REGINA: While most of our readers are familiar with Chesterton, some of them may not have read any of his works. Could you recommend a good starting point for someone new to Chesterton?
AHLQUIST: Well, I recommend that first timers start with the two introductory books that I wrote on Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense and Common Sense 101:Lessons from G.K. Chesterton. I design my books to open the gate to the world of Chesterton, such as his all-important Orthodoxy, a mixture of madness, fairy tales, suicide, and yacht and chariot rides.
And for our readers seeking some lesser-known gem to discover?
I recommend The Illustrated London News essays (which are part of the Collected Works published by Ignatius Press), and if you have access to a good library, the Daily News essays (published by Pickering and Chatto).
And then there is Gilbert magazine, published by the American Chesterton Society, like this gem from 1930: “When people begin to ignore human dignity, it will not be long before they begin to ignore human rights.”
REGINA: I understand all Chesterton’s works will be more widely accessible soon?
AHLQUIST: Getting all Chesterton's writing into an easily searchable, digital format is a project we have been working on for years. The first and biggest part of the project has been to collect all that he wrote: 100 books, 5,000 essays, hundreds of poems.
In addition, we keep finding more, full of the Chesterton verbal fireworks and astonishing insight, like this gem: "The most important sort of knowledge is to know which things are worth knowing," (from a 1932 article in Sign a Catholic magazine).
We’ve made a lot of progress on this gigantic project. We're hoping to work with a university to host a website to make this incomparable tool available.
REGINA: And might we be calling him “Saint Chesterton” anytime soon?
AHLQUIST: Chesterton’s Cause has not been opened officially. The investigator is Canon John Udris, the spiritual director at St. Mary’s Seminary in Oscott, England.
We hope that the result of Fr. Udris’ investigation will lead to Chesterton’s being declared a Servant of God. In the meantime, we have prayer cards. Ask for his intercession.
REGINA | 10
“The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry, and all their songs are sad.” Would Chesterton say the same thing today?"