Letter published in the 

30th Anniversary Issue of 

CSL: The Bulletin of the 

New York C.S. Lewis Society 

October-December 1999

  September 28, 1999

  Clara Sarroco,

  Corresponding  Secretary

  CSL

  84-23 77th Avenue

  Glendale, NY 11385

  Dear Fellow NYCSL Society Members:

The society and its bulletin has been a special blessing to all of us who have been C.S. Lewis enthusiasts. Even though I had been reading C.S. Lewis’s books and  essays since 1963, I was not aware of any organization dedicated to him and his ideas. I first  heard of the NYCSL Society after buying and reading Kathryn Lindskoog’s C.S. Lewis: Mere Christian in 1975. She mentioned the society in one of her appendices. Shortly I sent my subscription fee to Hope Kirkpatrick, and I received a personal welcoming letter from her on October 5, 1975. In that correspondence she described the first bulletin that I received - the August, 1975 issue on Barfield and Lewis - as “an exceptional issue, larger and in a way more serious than most.”

I enjoyed reading each issue and hearing of the activities of the society - a group which seemed so far away in terms of miles, but was so close in terms of our common interest in Lewis. My subscription ran out at the end of 1978 and I was not able to resubscribe again until January of 1984 - again receiving a personal welcome letter from Hope. A few years later I was able to purchase all of the back issues that I had missed since the society had begun in 1969. Each of the back issues was a delight to read. It took several joyful weeks to finish reading through the one’s which I had missed.

In recent years, especially during the centenary celebration, I have used my copies of the bulletin to due research on several  writing projects. I am amazed at how many good articles have been printed by the society on so many different aspects of Lewis’s life and his work.

Let me say again how thankful I am for the society and its bulletin. I want to encourage those who produce it to keep up the good work. Someday I hope that I can attend one of the monthly meetings, but living in Kentucky makes that possibility very  unlikely. So, until then, I will look forward to receiving CSL and be thinking of  you as my extended family of C.S. Lewis friends.   

  Sincerely,

  Richard James