Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion"; the 'play for voices' Under Milk Wood; and stories and radio broadcasts such as "A Child's Christmas in Wales" and "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog". He became widely popular in his lifetime and remained so after his premature death at the age of 39 in New York City. By then he had acquired a reputation, which he had encouraged, as a "roistering, drunken and doomed poet".
Thomas was born at the family home in Cwmdonkin Drive in the Uplands district of Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales, in 1914. An undistinguished pupil, he left school at 16 and became a journalist for a short time. Many of his works appeared in print while he was still a teenager; however, it was the publication in 1934 of "Light breaks where no sun shines" that caught the attention of the literary world. While living in London, Thomas met Caitlin Macnamara, whom he married in 1937. Their relationship was defined by alcoholism and was mutually destructive. In the early part of their marriage, Thomas and his family lived hand-to-mouth; they settled in the Welsh fishing village of Laugharne/Talacharn in Carmarthenshire.
Thomas came to be appreciated as a popular poet during his lifetime, though he found earning a living as a writer difficult. He began augmenting his income with reading tours and radio broadcasts. His radio recordings for the BBC during the late 1940s brought him to the public's attention, and he was frequently used by the BBC as a populist voice of the literary scene.
Thomas first travelled to the United States in the 1950s. His readings there brought him a level of fame, while his erratic behaviour and drinking worsened. His time in America cemented his legend, however, and he went on to record to vinyl such works as "A Child's Christmas in Wales". During his fourth trip to New York in 1953, after a night at the White Horse Inn, Greenwich Village, Thomas became gravely ill and fell into a coma, from which he never recovered. He died on 9 November 1953 at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village. His body was returned to Wales where he was interred at the village churchyard in Laugharne on 25 November 1953. The grace is marked by a simple white wooden cross.
Though Thomas wrote exclusively in the English language, he has been acknowledged as one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century. He is noted for his original, rhythmic and ingenious use of words and imagery. His position as one of the great modern poets has been much discussed, and he remains popular with the public.
1972
