More from Jack: A Life of C. S. Lewis.
On page 248 we read, "For years no regular event delighted Jack more than the Thursday evening meetings of the little group of friends called the Inklings." The members met to read aloud their poems and other works. Wine and beer generously flowed as they discussed and critiqued each other's writings. Writes the author of Jack:
This was not a mutual admiration society. "Praise for good work was unstinted but censure for bad, or even not so good, was often brutally frank." To read could be a formidable ordeal (p. 252).
Jack "loved his friends and liked to think he was of service to them in their literary careers" (p. 254).
I believe we need to reignite the spirit of the Inklings. Maybe we should be more careful who our friendships go out toward. The quality of the company we keep is essential. Lewis himself said, "Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?"
