com/ .

I have a new blog posted on HarperCollins' web site. Check it out here: http://booksbycslewis.blogspot.com/ .

Every parent should read this article by David Mills about the importance of reading good stories to our children. Read it now and follow David's lead: http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=19-10-019-f

You are invited to join us as we go Beyond the Wardrobe into the world of C. S. Lewis on a tour of Ireland & England, June 26-July 6, 2009. For more information click here: www.willvaus.com/c__s__lewis_tour . Please let me know of your interest and/or questions by e-mail: will@willvaus.com . I will be posting photos here soon of some of the places we will be visiting. So stay tuned . . .

Can you believe it? Aslan has made his way into the church. To read more about it click here: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2008/09/13/lion-statue-will-be-the-mane-attraction-at-narnia-day-100252-21808333/

What do C. S. Lewis and Sarah Palin have in common? Click here to find out: http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/sep/10/inside-the-beltway-47082724/

There is a cool flash animation advertising my new book at http://www.believebooks.com/ . Check it out!

I am in the midst of scheduling The Professor of Narnia Book Tour for this Fall and early 2009. The following locations are already on the schedule: Chattanooga, Tennessee Scottsdale, Arizona Harrisonburg, Virginia Frederick, Maryland Monterey, Virginia Indianapolis, Indiana New York City, New York If you or your group would like to host a book signing and talk you may e-mail me to discuss what is involved and to get a place on the schedule ( will@willvaus.com ). To learn more about the book please visit my other blog: http://narniaprof.blogspot.com .

Available in its first reprint since 1965, The Personal Heresy: A Controversy originally published in 1939, comprises the exchange of essays between C. S. Lewis and E. M. W. Tillyard in which the literary critics argue opposing positions on what can or should be gained from the reading of poetry. Bruce Edwards sees in this work a consistent Lewisian theme, “championing as it does the cogency of the doctrine of objective value” (“The Personal Heresy: A Controversy,” in The C. S. Lewis Readers’ Encyclopedia , pp. 318f.). Lewis responds to Tillyard’s assertion in his 1930 publication Milton that “[a]ll poetry is about the poet’s state of mind.” Lewis argues that in poetry we see what the poet sees, not the poet himself. Lewis writes, “When we read poetry as poetry should be read, we have before us no representation which claims to be the poet, and frequently no representation of a man, a character, or a personality at all.” To order your copy, with an Introduction by Dr. Bruce L. Edw...

There was an interesting review in the Telegraph today of Print for Victory by Valerie Holman. The review opens by saying: "The book trade's current convulsions pale beside those of the years between 1939 and 1945, when stock vanished overnight - either from bombs or public demand. Many read for 12 hours a week . . ." Can you imagine people in the USA today reading for twelve hours per week as the British did during WWII? This article paints an intriguing portrait of the time period and the place in which C. S. Lewis rose to prominence as an author. You may read the rest of the story here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/08/23/bohol123.xml

My new book, coming this Fall from Believe Books, now has a newly designed cover. Click here to see it: http://narniaprof.blogspot.com .