What pseudonym did C.S. Lewis use for some early poetry?

C.S. Lewis used the pseudonym Clive Hamilton for some of his early poetry.

Lewis published Spirits in Bondage in 1919 under the name Clive Hamilton. The volume appeared while he was still a young man and reflects the bleak, questioning tone associated with his experiences of war and grief.

He used the same pseudonym for Dymer, a long narrative poem published in 1926. The choice allowed Lewis to separate this literary identity from his academic career and from the name by which he was becoming known among friends and colleagues.

The name Clive Hamilton is sometimes confused with Lewis’s given name. He was born Clive Staples Lewis, but his friends generally called him “Jack,” a nickname that originated after the death of a childhood dog named Jacksie. Clive Hamilton was specifically a pen name, not his everyday personal name.