"It is 'Will' that creates the world, even though the world itself is a malignant thing which inveigles us into reproducing and perpetuating life. The way to terminate this malignancy is by asceticism."—from the preface

In 1919, when C.S. Lewis was only twenty, just a few months returned from the Great War, his first collection of poetry was published, presaging the author's brilliant career. At the time, Lewis was in the midst of his agnostic phase, yet to become the great Christian philosopher of his later life. As such, the poems all revolve around the theme of nature as a malevolent force, with beauty as the only divine truth.

This volume includes a preface by Walter Hooper, which illuminates Lewis's formative influences, drawing from his letters, diaries, and other works to provide a record of the early part of the great writer's life.

"[Lewis's] writing is like the easy talk of a good conversationalist and he challenges many deeply set convictions without raising his voice." —St. Louis Post Dispatch