ChesterCon 2009

I en stormfull tid der Norge er i harnisk over kirkens sleske overgrep som gir alle anledning til gratis å si fra om at de er feiloppført i det sentrale medlemsregisteret, driver man andre steder i verden med annet.

En av disse tingene er den årlige Chesterton-konferansen, denne gangen lagt til Seattle.

Som så ofte er den lettere iherdige og ustoppelig utforskende biografen Geir Hasnes på banen - samt talerstolen.

Mens han tidligere har bevist at Chesterton ikke var feit, beviser Geir denne gangen at GKC publiserte flere bøker før han ga ut sin første. Og at han var populær i vide kretser, selv etter at han var blitt katolikk.

In addition to the amazing trifles about the American lecture tour, Hasnes proceeded to lay waste to several other myths about Chesterton. One of these myths is that Chesterton wasn't published or recognized for his writing prior to the prize he won at school for the poem about St. Francis Xavier. Hasnes has found at least 15 occasions where Chesterton was published not only in school newspapers and magazines, but also in the Daily News.

A second trifle Hasnes unearthed were the books that Chesterton ghost wrote prior to his first book publication. One of these books was titled: Roman Life Under the Cesaers by Emile Thomas.

A third trifle was that Hasnes was able to dispel the myth that Chesterton's fame waned in the later years after his conversion in 1922. This was simply not true. He was written up in Vanity Fair, and international publication, in 1923 as one of the most interesting people in the world.

At det fortsatt arrangeres årlige konferanser antyder nok at han ennå ikke er glemt.