Yesterday, in my anticipation to hear John Piper's message on C. S. Lewis this coming Tuesday, I curiously checked the index of The Quotable Lewis for any listings under "biography." I wanted to see if Lewis himself ever said anything about what Piper is going to do with him.
Here's what I found. Not surprisingly, Lewis' words here point towards the theme of this year's Pastors Conference: The Pastor, the People, and the Pursuit of Joy.
It is a very consoling fact that so many books about real lives—biographies, autobiographies, letters, etc.—give one such an impression of happiness, in spite of the tragedies they all contain. What could be more tragic than the main outlines of Lamb's or Cowper's lives? But as soon as you open the letters of either, and see what they were writing from day to day and what a relish they got out of it, you almost begin to envy them. Perhaps the tragedies of real life contain more consolation and fun and gusto than the comedies of literature? (75; Originally published in The Letters of C. S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves [4 December 1932], p. 445)