C. S. Lewis earned his living teaching, writing and speaking: He was a professional communicator. The study of words and meaning was central to Lewis’s professional life. Not only do C. S. Lewis’s books remain popular, but he also enjoys a formidable professional reputation. He was and remains a respected scholar and literary historian. Literary scholar Doris Myers argues that Lewis should be recognized for his expertise primarily as a literary scholar, concluding, “It is literary craftsmanship, after all, that will ensure for Lewis a permanent place in the canon.”45 As a literary scholar, Lewis was interested in the nature of language and how to use language effectively to connect with readers and listeners. As a Christian apologist, he was renowned for his rhetorical prowess. Lewis, who liked to talk, wrote in a letter to E. M. Butler, “I am also an Irishman and a congenital rhetorician.”46 That even in this lighthearted comment he identified himself as a rhetorician is notable. It was integral to his identify.
C. S. Lewis’s intellect is reflected in his highly-lauded professional achievements. He was one of the few people in the twentieth century to win a triple first at Oxford University, comparable to being Summa Cum Laude (with highest honors) in Latin and Greek (Classical Honor Mods), philosophy (called “Greats”), and English literature. His 1922 first degree in Classics included two curricular elements, the first part consisting of Latin and Greek and the second part, “Greats,” focusing on philosophy. His second degree, just one year later in 1923, in English language and literature, was the most practical; it enhanced his employability as a tutor. Language and literature were to remain the focus of his academic work for the rest of his life. His scholarly books The Allegory of Love, A Preface to Paradise Lost, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century: Excluding Drama, and The Discarded Image remain required reading in graduate English literature programs. Lewis was clearly a scholar interested in the rhetorical impact of words and their meaning.
Lewis was prolific. He wrote or contributed to 37 books during his lifetime (with several books and essays published after his death).47 He also wrote dozens of essays, many first delivered as lectures, that are also still in print.48 If you go into a bookstore and ask where most authors’ books may be found, you will be directed to a specific shelf or department. But go into a contemporary bookstore and ask, “Where are books by C. S. Lewis?” and you will be directed to several different shelves. His Narnia books can be found in the children’s section, his Ransom trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra [recently performed as an opera], and That Hideous Strength) are housed in science fiction. His academic ←8 | 9→works are often found in the literary criticism section. Of course, several books are housed in the theology or Christian section. His novel Till We Have Faces is in fiction and literature. His published poetry books, including the book originally published under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton, are found in the poetry section. Although The Abolition of Man is often found in the Religion section, given its content it could be catalogued in philosophy. Lewis scholars Jerry Root and Mark Neal count 17 different literary genres in which Lewis wrote: apologetics, autobiography, educational philosophy, essays, fairy stories, journals, letters, literary criticism, literary history, lyric poetry, narrative poetry, novels, religious devotion, satire, science fiction, short stories, and translations.49 The argument for Lewis as a master communication craftsperson rests not only on his productivity and popularity, but also on his genre-spanning professional presence throughout a bookstore.
Besides Lewis’s considerable professional and popular works, his skill as a communicator is evident in the thousands of letters he wrote. He considered writing responses to his letters both a burden and a responsibility, and he would respond to anyone who wrote to him. He believed that if he was sharing information with his readers and listeners and they responded to him with a letter, it was his obligation to acknowledge their response. With the help of his brother Warnie, Lewis would dedicate a portion of most workdays to answering letters. Lewis’s close friend Owen Barfield observed, “Lewis used to sit down and answer his letters, which became very numerous indeed, either before or immediately after breakfast.”50 Some of his responses were quite brief, but others were full of detailed explanations, heart-felt empathic response, or advice.
The massive three-volume publication of his letters, masterfully edited by Walter Hooper, fills 4,000 pages.51 Estimates for the number of Lewis letters range from 10,000 to 14,000.52 New discoveries of Lewis letters continue to emerge. For example, I own a short note Lewis wrote to Nobel Laureate Jacques Lucien Monod, thanking Monod for a letter extoling Lewis’s literary contributions; the letter does not appear in any published collection. The skillfully edited book Letters to Children, compiled by Lyle Dorsett and Marjorie Lamp Mead, showcases Lewis’s tenderness, sensitivity, and clarity in responding to the hundreds of letters he received from his younger fans.53 Letters to an American Lady includes the correspondence of Lewis to a woman known only as Mary in the book, who is now known to be Mary Willis Shelburne, then a widow from Washington, DC.54 Such letters provide a record of Lewis’s stalwart, faithful friendship. (Lewis eventually provided a monthly stipend for Mary from royalties of his books published in the U.S.) Letters to his life-long friend and confidant Arthur Greeves published ←9 | 10→in They Stand Together55 and correspondence (originally written in Latin) to Don Giovanni Calabria56 also are compiled in separate published collections. Sheldon Vanauken’s autobiographical book A Severe Mercy describes the author’s friendship among himself, his wife Jean (called Davy) and C. S. Lewis; several letters between Lewis and Vanauken are included in the book.57
So we have a record of not only Lewis’s “front stage” polished, professional communication with his readers and academic colleagues, but also his “back stage” communication with countless individuals, which he would never have imagined would be read by others. Such an extensive 360-degree view of an author is not available for many other communicators. With today’s reliance on ephemeral, often-deleted electronic messages, we may no longer have such permanent records of an author’s public and private communication. Although Lewis’s letters did not have the benefit of careful editing by proofreaders (he sometimes struggled with spelling), Lewis letters provide a rich and comprehensive basis for analysis.
C. S. Lewis was often introduced at speaking events or described on the dust jackets of his books as “Professor Lewis.” It was only during the last nine years of his life, however, that he officially acquired the title “professor,” a prestigious rank bestowed by British colleges and universities on a select few. When at Magdalen College in Oxford, Lewis lost the election for Professor of Poetry to Cecil Day-Lewis (father of Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis) in 1951. But three years later, in recognition of his academic accomplishments, he was appointed Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge, a position that also included the coveted title Professor. Lewis was well qualified for his professorial rank. Although he did not hold an earned doctorate, he had received honorary doctorates from several