Dickensblog

It's real??

A castle owner in Devon, England, claims that the Ghost of Christmas Past is harrassing him. I don't know what he's worried about -- all he has to do is promise to change his ways!

A belated Christmas treat

Fans of A Christmas Carol and/or acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman will enjoy this free audio recording of him reading the book aloud at the New York Public Library, using Dickens's own prompt copy.

A new look at the 'Carol'

The website Open Culture has some nice shots of Dickens's reading copy of A Christmas Carol, plus an audio link to Monica Dickens's reading of it. 

'Christmas Carol' poetry contest results

We had five truly great poems in our Christmas Carol poetry contest. Thank you all so much for participating -- it was a joy to read your work!

Our distinguished judge, Rolley Haggard, has made his ruling, and the winners are . . .

First Place:

"Prequel" by Rheanna Macias

Second Place:

"Belle" by Marian

Third Place: 

"There is no glory in death . . ." by eavis

Congratulations! I'll contact you and get your addresses so I can send out the prizes!

I'm republishing all the poems below the cut. I'm also including one by Selenia -- hers was submitted but somehow got lost in the system. She's e-mailed it to me now, so I'll publish it here, with my sincere apologies.

Merry Christmas!

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me."

A very merry Christmas to Dickensians everywhere! :-)

(Thanks to Herb Moskovitz at The Buzfuz for the Dickens picture!)

Picking a favorite 'Carol'

Eric Metaxas, bestselling author (and a colleague of mine), names his favorite film adaptation of A Christmas Carol in this radio commentary. Do you have a favorite? If so, which one is it?

Dickens and mistletoe

In The Atlantic, my friend Alicia Cohn argues for seeing the mistletoe tradition as Dickens portrayed it in The Pickwick Papers: "as a salute 'in all courtesy and decorum.'"

Digging deeper in 'A Christmas Carol'

The Washington Post has a nice review of the recently re-released Annotated Christmas Carol, edited by Michael Patrick Hearn.

Christmas picspam

My friend Mary Ann Compher visited the Dickens Victorian Village in Cambridge, Ohio, and sent back plenty of pictures. They're below the cut!

Dickens on Google

Have you seen the working crossword puzzle that's today's Google doodle? It's got a Dickens reference!