A big man with big things to say
All the way from Kensington, coming in at 6 foot 4 inches and 300 pounds, the intellectual legend, the Laughing Prophet, the mighty G.K. CHESTERTON!
All roads lead to Rome! That much is true in the life of Dale Ahlquist, Chesterton scholar, writer and EWTN host. Ahlquist began his conversion to the Catholic church while on his honeymoon in Rome by reading GKC’s “The Everlasting Man.” It may have taken an additional 16 years to fully “go to Rome” in the spiritual sense, but he made it back home eventually.
Alquist spoke on GKC’s historical influence- Chesterton’s writings helped inspire Fulton Sheen to write his dissertation, Michael Collins to start a war for Ireland’s independence from England, Gandhi to start the movement for India’s independence and other British authors like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien in their own writings.
Chesterton had such a wide impact because of the scope of his written works. He touched on history, politics, literature, art, mythology, psychology and science. He was a prolific writer with nearly 100 books and 8,000 literary essays (equivalent to one essay per day for almost 22 years!)
In his talk, Ahlquist included anecdotes about Chesterton’s life and a general sense of who he was. Chesterton was both intellectually and physically impressive; his large intellect was matched by a large stature. Regarding personal character, it is said that Chesterton was also the most polite man in the UK, as he would stand to offer his seat on the bus and allow three women to take his spot.
Ahlquist did a great job of presenting an overview of Chesterton’s major works, historical influence and personal character, while entertaining the audience and cracking jokes during the presentation.
One of the most unique aspects of this presentation was the ambience. SB’s multipurpose room was set up more professionally than usual, with the stage curtained on either side by the American and Papal flags. There was also a professional videographer recording the talk. However, the most unique aspect of the atmosphere was the audience.
While many audience members were UD students, a great number were elderly Texas locals . This changed the atmosphere of the event, and the murmurings of the crowd added to the moments of humor in the talk. There were several older couples whispering to each other throughout the talk, asking each other if they heard what was just said or adding their approval. One might even say that one particular old man was heckling Ahlquist as he gave the performance, offering his personal opinions and being excited about the availability of snacks.
This lecture was also excellent for the twenty or so students in Dr. Hanssen’s “Anglo-American Catholic Intellectual Revival” class, because Chesterton is their primary text for the semester. If you know anybody in this class, go ahead and ask them what they thought of this talk!
Ahlquist’s talk showed that Chesterton is truly a man for the UD community. With the mix of truth and humor, the enjoyment of a cigar and a good drink and his strong Catholic faith, we can all take inspiration from Chesterton in one way or another.
Ahlquist is also working with the ongoing efforts to canonize Chesterton. The company “Tiny Saints” has already made Chesterton into a keychain. As Ahlquist pointed out, it is ironic for such a large man to be made into a tiny saint.
Sophie del Mazo is a junior history major with an ethics concentration.