The annual conference of the American Chesterton Society got underway last night in grand style with addresses by Dale Ahlquist and John Peterson to a packed auditorium here at the University of St. Thomas. In fact, this 25th annual ACS conference is enjoying its largest attendance ever. We're delighted to again be a part of the festivities.
Dale's talk last night dealt primarily with a comparison of GK Chesterton with Charles Dickens. It began a theme which will be followed up today in two other sessions. John's talk was an exceptionally interesting one in which he explored the precursors to Marshall McLuhan, presented a quick primer on McLuhan's ideas, and drew a fascinating picture of McLuhan's deep and lifelong attachment to Chesterton.
Today's schedule is a full one with 5 general sessions followed by Joseph Pearce's address tonight (Chesterton and C.S. Lewis) and a production of GKC's play, The Surprise. I'm sure I'll share some reflections on various sessions here on Vital Signs Blog (or over at The Book Den) but they may have to wait for awhile because in addition to the sessions, the book browsing in the foyer, composing our Clerihew poems for the contest, and the conversations we enjoy with fellow Chestertonians, there's only so much time left!
