Alun Lewis

Alun Lewis was a Welsh poet and soldier who died fighting in World War II. Born in Aberdare, Wales, he developed an early interest in English poetry. After the outbreak of the war, he joined the British Army Royal Engineers; during that time, he published a poetry collection and a collection of short stories. In 1944, he died in Burma from a self-inflicted wound.

Lewis published the poetry collection Raiders’ Dawn (1942) and the short story collections The Last Inspection (1942), and Ha! Ha! Among the Trumpets (1945). Following the posthumous collections of several works, including Letters from India (1946) and Selected Poetry and Prose (1966), Lewis has become one of the most well-known poets of World War II. Critic Ian Hamilton writes that Lewis’s poetry reflects his attempts “to catch and hold some vision that would illuminate its desolation with meaning.”