From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
Dylan Marlais Thomas, (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer.
[edit] Biography
5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea: the birthplace of Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas was born in the coastal city of Swansea, Wales. His father David, who was a writer and possessed a degree in English, and whose own father was arrested for having child slaves, brought his son up to speak English rather than Thomas's mother's native language, 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 was unable to actively fight in World War II because he was considered too frail, however he still served the war effort by writing scripts for government propaganda.
Thomas attended the boys-only Swansea Grammar School, in the Mount Pleasant district of the city, where 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' 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, provided substance for 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. He also possessed an immensely striking and powerful voice which would captivate American audiences during his speaking tours of the early 1950's.
In 1937 Thomas married Caitlin MacNamara and would have three children with her, although the marriage was tempestuous, their rows becoming the stuff of legend. There were affairs and rumours of affairs on both sides, (Caitlin had an affair with Augustus John before, and quite possibly after, she married Thomas). 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.
Thomas liked to boast about his drinking. During an incident on November 3, 1953, Thomas returned to the Chelsea Hotel in New York and exclaimed "I've had 18 straight whiskies, I think this is a record".
He collapsed on November 9, 1953 at the White Horse Tavern, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan after drinking heavily while in New York on a promotional speaking 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 last words, according to Jack Heliker, were: "After 39 years, this is all I've done." 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.
His poetry is a homogeneous, polyphonic blend of linguistic sounds derived from the assonance, alliteration, concord, discord, euphony, cacophony, etc. Thomas obviously emphasizes the sounds of his poetry over the philosophy of their subjects, contents, themes, etc.
Here is an exemplary excerpt, from "In the White Giant's Thigh:"
"Who once were a bloom of wayside brides in the hawed house and heard the lewd, wooed field flow to the coming frost, the scurrying furred small firars squeal in the dowse of day in the thistle aisle till the white owl crossed..."
[edit] Thomas memorials
- See also: Cultural depictions of Dylan Thomas
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 honour 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 like 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. The Powerful Coolmore Racing Stud have a Colt (horse) who is called Dylan Thomas and won the Irish Derby on the 2nd July 2006.
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.
In 2004 a new literary prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, was created in honour of the poet. It will be awarded to the best published writer in English under the age of 30.
His obituary was written by his long term friend Vernon Watkins.
A song by a Welsch-based rock band, The Rambones, pays tribute to Thomas in the final line, as they sing, "I choose to go gentle, but I promise/It's with no offense to Dylan Thomas."
[edit] Bibliography
Poetry
- Collected Poems 1934 – 1953 (London: Phoenix, 2003)
- Selected Poems (London: Phoenix, 2001)
Prose
- Collected Letters
- Collected Stories
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog (1940 Dent)
- Under Milk Wood
- Quite Early One Morning (posthumous)
- Rebecca's Daughters (1965)
[edit] Discography
- Dylan Thomas: Volume I - A Child's Christmas in Wales and Five Poems (Caedmon TC 1002 - 1952)
- Under Milk Wood (Caedmon TC 2005 - 1953)
- Dylan Thomas: Volume II - Selections from the Writings of Dylan Thomas (Caedmon TC 1018 - 1954)
- Dylan Thomas: Volume III - Selections from the Writings of Dylan Thomas (Caedmon TC 1043)
- Dylan Thomas: Volume VI - Selections from the Writings of Dylan Thomas (Caedmon TC 1061)
[edit] Filmography
- Rebecca's Daughters (screenplay 1948, produced 1991)
[edit] External links
