DYLAN THOMAS, 1914-1953

Born in Swansea on the 27th of October 1914, Dylan Marlais Thomas was the son of an English master and a seamstress. He began his literary output early, editing the school magazine and publishing his first poem at the age of 11. Leaving school at 16, he briefly worked as a reporter before committing fully to poetry in 1932. His debut volume, 18 Poems (1934), was followed by Twenty-five Poems (1936), establishing his reputation for
lyrical virtuosity. After moving to London, he married Caitlin Macnamara in 1937, with whom he had three children. During World War II, Thomas contributed to the war effort as a documentary scriptwriter for the Ministry of Information. This period marked the start of his prolific career with the BBC, where his resonant voice became famous through radio broadcasts and poetry readings. In 1946, he published Deaths and Entrances, containing many of his most celebrated works. In 1949, the family moved to Boat House in Laugharne, where Thomas worked on his ‘play for voices’, Under Milk Wood. Between 1950 and 1953, he embarked on four exhausting but popular reading tours of the United States. Tragedy struck during his fourth tour in New York City. Thomas fell into a coma and died on the 9th of November 1953, at age 39, officially from pneumonia and complications of encephalopathy. Buried in Laugharne, his legacy was later cemented with a memorial in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, and the posthumous success of Under Milk Wood.

Books by Dylan Thomas