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Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: April 30th, 2006, 7:57 pm
by Perelandra
Hello,

There was an interesting discussion on about Lewis nationality, and I would be glad to have the opinion of the native narnians :grin: about it

The discussion on Wikipedia is quite long & not very easily read because of the minimalist layout, so I will sum it up. Can we call Lewis an Irish writer because he was born in Belfast, had an Irish passport and thought of himself as of an Irishman? Or would we rather call him an English writer, because all his works are written in English & not in Gaelic?

I found no indication here at bio page, where this question is not treated at all, and other sites do their best not to state on this matter - "Irish born writer", "Anglo-Irish writer" etc... What do you think? What do you say spontaneously - English, Irish, or neither?

I should also add that I am a new member of this prosperous community - Hi all - but of course any Lewis fan & reader is my brother (sister) in arms, by definition ;) :) :grin:

re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: April 30th, 2006, 8:47 pm
by David
Lewis is generally spoken of an Irish writer. Most Protestant Irish writers are spoken of as English: Jonathan Swift, William Bulter Yeats, Oscar Wilde, were all from Ireland but because they were Protestant they are usually lumped in with English writers. So was Lewis.

Lewis is like other writers whose nationality is hard to pin down. T. S. Eliot was an American but he lived most of his life in English. Sometimes he is listed as an American writer, sometimes as British. Usually you'll find him in both anthologies.

I think Lewis' writing bears the stamp of Ireland. His affinity to nature, his belief in the supernatural, all hint at Ireland.

re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: April 30th, 2006, 10:03 pm
by Bill
He was Irish.
He was a writer.
Ergo he was an Irish writer.

What do they teach them in these schools?

:rolleyes:

Bill

Re: re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: April 30th, 2006, 11:06 pm
by k-mann

re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: April 30th, 2006, 11:59 pm
by carol

re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 12:05 am
by David

Re: re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 11:17 am
by Perelandra

Re: re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 12:23 pm
by Monica

Re: re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 3:42 pm
by Bill

re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 3:48 pm
by Bill

re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 4:48 pm
by Stanley Anderson

Re: re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 5:34 pm
by Monica

Re: re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 5:57 pm
by Monica

Re: re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 6:20 pm
by Stanley Anderson

re: Is Lewis an Irish writer?

PostPosted: May 1st, 2006, 6:45 pm
by Bill
Don't care about PCL. :p

Lewis was Irish; Lewis was a writer.

Anything else is logic chopping.

According to the poll, most people (so far) agree.

My final word (honest)

Bill