C. Day Lewis

C. Day Lewis (1904-1972), English poet and novelist, born in Ballintogher, Ireland. His father, a Church of Ireland clergyman, moved the family to England in 1906. Day Lewis was educated at the University of Oxford and during World War II (1939-1945) served in the Ministry of Information. After the war he taught at the University of Cambridge and wrote poetry and novels. Day Lewis returned to Oxford and until 1956 occupied the chair of poetry. Many of his poems are based on classical myths to which he gave contemporary interpretations. His works include Overture to Death (1938), The Poetic Image (1947), Collected Poems (1954), The Whispering Roots (1970), and the novels The Morning After Death (1966) and The Private Wound (1968), as well as mystery stories written under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake. Day Lewis was poet laureate from 1968 to 1972. He is the father of Academy Award-winning actor Daniel Day Lewis.