Free to follow every thread. No paywall, no dead ends.
Dylan Thomas: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas was born on the 27th of October 1914 in a red-brick semi-detached house at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive in Swansea, a city where the air was thick with the sounds of two languages. His father, David John Thomas, was a teacher with a first-class degree in English, and his mother, Florence, was a seamstress who had lost a child before Dylan was born. This family history of loss and the protective, almost smothering care of his many aunts and uncles created a childhood defined by both Welsh and English cultures. The name Dylan, meaning son of the sea, was chosen by his father after a character in The Mabinogion, while his middle name Marlais honored a great-uncle. Yet, the young boy was often called the dull one by his mother, who feared the Welsh pronunciation would lead to teasing. He grew up in a landscape of farms and chapels, spending summers at Fernhill and Pentrewyman, where he rode horses, chased pheasants, and learned to swear in Welsh. His early years were marked by a chronic struggle with bronchitis and asthma, conditions that would plague him for the rest of his life and eventually claim him. He was indulged and mollycoddled, a trait that evolved into a lifelong ability to garner sympathy and attention, a skill that would serve him well in his later years as a public figure.
The Poet Who Plagiarized
Before he was a celebrated poet, Dylan Thomas was a teenager who published poems under his own name that had been written by others. His time at Swansea Grammar School was marked by a rebellion against the curriculum and a devotion to his own reading and drama activities. He edited the school magazine and, in a move that would later be scrutinized by biographers, published plagiarized poems in it and in the Boy's Own Paper. Despite this early dishonesty, he began writing his own distinctively original poetry in notebooks between 1930 and 1935, producing over 200 poems. By the time he was 16, he had left school to work as a reporter for the South Wales Daily Post, a job he held for 18 months. It was during this period that he met Vernon Watkins and Daniel Jones, forming the Kardomah Gang, a group of writers and artists who would influence his early development. He also met Bert Trick, a left-wing activist, and Rev. Leon Atkin, a human rights activist. His early work, including the poem Light breaks where no sun shines, caught the attention of literary figures like T. S. Eliot and Stephen Spender. In 1934, his first book, 18 Poems, was published by Fortune Press, a vanity publisher that expected writers to buy copies themselves. The book was described as a bomb that bursts no more than once in three years, earning him critical acclaim and a place in the London poetry world. He was embraced as the poetic herald for the New Apocalyptics, though he refused to sign their manifesto, believing them to be intellectual muckpots.
Dylan Thomas was born on the 27th of October 1914 in a red-brick semi-detached house at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive in Swansea. His father was David John Thomas and his mother was Florence.
What caused the death of Dylan Thomas?
Dylan Thomas died on the 9th of November 1953 from acute alcoholic encephalopathy caused by pneumonia, brain swelling, and a fatty liver. The pathologist found these three causes of death after he was admitted to St Vincent's Hospital.
Who were the parents of Dylan Thomas?
Dylan Thomas was the son of David John Thomas, a teacher with a first-class degree in English, and Florence, a seamstress. His father chose his name from The Mabinogion and his middle name honored a great-uncle.
When did Dylan Thomas die and how old was he?
Dylan Thomas died at noon on the 9th of November 1953 at the age of 39 in New York City. He had arrived in New York on the 20th of October 1953 and spent his final days at the Hotel Chelsea.
What were the children of Dylan Thomas named?
Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin Macnamara had three children named Llewelyn, Aeronwy, and Colm. The family lived in various places including Blashford, Laugharne, Marshfield, Chelsea, and South Leigh.
When was the first book of Dylan Thomas published?
The first book of Dylan Thomas titled 18 Poems was published in 1934 by Fortune Press. The book was described as a bomb that bursts no more than once in three years and earned him critical acclaim.
In early 1936, Dylan Thomas met Caitlin Macnamara, a 22-year-old dancer of Irish and French Quaker descent, in The Wheatsheaf pub on Rathbone Place in London. He proposed to her while laying his head in her lap, drunk, and claimed they were in bed together ten minutes after meeting. They married on the 11th of July 1937 in Penzance, Cornwall, and began a life that would be defined by constant movement and financial struggle. The couple lived in various places, including Blashford, Laugharne, Marshfield, Chelsea, and South Leigh, often moving to escape creditors or to find inspiration. They had three children: Llewelyn, Aeronwy, and Colm. Thomas's reputation for heavy drinking developed during this time, and he struggled to earn a living as a writer. He began augmenting his income with reading tours and radio broadcasts, which brought him to a wider public's attention. His relationship with Caitlin was tumultuous, marked by infidelity on his part and a constant struggle to maintain their home life. Despite the chaos, they found moments of stability, such as their time in Laugharne, where they rented the Boat House, purchased for them by Margaret Taylor, a committed patron. The family's peripatetic lifestyle was a response to the political and economic climate of the 1930s and 1940s, as well as Thomas's own need for change and his inability to settle in one place for long.
The War And The Radio Voice
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Thomas was allocated a C3 category medical exemption due to his chronic lung condition, which meant he would be among the last to be called up for service. He found work in the film industry, producing scripts for the Strand Film Company, which provided him with a much-needed financial mainstay. He wrote scripts for films such as This is Colour, New Towns for Old, and Wales , Green Mountain, Black Mountain, and also worked on feature film scripts like The Doctor and the Devils. His experience in the film industry was a significant factor in the maturation of his later work, particularly Under Milk Wood. During the war, he also began a relationship with Pamela Glendower, one of several affairs he had during his marriage. In 1941, Swansea was bombed by the Luftwaffe, and Thomas walked through the bombed-out shell of the town center, concluding that their Swansea was dead. He later wrote a radio program, Return Journey, which described the café as being razed to the snow. His work for the BBC during the late 1940s brought him to a wider public's attention, and he was frequently featured as an accessible voice of the literary scene. He appeared in plays for the Third Programme, including Agamemnon and Paradise Lost, and his rich, sonorous voice made him a familiar radio voice. Despite his popularity, he had an uneasy relationship with BBC management, and a staff job was never an option, with drinking cited as the problem.
The American Tour And The Legend
In 1950, American poet John Brinnin invited Thomas to New York, where they embarked on a lucrative three-month tour of arts centers and campuses. The tour took in about 40 venues, and Thomas was invited to many parties and functions, where he became drunk and was a difficult guest. He drank before some of his readings, though it is argued he may have pretended to be more affected by it than he actually was. The writer Elizabeth Hardwick recalled how intoxicating a performer he was, and how the tension would build before a performance. On his second tour in 1952, Thomas and Caitlin drank heavily, and he began to suffer with gout and lung problems. The trip resulted in Thomas recording his first poetry to vinyl, and A Child's Christmas in Wales became his most popular prose work in America. The original 1952 recording was a 2008 selection for the United States National Recording Registry, credited with launching the audiobook industry in the United States. During this time, he also published a half-play, Llareggub, which was later renamed Under Milk Wood. The winter of 1952/3 brought much personal tragedy, including the death of his father and sister, and the overdose of a patron. Thomas's reputation as a roistering, drunken, and doomed poet was encouraged by his own behavior and the media's portrayal of him. He became widely popular in his lifetime, and his erratic behavior and drinking worsened with each trip to the United States.
The Final Days In New York
On the 9th of October 1953, Thomas left Laugharne for his fourth trip to America, calling on his mother to say goodbye. He had suffered from chest problems for most of his life, and within weeks of moving to the Boat House at Laugharne, he had visited a local doctor who prescribed medicine for both his chest and throat. He arrived in New York on the 20th of October 1953, looking pale, delicate, and shaky. He was very ill when he got here, and his condition worsened with each performance. On the 2nd of November, air pollution in New York had risen significantly, and over 200 New Yorkers had died from the smog. Thomas spent most of the day in his room, entertaining various friends, and went out in the evening to keep two drink appointments. After returning to the hotel, he went out again for a drink at 2 am. After drinking at the White Horse Tavern, he returned to the Hotel Chelsea, declaring that he had had eighteen straight whiskies. The barman and the owner of the pub who served him later commented that Thomas could not have drunk more than half that amount. He had an appointment at a clam house in New Jersey with Ruthven Todd on the 4th of November, but when Todd telephoned the Chelsea that morning, Thomas said he was feeling ill and postponed the engagement. His voice was low and hoarse, and he sounded like Louis Armstrong. He went drinking with Reitell at the White Horse, and feeling sick again, returned to the hotel. Milton Feltenstein, his doctor, came to see him three times that day, administering cortisone secretant ACTH by injection and, on his third visit, half a grain of morphine sulphate. This amount was three times more than was medically appropriate and was, by affecting Thomas's breathing and consequently the oxygen supply to his brain, the precipitating cause of the coma from which he would never awake. At midnight on the 5th of November, Thomas's breathing became more difficult and his face turned blue. He was admitted to the emergency ward at St Vincent's Hospital at 1:58 am, comatose, and his medical notes stated that the impression upon admission was acute alcoholic encephalopathy. He died at noon on the 9th of November, having never recovered from his coma. A nurse and the poet John Berryman were present with him at the time of death.
The Legacy And The Legend
After Thomas's death, rumors circulated of a brain hemorrhage, followed by competing reports of a mugging or even that Thomas had drunk himself to death. Later, speculation arose about drugs and diabetes. At the post-mortem, the pathologist found three causes of death: pneumonia, brain swelling, and a fatty liver. His body was returned to Wales, and on the 25th of November, he was interred at St. Martin's churchyard in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire. Appraisals of Thomas's work have noted his original, rhythmic, and ingenious use of words and imagery. Further appraisals following on from new critical editions of his poems have sought to explore in more depth his unique modernist poetic, setting aside the distracting legend of the doomed poet, and seeking thereby to secure his status as a major poet of the 20th century. His works, including the poems Do not go gentle into that good night and And death shall have no dominion, as well as the play for voices Under Milk Wood, remain widely read and performed. His radio recordings for the BBC during the late 1940s brought him to a wider public's attention, and he was frequently featured as an accessible voice of the literary scene. The Thomas family's life, marked by constant movement and financial struggle, was a testament to the challenges faced by artists in the mid-20th century. His children, Llewelyn, Aeronwy, and Colm, continued to live with the legacy of their father, and his works continue to be studied and celebrated. The story of Dylan Thomas is one of genius and tragedy, of a poet who wrote about life and death with a voice that was both sonorous and haunting, and who died at the age of 39 in New York City.