The Collected Poems Of C S Lewis

Although C. S. Lewis is best known for his prose and for his clear, lucid literary criticism, Christian apologetics, and imaginative Ransom and Narnia stories, he considered himself a poet for the first two and a half decades of his life. Owen Barfield recalls that anyone who met Lewis as a young man in the early 1920s at Oxford University quickly learned he was one "whose ruling passion was to become a great poet. At that time if you thought of Lewis you automatically thought of poetry." The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis offers readers, for the first time, a one-volume collection of Lewis's poetry, including many poems that have never appeared in print. With the poems arranged in chronological order, this volume allows readers the opportunity to compare the poetry Lewis was writing while he was also writing his fiction and nonfiction prose. Beginning with his earliest lyric poems from 1907, The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis follows Lewis's efforts to write long, narrative poems, which were particularly influenced by Norse mythology. His outburst of lyric poetry as a young man in the trenches during World War I culminates in his first published work, Spirits in Bondage (1919), followed by his most ambitious narrative poem, Dymer (1926). Both volumes afford unique insights into Lewis the atheist. After his conversion to Christianity in 1930, Lewis wrote a collection of sixteen religious lyrics that he included in The Pilgrim's Regress (1933); as a group, these are considered among his best poems. Until his death in 1963, Lewis continued writing and publishing poetry, often appearing in journals and magazines under his pseudonym N. W., shorthand for the Anglo-Saxon nat whilk, "[I know] not whom." As a whole, these latter poems are either occasional verses, burlesques, and erudite satires or they are contemplative poems musing upon the human condition and its pain, joy, suffering, pride, love, doubt, and faith. The Collected Poems of C. S. Lewis demonstrates a dedicated, determined, and passionate poet at work and illustrates the degree and depth to which poetry shaped Lewis's literary, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual life.

A repackaged edition of the revered author’s poetry—a collection of verse that exemplifies and celebrates his breadth of knowledge, his wide-ranging interests, both spiritual and earthly, and his never-ending search to find God and understand the mysteries of the world. Known for his fiction and philosophical nonfiction, C. S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—was also an accomplished poet. In Poems, Lewis dives deep into a wide range of subjects—from God to nature to love to unicorns—revealing his extensive imagination and sense of wonder.

C.S. Lewis is best known as the creator of the fanciful world of Narnia and writer of literary criticism and Christian apologetics. This book examines Lewis's early writings, under the pseudonym Clive Hamilton, analyzing the influence of his formative poetic aspirations upon his later prose. By looking at early diaries and letters, and the inclusion of four of Lewis's previously unpublished narrative poems and eleven previously unpublished short poems, this text explains the man through his writing.

A repackaged edition of the revered author’s collection of four poems: "Dymer," "Launcelot," "The Nameless Isle," and "The Queen of Drum." C. S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—was also a talented poet. In this collection of four longer works of verse, Lewis displays his deep love for medieval and Renaissance poetry and themes, influences that shaped—and resonate through—his fiction.

The life and work of C.S. Lewis after his conversion in 1931 is well known and his reputation shows no signs of diminishing. His earlier years have not been so well studied, particularly between the ages of 16 and 22 when he studied privately and at Oxford, served in the British army, was wounded in France, entered into his affair with Janie Moore, and wrote and published his first book of poems. To correct and augment the limited accounts of this period, Lewis’s life is presented with the general and specific background which makes it more meaningful, particularly as it throws light on his character. The romantic myth of him as a "soldier-poet" is dispelled, largely through an extensive review of the poems in "Spirits in Bondage" and the self-centered life that produced them. A valuable comparison—not to the advantage of Lewis—is drawn with two undoubted soldier-poets, Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon. The purpose is not to disparage or belittle Lewis but to show what had to be overcome in his limited and unpleasant early moral character in order to produce the devoted Christian of later years.

The life and work of C.S. Lewis after his conversion in 1931 is well-known and his reputation shows no signs of diminishing. His earlier years have not been so well studied, particularly between the ages of 16 and 22 when he studied privately and at Oxford, served in the British army, was wounded in France, entered into his affair with Janie Moore, and wrote and published his first book of poems. To correct and augment the limited accounts of this period, Lewis’s life is presented with the general and specific background which makes it more meaningful, particularly as it throws light on his character. The romantic myth of him as a ‘soldier-poet’ is dispelled, largely through an extensive review of the poems in ‘Spirits in Bondage’ and the self-centered life that produced them. A valuable comparison—not to the advantage of Lewis—is drawn with two undoubted soldier-poets, Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon. The purpose is not to disparage or belittle Lewis but to show what had to be overcome in his limited and unpleasant early moral character in order to produce the devoted Christian of later years.

What was it like to have C. S. Lewis as a teacher? Most people know C. S. Lewis through his writings, but in his lifetime he was first and foremost a teacher. Now those who were influenced by what they learned from his teaching offer a unique view of one of the most influential Christian writers of all time. What was it like to study under C. S. Lewis when he taught at Oxford and Cambridge? How did his influence and teaching create a legacy that has influenced educators since? C. S. Lewis Remembered is a collection of interviews and essays that offer personal perspectives on Lewis the teacher and Lewis the man. These recollections portray him in all his humanity: both the irascibility and the brilliance, both the ferocity of his intellectual precision and the eagerness of his curiosity. Some of this book’s contributors chose to study with Lewis because of his Christian faith. Others admired him as a scholar but never shared Lewis’s interest in religion. Still others shared his “mere Christianity” but differed with him over his Protestantism. But all of them came into contact with Lewis when they were young adults, whether they were students, colleagues, or those who knew him informally as a teacher. Many of them followed in his footsteps and became educators as well. Former students such as W. Brown Patterson, Peter Milward, and Peter Bayley talk about what it was like to study under Lewis. A recent lecture by Walter Hooper and essays by such noted scholars as Barbara Reynolds offer additional insight on Lewis and his influence. Also included are pieces by Lewis’s godson, Lawrence Harwood; a transcript of an interview with Owen Barfield, a friend who knew Lewis from the time Lewis returned to Oxford after World War I and who played an important role in Lewis’s shift from atheism to belief in God; and a hitherto unpublished sketch of Lewis by Mary Shelley Neylan. In addition, an article that appeared in SF Horizons, a magazine for science fiction fans, offers a transcript of a taped conversation between C. S. Lewis, Kingsley Amis, and Brian Aldiss.

@Published in 1919 when Lewis was only twenty, these early poems give an insight into the author's youthful agnosticism. The poems are written in various metrical forms, but are unified by a central idea, expressing his conviction that nature was malevolent and beauty the only true spirituality. Preface by Walter Hooper.@@