Friday, March 28, 2008

When I Met C.S. Lewis's Stepson


In 2003 I had the pleasure of meeting Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis, when he spoke at Denver Seminary. Douglas had been kind enough to participate in the online discussion forums for a grad course on "The Philosophy of C.S. Lewis," taught by the inimitable Dr. Vernon Grounds (I had the joy of serving as his teaching assistant that semester). Douglas had flown in from Ireland in order to work on some details about the film "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Fortunately, for us, Douglas spent about 3 hours answering all kinds of questions about C.S. Lewis. It was a great time and I remember it well. Anyway, here's a picture someone snapped of the two of us (Douglas is on the left). If you get a chance, read Gresham's books Lenten Lands and Jack's Life for some personal insights into C.S. Lewis.

3 comments:

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. said...

I was at that august event and enjoyed the interaction, though Douglas Grechem was such a strong personality that he tended to ride over people's questions and comments. It was great fun, nonetheless.

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D. said...

Gresham, sorry.

Robert Velarde said...

Yes, I remember it well. Two things in particular stand out. First, I had to pick up Gresham at his hotel in downtown Denver during rush hour traffic. What a mess! What's the purpose of one-way streets? Second, despite my best efforts to plan ahead for the event, we could find no one to set him up with a microphone, so he had to project quite a bit.