The Sentry: Poems and Stories

by Alun Lewis, Meic Stephens (Editor)

The poems of one of the great British writers of World War II are compiled in this collection of war poetry whose brilliance and scope transcends its genre. Widely considered the last works in the Romantic style, the poetry is characterized by a vivid realism and emotional power. The poems spans the length of its artist's late adolescence and early adulthood, tracing the developing mastery of the poet and serving as a tragic testament to the lost potential of a literary figure whose accidental death at the age of 28 prevented him from reaching the full height of his artisitic power. Alun Lewis (1915-1944) was one of the few great British writers of the Second World War. His early death at the age of twenty-eight robbed Wales of its most promising poet and story writer. Born and brought up near Aberdare in south Wales, the son of a teacher, he read history at Aberystwyth and Manchester. After a period of unemployment he became a teacher in south Wales, before enlisting in the Royal Engineers in 1940. Although he had been writing since an early age, becoming a soldier had a stimulating effect on Lewis's his first book of poems, Raiders' Dawn, was published in 1942, and The Last Inspection, a collection of stories, appeared in the same year, alerting critics and editors to the arrival of a new war writer. Both books are characterised by vivid realism and emotional power. Later in 1942 Lewis's new regiment, the South Wales Borderers, travelled to India. His experiences there are recreated in the beautiful poems of Ha! Ha! Among the Trumpets and the stories and letters of In the Green Tree. On the reputation of these four books Alun Lewis is widely seen, with Keith Douglas, as the outstanding writer of World War Two. Collected Stories reprints the war stories in their entirety for the first time. It also collects stories published in student magazines and newspapers such as The Guardian, together with several previously unseen. In bringing together all this material, editor Cary Archard shows Lewis's development from remarkable schoolboy writer to mature and established author whose stories appeared in magazines such as Horizon and Lilliput.

Genres: Poetry

98 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2003

About the author

Alun Lewis (1915-1944) was born in Cwmaman. When he was 11, he won a scholarship to Cowbridge Grammar School, and it was here that he began to write well-crafted, thought-provoking fiction. A bright and sensitive boy, his talent for writing was evident from a young age and didn’t go unnoticed by his teachers; he had several stories, including ‘The Tale of the Dwarf’ and ‘The End of the Hunt’, published in his school magazine, The Bovian.

At 17 he won another scholarship to study History at Aberystwyth University, achieving first class honours, and in 1935 he moved to Manchester to study for his MA with the intention of becoming a teacher. When his training was complete he taught at Lewis Boys’ School in Pengam.

A pacifist by nature, Lewis appeared to have no intention of joining the army when the Second World War cast its shadow over Britain, but he eventually joined the Royal Engineers and later qualified as a Second Lieutenant despite how unhappy military life made him. He was stationed with the South Wales Borderers until December 1942, where he arrived at a new station in Nira, India. In the same year his poetry collection Raiders’ Dawn was published. It would be the only collection published during his lifetime.

Just over a year later, in February 1944, Lewis was moved to Burma. There he and his men fought the Japanese on the front line, despite Lewis’s rank meaning he could have remained at headquarters. Though he missed his wife, his family and his home, and struggled with severe depression, he was determined to fight for what he believed was right.

A month later, on the 5th March, 1944, Lewis was found shot in the head after shaving and washing, and died from the wound six hours later. He was 28 years old. Though it is widely believed to have been a tragic accident, there are others who believe Lewis’s death was a suicide. One thing we can be certain of is that his premature death was a great loss to Welsh, and indeed British, literature.

In 2015, Lewis's centenary year, Seren reprinted his Collected Poems, Collected Stories and Letters to My Wife, and also published his previously lost novel, Morlais.

Reviews

[Bethany Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some brilliant poems in here. Would heartily recommend. A very deep soul

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only discovered Alun Lewis last week. On the morning of his centenary, in fact. I was doing work experience with the Welsh publishers Seren who recently published his complete works. Off to Aberdare we went to celebrate this writer - a Welsh war poet and writer who died in Burma, 1944 - and his honest, emotional body of work. I thought I'd better buy something of his and so I found this lovely little book on the stand - only 99p. So then, if I didn't like it, at least I had a nice reminder of the day.

I wish I'd bought a couple more books of his writing because it really is heart-warming and sometimes very funny. His poetry can occasionally be emotional and subtle but also fiercely descriptive. Favourites included 'The Mountain over Aberdare' and 'Water Music'. His stories, though, were when his writing hit me the most. 'They Came', in particular, a beautifully tragic story that begins with a comedic lightness of touch but ends in fear and sorrow. Alun Lewis deserves to be remembered as a prominent figure in Welsh literature. At least it makes a change from Dylan fucking Thomas.