Profile of Dylan Thomas on Famous Like Me

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

Life

Dylan Thomas was born in the Uplands area 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 Dylan's mother's native Welsh. He attended the boys-only Swansea Grammar School, (later known as Bishop Gore Grammar School, now reincarnated as Bishop Gore Comprehensive School), at which his father taught English Literature. It was in the school's magazine that the young Dylan saw his first poem published. Dylan Thomas's middle name, "Marlais", came from the bardic name of his uncle, the Unitarian minister, Gwilym Marles (whose real name was William Thomas). 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".

Dylan wrote half his poems and many short stories when he lived at no 5 Cwmdonkin Drive—"And death shall have no dominion" is one of the best known works written at this address. By the time he left the family home in 1934 he was one of the most exciting young poets writing in the English language. He collapsed at the White Horse Tavern after drinking heavily while in New York City on a promotional tour and later died at St Vincent's hospital. 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 were: "I've had 18 straight whiskeys, I think that's a record." Following his death, his body was brought back to Wales for burial in the village churchyard at Laugharne, where he had enjoyed his happiest days. In 1994, his widow, Caitlin, was buried alongside him. Their former home, the Boat House, Laugharne, is now a memorial to Dylan.

Career and Influence

Dylan Thomas is widely considered one of the greatest 20th century poets writing in English, frequently mentioned alongside Frost, Yeats, and T. S. Eliot in lists of the century's most important poets. 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 (Auden and Eliot, to name but two).

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". There are many memorials to Thomas in his home town of Swansea, including a statue in the maritime quarter, the Dylan Thomas Theatre, and the Dylan Thomas Centre. The latter building, formerly the Guildhall, was opened by ex-President of the United States Jimmy Carter, one of Thomas's most famous fans, following its conversion. It 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, close to his birthplace at no 5 Cwmdonkin Drive; this was one of his favourite childhood haunts. The memorial is inscribed with lines from one of his best-loved poems, "Fern Hill." Several of the pubs in Swansea also have associations with the poet. Swansea's oldest pub, the No Sign Bar, was a regular haunt, renamed the Wine Vaults in his story The Followers. 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 (although he still acknowledges no influence or tribute, saying only that "Dylan" sounds like "Allen," his middle name and original choice for a surname de plume). His most famous poems include "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" and "And Death Shall Have No Dominion."

Quotes

• "Do not go gentle into that good night / rage, rage against the dying of the light"
• "Though lovers be lost love shall not / and death shall have no dominion"
• "An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you."
• "Someone's boring me. I think it's me."

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
• Under Milk Wood

External Links

• The Life and Work of Dylan Thomas
• Dylan Thomas on Poets.org Biography, poems, audio clips, and related essays from the Academy of American Poets
• "The Mumbles", a restaurant frequented by Thomas
• On Thomas’s Light breaks where no sun shines
• The city of Swansea's site on Thomas
• BBC Wales' Dylan Thomas site
• The Dylan Thomas Theatre Company Swansea
• French Audio Book (mp3) from Under Milk Wood, translated in French by JB.Brunius

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Dylan Thomas