NEWS
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that The New York C. S. Lewis Society announces the
sudden and untimely passing of Professor James Como, a founding member of the New York
Society, on Monday, November 24, 2025, in Bucharest, Romania. Professor Como was attending
the “C. S. Lewis and Kindred Spirits” conference in IaÈ™i, Romania where he was a plenary
speaker.
Jim was a professor, lecturer, scholar, author, and friend. His devotion to C. S. Lewis’s thoughts
and ideas led him to become a founder of the Society, which has enjoyed fifty-six years of
successful existence due to his interest and devotion. His humor, accessible style, and erudition
influenced countless numbers of people, too many to measure. Those of us who are fortunate
enough to have known him will always be eternally grateful for his friendship, kindness, and
learning.
Jim is survived by his devoted wife, Alejandra, his children, and his grandchildren. Pray for him
and for them.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning,
nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.” Revelation
Jim and Alejandra at the
Society's 45th Anniversary
lecture by R.R. Reno.
November 22, 2014
College Essay Contest Winner Weighs Wordsworth
Aimee Smith wrote the winning college essay entitled, “Influences of Romanticism: Lewis, Wordsworth, and the Notion of Sehnsucht" while a senior at Bethel University, Indiana. The essay explored the Woodsworth poem, "Surprised by Joy" as it related to Lewis. She analyzed the concept of joy in Woodsworth and how Lewis departed from it. One English professor from England extended his congratulations to our top finisher, remarking on her ability to capture the themes within the poem. Amy wins the $500 prize, and will have her essay printed in the forthcoming issue of the Society bulletin.
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Second place winner:
Luke Hollister finished in second place with his essay, “C.S. Lewis's Fiction: Allowing His Pictures to Tell Their Own Moral” written as a senior at Hillsdale College. His essay vividly portrayed the use of images in Lewis’s fiction, while drawing from lesser known Lewis essays.