He was a man of colossal genius. ― George Bernard Shaw on G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton was considered to be the 20th century’s greatest writer and thinker. He started his writing life as a literary and art critic, but soon after became a writer, a poet, a philosopher, a dramatist, a journalist, an orator, a lay theologian, and a biographer. There was very little he was unwilling to express an opinion about, invariably in a highly readable and quotable fashion.
“My country, right or wrong,” is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, “My mother, drunk or sober.” ― The Defendant
Chesterton was born in Kensington, London and was baptized into the Church of England, but in 1922, at the age of 48, he officially converted to Catholicism. However, he had long had a fascination with the religion, making the main character of his popular series of mysteries, Father Brown, a Catholic priest.
The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people. ― Illustrated London News, 7/16/10
After attending St. Paul’s School, Chesterton entered the Slade School where he studied art and illustration and took the occasional 
class on literature, but he never graduated. Instead, in 1900 he began working for a publisher as an illustrator and was asked to contribute a few articles to an art criticism magazine. By 1902 he was contributing a weekly column to the Daily News and in 1905 he started writing a weekly column for The Illustrated London News which he continued to write for the next 30 years.
A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author. ― Heretics
During his lifetime he wrote around 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories, 4000 essays, and several plays. He also published his own newspaper, G. K.'s Weekly. The Ignatius Press is currently working on a collected works edition of his writing and is currently up to volume 37 and they aren’t done yet. You can find much of his writing at the library, both in the regular collection and in Special Collections. You can find a full list here. You can also find a display of his works on the 3rd floor outside Special Collections and you should plan to attend An Evening with G.K. Chesterton on Monday, March 19th at 7:00 in Ballroom A.
[T]he most savagely serious man of his time. ― G. K. Chesterton on George Bernard Shaw
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