Poetry. THE COLLECTED POEMS OF TERENCE TILLER brings back into print, after more than 40 years, the work of a rediscovered lyric–modernist genius of World War II Poetry — a shy Cambridge don who became stranded in Cairo in 1940 and wrote for the rest of the war with his friend Keith Douglas. Douglas died while Tiller went on to have a successful career at BBC radio, producing, among other things, the very first adaptation of Tolkien's
The Lord of the Rings
. Always an eccentric, Tiller increasingly fell into obscurity. Now, we can see his achievement for what it is — unabashedly romantic, rich wordplay, with the Middle East, mythology, love, and desire firmly at its core. Eyewear is pleased to publish this handsome hardcover edition on the centenary of the poet's birth, with a scholarly introduction by Todd Swift, a Tiller Scholar, and a preface by Tiller's grandson.
"...arising at the end of his centenary year came as handsome a
Collected Poems
as any poet could wish for, gathering his six volumes in the order of their original publication, complete with a detailed introductory essay by Todd Swift, a selection of photographs, and...an appendix..."—John Greening,
The Times Literary Supplement