Dylan Thomas

From Free net encyclopedia

Dylan Marlais Thomas, (October 27 1914 – November 9 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer.

1 Life
2 Career and influence
3 Thomas memorials
4 Dylan on Dylan
5 Bibliography
6 External links

Life

Image:Dylan thomas birthplace.jpg Dylan Thomas was born in the coastal town of Swansea, Wales. His father David, who was a writer and possessed a degree in English, brought his son up to speak English rather than Thomas's mother's native Welsh. His middle name, "Marlais", came from the bardic name of his uncle, the Unitarian minister, Gwilym Marles (whose real name was William Thomas).

Thomas attended the boys-only Swansea Grammar School, (now known as Bishop Gore School), at which his father taught English Literature. It was in the school's magazine that the young Dylan saw his first poem published. He left school at age 16 to become a reporter for a year and a half.

Thomas's childhood was spent largely in Swansea, with regular summer trips to visit his mother's family on their Carmarthen farm. These rural sojourns, and their contrast with the town life of Swansea, would inform much of his work, notably many short stories and radio essays and the poem "Fern Hill".

Thomas wrote half his poems and many short stories when he lived at the family home at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive—"And death shall have no dominion" is one of the best known works written at this address. By the time his first poetry volume, 18 Poems, was published in November 1934, he was one of the most exciting young poets writing in the English language.

In 1937, Thomas married Caitlin Macnamara (1913-1994), and would have three children with her, throughout the relationship, littered with affairs. January of 1939 saw the birth of their first child, a boy whom they named Llewelyn (died in 2000). He was followed in March of 1943 by a daughter, Aeronwy. A second son and third child, Colm Garan, was born in July, 1949.

He collapsed on November 4, 1953 at the White Horse Tavern after drinking heavily while in New York City on a promotional tour; Thomas later died at St. Vincent's hospital, aged 39. The primary cause of his death is recorded as pneumonia, with pressure on the brain and a fatty liver given as contributing factors. His penultimate words were: "I've had 18 straight whiskeys, I think this is a record." His final words were to Liz Reitell, to whom he said "I love you, but I am alone". Following his death, his body was brought back to Wales for burial in the village churchyard at Laugharne, Wales, where he had enjoyed his happiest days. In 1994, his widow, Caitlin, was buried alongside him.

[edit]

Career and influence

Dylan Thomas is widely considered one of the greatest 20th century poets writing in English. He remains the leading figure in Anglo-Welsh literature. His vivid and often fantastic imagery was a rejection of the trends in 20th Century verse: while his contemporaries gradually altered their writing to serious topical verse (political and social concerns were often expressed), Thomas gave himself over to his passionately felt emotions, and his writing is often both intensely personal and fiercely lyrical. Thomas, in many ways, was more in alignment with the Romantics than he was with the poets of his era. Thomas' short stories are poetry exploded. Most notably is a semi-autobiographical selection published in 1940 entitled, 'Portrait of an Artist as a Young Dog', in which he explores his youth.

Thomas's circle, sometimes known as the "Kardomah Boys" after the coffee shop where they often met, included the composer and old school friend, Daniel Jones, the poet Vernon Watkins, and the artists Alfred Janes and Mervyn Levy.

Brought to the attention of the public by the discerning eye of the English Romantic poet Victor Benjamin Neuberg,the poetry editor of the Sunday Referee, Thomas was invited to London by Neuberg and introduced to the capital's influential literary critics.

He is particularly remembered for the remarkable radio-play Under Milk Wood, for his poem "Do not go gentle into that good night," which is generally interpreted as a plea to his dying father to hold onto life, and for the short stories "A Child's Christmas in Wales." and "The Outing".

[edit]

Thomas memorials

As would be expected of a famous poet whose best known line is "Do not go gentle into that good night", many memorials have been constructed or converted to honor Thomas. Tourists in his home town of Swansea can visit a statue in the maritime quarter, the Dylan Thomas Theatre, and the Dylan Thomas Centre, formerly the town's guildhall. The latter is now a literature centre, where exhibitions and lectures are held and is the setting for the city's annual Dylan Thomas Festival. Another monument to Thomas stands in Cwmdonkin Park, one of his favourite childhood haunts, close to his birthplace at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive. The memorial is inscribed with the closing lines from one of his best-loved poems, "Fern Hill." - "Oh I was young and easy in the mercy of his means/Time held me green and dying/Though I sang in my chains in the sea". This is inscribed on a rock in a closed-off garden within the park. Thomas's home in Laugharne, the Boat House, is also a memorial.

Several of the pubs in Swansea also have associations with the poet. One of Swansea's oldest pubs, the No Sign Bar, was a regular haunt, renamed the Wine Vaults in his story The Followers.

[edit]

Dylan on Dylan

It has been suggested that Bob Dylan, who was born Robert Allen Zimmerman, changed his name in tribute to Dylan Thomas. Bob Dylan has often denied this, responding in a 1966 interview, "Get that straight, I didn’t change my name in honor of Dylan Thomas. That’s just a story. I’ve done more for Dylan Thomas than he’s ever done for me." In 1965 he claimed that he took the name from an uncle named Dillon, adding, "I've read some of Dylan Thomas' stuff, and it's not the same as mine." In his 2004 biography, Chronicles Vol.1, however, Dylan admits that Dylan Thomas was relevant to his choice of alias, changing the surnom de plume of "Dillon" to "Dylan". Dylan is also billed as Robert Milkwood Thomas on Steve Goodman's "Somebody Elses Troubles" where he plays piano and harmonises on the title track.

[edit]