What name did C.S. Lewis use as the author of Dymer?

C.S. Lewis published Dymer under the name Clive Hamilton.

Dymer is a narrative poem first published in 1926. Lewis used “Clive Hamilton” as a pseudonym for this early work, partly because he was not yet publishing fiction and poetry under the famous initials that later became widely recognized. The poem presents a dark, imaginative story about the figure Dymer and reflects Lewis’s early interest in myth, symbolism, and literary experimentation.

The name should not be confused with Lewis’s childhood nickname, Jack. Jack was the name used by family and friends, whereas Clive Hamilton was a literary pen name used for publication. Lewis also published Spirits in Bondage under the same pseudonym.

Dymer appeared before Lewis’s major Christian apologetic books and before The Chronicles of Narnia. Its style and subject matter differ sharply from the children’s fantasy series, making it a useful example of the range of his early writing.