PWJ: S4E51 – AH – “After Hours” with Owen A. Barfield

Today we begin “Barfield Month”, where we look at the life and work of the Inkling, Owen Barfield. In the first episode of this series, we speak to another man named “Owen Barfield”, the Inkling’s grandson.

S4E49: “After Hours” with Dr. Charlie Starr (Download)

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Timestamps

00:00 – Entering “The Eagle & Child”…
00:11 – Welcome
00:39 – Owen A. Barfield
04:24 – Quote-of-the-week
04:41 – Drink-of-the-week
05:59 – Patreon Toast
06:13 – Discussion: General Introduction
07:53 – Discussion: Occupation
08:39 – Discussion: Meeting Lewis
11:03 – Discussion: First & Last Inkling
12:36 – Discussion: Development of thought
15:39 – Discussion: “Poetic Diction”
18:40 – Discussion: Imagination
20:42 – Discussion: Unresolved-Residue-of-Positivism
23:52 – Discussion: “Saving the Appearances”
27:21 – Discussion: The Incarnation
29:21 – Discussion: Lucy Barfield
33:50 – Discussion: Dancer & Gymnast
37:14 – Discussion: The Present & Future
40:34 – “Last Call” Bell and Closing Thoughts

YouTube Version

After Show Skype Session

No Skype Session today!

Show Notes

Chit Chat

• Today we kick-off Barfield Month. This episode is published on April Fools Day and you might think that today’s episode is an April Fools joke…  After all, it’s 2021, there’s no way that C.S. Lewis’ friend, Owen Barfield, could still be talking to us today! Well, I had a similar thought a couple of years ago when I received an email from Owen Barfield. After some confusion and a little bit of googling, I discovered that this Owen Barfield was the grandson of the Inkling, and he lived fairly close to where I grew up.  So, on my next trip to England, my wife and I got to meet up with Owen at a lovely pub for fish & chips, about a mile away from the Benedictine Monastery where I normally go to Mass when I’m home.
• I asked Owen to introduce himself.

Quote-of-the-week

• The quote-of-the-week comes from Owen Barfield. It’s the dedication of his book, Poetic Diction:

“To C.S.Lewis Opposition is true friendship”

Owen Barfield, Dedication in Poetic Diction

Drink-of-the-week

• I was drinking some tea, Owen was drinking a herb tea from his grandfather’s sherry glass.

Patreon Toast

• Normally at this point we’d toast a Gold-level supporter on Patreon, but since we’re starting Barfield Month today, I thought we’d toast Owen’s grandfather…

To the first and last Inkling!

Toast to Owen Barfield

Discussion

Who was Owen Barfield?

• Listeners to our podcast are familiar with C.S. Lewis, but many will not know much about this other Inkling, your grandfather, Owen Barfield. Can you please introduce him to us and tell us a little bit about his life?
• Why was he called the first and last Inkling?

Works and Key Ideas?

• Can you give us a broad picture of your grandfather’s works and unpack some of his key ideas?
  • ‘Poetic Diction’
  • Imagination
  • Unresolved-Residue-of-Positivism
  • ‘Saving the Appearances’

Lucy Barfield

• While many Lewis fans may not even know the name Owen Barfield, almost all of them will recognize the name Lucy Barfield, the recipient of the dedication found in The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe. Who was she?

Work today

• As we draw to a close, can you tell us a little bit about the state of Owen Barfield studies today? What’s going on? What do you think are some hopeful areas of research? And where do you see things going in the future?

More information

• For more information, check out OwenBarfield.org