Lewis, Alun (1915–1944)

Welsh poet and short-story writer. His austere sense of vocation as a writer and his disciplined style of writing marked him out as a poet of great promise, as shown by his first published volume of poems, Raiders' Dawn 1942. This was followed by Ha! Ha! Among the Trumpets published posthumously 1945. Lewis's poetry is characterized by a realistic and humane approach to life, tempered with a fine idealism and formed with integrity and discipline. His sense of realism also found expression in a notable collection of short stories, The Last Inspection 1943.

Lewis was born near Aberdare and educated at the University College of Wales and Manchester University. He entered the army 1940 and served in India and Burma, where he was killed. A number of his letters from India were published 1949, together with six short stories under the title In the Green Tree.