John Heath-Stubbs, 88; British poet was inspired by classical myth

John Heath-Stubbs, 88, a British poet and translator who used classical myth as an inspiration for his verse, died Tuesday at a nursing home in London. The cause of death was not announced.

The 1973 winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, Heath-Stubbs also wrote plays, criticism and translations, including “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” with Peter Avery in 1979 and his own epic poem, “Artorius: A Heroic Poem in Four Books and Eight Episodes” published in 1973.

Other works included 1969’s “Satires and Epigrams” and “The Immolation of Aleph” published in 1985.

Born in London on July 9, 1918, Heath-Stubbs earned a degree at Queen’s College, Oxford, where his classmates included the writers C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

His first published appearance came in 1941 in the book “Eight Oxford Poets,” and he helped edit “Oxford Poetry” in 1942-1943.

He also edited the 1953 British poetry anthology “Images of Tomorrow.”

Heath-Stubbs, who slowly lost his eyesight and went completely blind in 1978, had been diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year.

In an interview with the British newspaper the Independent published in 1993, Heath-Stubbs said the loss of his sight did not detract from his enjoyment of life, but he lamented being unable to scour secondhand bookstores.