The Christian Imagination: G.K. Chesterton on the Arts

Here is a new look at imagination and the arts from the point of view of one of Western civilization’s most insightful observers – G.K. Chesterton. Gilbert Chesterton had the rare gift of being able to understand situations from the “inside” – that is, to see through the hidden assumptions, lapses in logic, and other follies of even his own social and occupational situations. He was a journalist, and yet an unsparing critic of journalism. He was a poet, a story-teller, a novelist, a playwright, and an illustrator. Among the most imaginative of men who ever lived, Chesterton had much of value to say about the arts, imagination, and the Christian faith.Thomas Peters takes the reader on a guided tour of Chesterton’s observations and opinions regarding human imagination and its various manifestations in the arts. Using ample quotations in order to let Chesterton speak for himself, Peters explores the master’s views on imagination, culture, and faith, as well as his fascinating opinions on everything from styles of painting to meter in poetry, from bohemian lifestyles to materialist philosophy, from singing at the bank to waiting for the train.