A Voyage to the Ugly Heart of Me -- and back.

I haven't seen the newly released film version of C.S. Lewis's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader yet.

GASP!

I know, right?

The truth is, I'm scared of it. This is my favorite book in the series. What if they mess it up? What if they downplay the reality of THE LION's role in Eustace's transformation? What if they skip an island or two? What if I can't smell the lilies??????????

*****TANGENT ALERT*****

Oooh. I just had a random thought: I hope Disney does a Dawn Treader ride at DisneyWorld. That would be soooo awesome. Like the Pirates of the Carribbean ride except with dragons and a LION and children as heroes and the scent of lilies at the end and the mist in your face all along. Oooh. I really hope they do that.

Anyone who's been to Disney World will tell you how utterly transported you are to other worlds via the Imagineers. They use sight, scent, sound, mist, light, film, motion, and, I think, a few generous pinches of pixie dust to make multiple worlds come alive in one magical kingdom.

And to think: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is right down the road at Universal Studios Orlando. It would be a little like studying Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon, except much less stuffy and with better weather. It would be so awesome: the mirror-world realization of two of the 20th Century's literary greats (Okay, Rowling crossed the millenium with her series) only a couple of miles from each other. Wouldn't that be the theme-park trip extravaganza of all time???? One day you're in Narnia via Disney, the next day you head over to Hogwarts via Universal.

awwwwwwwesome.

So, Disney Imagineers, please, please, please get on this.

****END TANGENT****

But back to my original thought -- I haven't seen the movie yet. I only hope that next weekend (when the wind chill factor is in a more human-friendly zone and my emotions are stabilized enough to handle the fear of epic disappointment) that I am awed by the cinematic interpretation of one of my favorite books of all time -- my favorite of all The Chronicles of Narnia. When I read/see Eustace Clarence Scrubb in the ways C.S. Lewis created him, I see myself, my own dragon scales getting ripped off by the claws of the LION who loves me enough to bathe me with his rough pink tongue and make me clean.

Some of you may know that I have dabbled in the world of songwriting. In fact the music business was my chosen career path when I moved to Nashville and entered Belmont University's Music Business program in 1991. Moving to Iowa put a bit of a kabosh on my career plans, but I couldn't stop writing lyrics. This musical penchant has helped me as a writer, to feel the rhythm of prose, the musicality of story, as I try to create that which moves the emotion of a reader.

Some of you also know (because I have blogged about it before) that for most of my reading life I have tried to read through the complete Chronicles of Narnia every 2 years or so, to see how much bigger the Lion seems based on my own growth (see my old post Countdown to Prince Caspian, or another one: Lions & Chiggers & Dragons, oh my!) After one such re-entry into Narnia (in 2006) I penned the following lyric, entitled "Eustace's Daughter", based loosely on another lyric I had created in college many years before, again, after reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I still hope to someday put it to music -- but the right melody hasn't revealed itself yet; the lyric itself needs revision. But due to the release of the film it seemed appropriate to share the lyric here, even in its imperfect state. And, who knows, maybe some other music-writing Narnia-lover will be interested in contacting me (leave a comment in the comments form) about the possibility of co-writing a melody for this song someday. In any case, here it is, unedited & unrefined, like me. Because, unfortunately, I still must seek the rough pink tongue of a LION regularly.

--my apologies for the weird formatting -- I've been fighting with it to make it more uniform, but it isn't translating from the "new post" page to this page accurately. Go with it. ----

“Eustace’s Daughter”

words by Shawna R. Van Ness

Thick scales

a dragon’s tail

the heaviness in my soul

is like a man drowning in gold

Scalding tears

breathing fear

Your presence shocks the fire from my eyes

I know just who You are to my surprise

Layer by layer by layer you bid me

My own strength is spent but yet you still bid me

Sir, your vicious mercy scores my skin

Dig deep enough to gut the soul within

Wound to heal me with that golden claw

Wash me with the tender sting of love

Treasure cave, a dooming grave

the shame caused by my greed

hangs like mist below the trees

My golden lair, His burning stare

Your beauty puts the brightest gem to shame

You see me as I am and douse my flame

Layer by layer by layer you bid me

My own strength is spent but yet you still bid me

Sir, your vicious mercy scores my skin

Dig deep enough to gut the soul within

Wound to heal me with that golden claw

Wash me with the tender sting of love

Naked and raw in the water

I step in like Eustace’s daughter

and I scream -- oh, the sting....

Layer by layer by layer you bid me

My own strength is spent but yet you still bid me

Sir, your vicious mercy scores my skin

Dig deep enough to gut the soul within

Wound to heal me with that golden claw

Wash me with the tender sting of love

The water turns sweet on my skin

You've washed away all of my sin

In your view

I am new….

copyright 2006 Shawna R. Van Ness

fiction mirrors truth.

On My Soapbox Again: In Defense of Potter

A couple of weeks ago I responded to a question posted to one of the forums of an online writing community in which I participate. The question concerned Harry Potter. If you've read many of my previous posts, you might be able to guess the direction of my comments. I tend to get all worked up when a possible Potter-bashing seems to be on the cusp of a discussion. So... I said my piece and then decided to opt out and let it lie. But alas... more comments rolled in and... here I am on my soapbox once again.

I understand that many people feel uncomfortable reading a book which, on the surface, seems to promote things which are not of God. Fine. Don't read it. But don't judge others for doing so. And, whatever you do, don't allow yourself to spread negative propaganda from an Pharisaical position of ignorance. Instead, remember that the very stories Jesus told, (which were often incomprehensible at the time to his listeners),were nothing less than illustrations of Truth artfully hidden within Story in order to stretch the minds and hearts of generations yet to come.

I believe Fiction is a gift which the Holy Spirit can and does use--often. And fiction which is not published under the "Christian" banner/label/genre, seems to have the most potential for this life-changing infusion of Truth into the world.

Jesus didn't hang out at the local Christian Book Shop, or even in the bonnet-book section at Walmart-- waiting for the sinners to show up. And neither should we.

Years ago, when the first movie of J.K.Rowling's series was coming out in theaters, my TV was filled with Christians coming out against both the films and the books. So, naturally, I read the first Harry Potter book, The Sorcerer's Stone, simply to see what the fuss was about and whether or not it was justified. When I closed the final page I was not scandalized, but rather, I was in tears, because of the Beauty and Truth I found within its pages. And... I was ANGRY at the Salem-like, legalistic fanaticism which fueled the controversies concerning this (and the following) books.

In a later book in the Harry Potter series, Ms. Rowling, I believe, answers this unfounded criticism with the minor character Pius Thicknesse. A laughable, metaphorical name, to be sure, I believe Mr. Thicknesse to be a comment to the anti-Potter crowd within "the church". I laughed out loud when I first came across this character's name and corresponding personality. It seems to shout to all the naysayers, "Duh!" (Of course, the naysayers wouldn't have read the book, so.... I guess it was maybe for the entertainment for those who have read the series and "get it.") Bravo, Jo.

The self-adapted phrase "don't be so heavenly minded that your mind is of no earthly good." seems appropriate here.

In short (yes, it seems a bit daft to claim brevity at this point in my defense of Fiction) I refuse to take seriously the negative "review" or criticism of a novel when such opinion is perpetrated by a person who has not personally read the work(s) of fiction in question. There is a certain aspect of mob mentality present when an individual succumbs to ignorant propaganda created by those who refuse to look beyond the fictional aspects of a novel to see the Beauty and Truth (both things of God) hidden in plain sight upon the page.

There is NO PLACE within Rowling's popular series where a protagonist or even minor character on the "good guys" team bashes or even remotely insults Truth or Christianity. There are times when, like all of us, they question the cost of doing what is right, but it is the evil characters --those who have sold themselves over to darkness and the love of power--who insult all that is Good and True.

Cuz that is what the bad guy does in fiction. Duh.

Fiction isn't Truth--fiction is a mirror for Truth. Sometimes it is a pure reflection, other times it is a funhouse mirror or a cracked surface. But by judging a book by its cover (or title, or propaganda and rumor) we may just miss out on something which the Holy Spirit could use to give us a better understanding--and a clearer view--of Himself.

Even those books/movies/tv shows that bash Christians and Christianity, unfortunately, are sadly accurate mirrors of the Loud Voices of Hypocrisy & Legalism which have stained the label "Christian" into a laughable subculture rather than a living relationship of eternal significance. By association, these reflections have stained the name of Christ. Yes, I am angered when I hear these insults, but often on two levels. First: because the insult is driven into something which is True and, second, because it is likely driven as a preemptive action or defensive strike by someone (a writer?) who has obviously been hurt at the hands/words/deeds of someone claiming to carry the banner of Christ.

May God's Mercy cover us all. And may we, as writers, produce inspired works of fiction which not only draw the reader into our worlds, but, through the work of the Holy Spirit, ignite a passion for Truth within the areas of our culture--and our hearts--where a Lie has taken root.