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Why The Allegory of Love?The Allegory of Love is often considered Lewis’s single most significant scholarly achievement. It was a seminal, field-shaping study; a landmark work of medieval and Renaissance literary criticism, especially in its treatment of “courtly love”.
But, as Lewis says in the book, it is "a history of imagination". The book reveals his deep affinity for medieval modes of thought—allegory, symbolism, and hierarchy. In other words, The Allegory of Love is not just academic—it is a window into the mental furniture behind his fiction.
As Dr. Hal Poe says, "Lewis really only wrote one book. Everything else he wrote is here."
+++ 24-25 April, 2026, the C. S. Lewis Society of Chattanooga will hold a weekend conference celebrating the 90th anniversary of C. S. Lewis's book The Allegory of Love. Our speakers will be Dr. Hal Poe, Dr. Justin Barnard, and Dr. William Tate.
Topics for Harry Lee Poe, former Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture at Union University:
"The Allegory of Love as Monumental Academic Achievement"
"The Allegory of Love as the Foundation and Fountain for Lewis's Popular Writing"
"The Allegory of Love as Christian Apologetics"
[update, 16 March - you can go here and watch an interview from 2022 with Dr. Poe about his recent 3 vol. bio on Lewis; he talks about The Allegory of Love around 27 minutes in - check it out! : ]
[update, 3 April: you will have a great opportunity to look at (and purchase!) collector's editions of books by the Inklings, because we have invited Stan Shelley to display his books at our conference; https://www.shelleyandsonbooks.com/ ]
Topic for Justin Barnard, Professor of Philosophy in the Honors Community at Union University: "Liturgy, Imagination, and Meaning in Till We Have Faces."
Topic for Dr. William Tate, Dean of Arts and Letters and a Professor of English at Covenant College: "The Dialectic of Desire: Reason and Imagination in C. S. Lewis."
The conference will begin with a service of choral Evensong, followed by the first address of Dr. Poe. Saturday after Morning Prayer, we will hear again from Dr. Poe, as well as Dr. Barnard and Dr. Tate. After a catered luncheon, Dr. Poe will give the final address, and we will finish by mid-afternoon with a panel discussion.
More information about the conference will be provided via the website at cslewischattanooga.org including link to tickets: $40 for the whole weekend. The C. S. Lewis Society of Chattanooga is a program of the Christian Study Center of Chattanooga, hence payments will be going to that account.
For tickets, go here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/davidbeckmann/2009865
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Event Venue
Anglican Church of the Redeemer, 104 McBrien Rd, Chattanooga, TN 37411-4815, United States
Tickets
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