Perelandra on City of Man Podcast

Eve of Perelandra, by James Lewicki

A few weeks ago, my friend Coyle Neal of the City of Man Podcast hosted David Grubbs and I for a discussion of the first book of CS Lewis’s “Space Trilogy,” Out of the Silent Planet. That was a great conversation, and I finished it looking forward to talking about the second book with them. I’m happy to say our discussion of Perelandra has arrived.

Perelandra continues the story of philologist Elwin Ransom with a journey to Venus—Perelandra in the celestial tongue—where he is destined to play a role in the temptation of another Eve in another Eden. As part of our discussion, Coyle, David, and I talk about the book’s historical context, what had happened both in Lewis’s life and and the world since Out of the Silent Planet and how that shaped this book; the plot and characters; the literary influences Lewis masterfully drew upon to fashion the world of Venus and the thematic resonances and harmonies of the story, everything from Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival to Dante and Milton and the anonymous poet of The Battle of Maldon; the book’s relation to others Lewis was working at the same time, like A Preface to Paradise Lost and The Screwtape Letters; the fallen Oyarsa of Thulcandra—Satan—and his pettiness, brutality, and continuous evolution from Hegel to Nietzsche to Lovecraft; the role of violence and righteous wrath in the story; and what, if anything, Lewis’s story has to teach us about the fall, temptation, sin, and redemption.

You can also learn what it is about Perelandra that reminds us of “Tiger King.”

I had a great time recording this episode—it may be the most fun I’ve had doing a podcast—and I hope y’all enjoy listening. We will finish our read-through of the Space Trilogy with That Hideous Strength soon. I’m looking forward to it.

In the meantime, you can listen to City of Man Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, and other fine podcasting platforms, or to this particular episode of the show via the embedded Stitcher player in this post. Thanks for listening! Hope y’all enjoy.