Dylan Thomas Poet and Playwright

Potted Biography of the Author of Under Milk Wood and Fern Hill

Oct 25, 2008

Dylan Thomas was an exceptional poet, essayist and broadcaster, whose life was a whirlwind of poems and pubs. His most famous work Under Milk Wood is as popular as ever.

“To begin at the beginning”. Born at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea in October 1917 Dylan Thomas is considered by many as one of the greatest modern Welsh poets, essayists and broadcasters.

Dylan Thomas's Early Life

Dylan’s father David John Thomas was a failed poet who satisfied himself with teaching English at Swansea Grammar School, the school which from the age of 11 years, Dylan attended. In contrast to his father Dylan’s mother, Florence, was a loving and vivacious woman who came from a large and close family.

As a child both his parents read to Dylan and encouraged him to read on his own. His mother giving him comics to read by himself and his father reading Shakespeare aloud, this is where Dylan acquired a love of the English language in all its complexity and colours. His mother claimed that the comics she provided helped Dylan to learn to read.

Dylan Thomas's First Work

Dylan’s father not only taught English at the Swansea Grammar School but also edited the school’s magazine and soon Dylan’s first work was being published in the magazine in just a matter of weeks upon enrolling at the school.

At this time the seeds were planted that inspired him to write and to prove himself as a writer. In 1927 he submitted a poem to the Welsh national newspaper the “Western Mail”, the poem was published but was later proved to be the work of another. But his deep desire to write was shown in that action. His first job after leaving school as a reporter on the local newspaper he was not entirely successful and left soon afterwards.

Dylan Thomas in London

In 1934 Dylan Thomas moved to London where his first anthology of poems was published “18 Poems” is a collection of work that Dylan had started to pen when he was just 15-years-old and still living in Cwmdonkin Drive. They were collectively known as the “Notebook Poems” and proved a rich source for further anthologies. However, Dylan’s oeuvre encompasses both poetry and prose and included the poem “Fern Hill” and the wonderfully evocative, indeed mesmerising play for voices “Under Milk Wood”.

Although living in London, Dylan had homes at Laugharne and New Quay and it was these two places that informed his writing by a sense of isolation and introspection.

Dylan and Caitlin

In 1936 in London Dylan met Caitlin Macnamara in a London pub the “Wheatsheaf”. It was a whirlwind romance quickly becoming lovers, despite often being apart for long periods they were married in Penzance, Cornwall in July 1937. Theirs was a tempestuous marriage with infidelities on both sides. But they had three children Llewelly Thomas born in 1930, a daughter Aeronwy born in 1940 and in July 1949 a second son Colm.

Dylan Thomas in the USA and Death

Dylan toured the USA four times and became a notorious drunk his favourite bar being “The White Horse” one of New York’s here he probably took his last drink. Dylan died a lonely death while being bed bathed by a nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital perhaps from an overdose of alcohol and medically administered drugs. His death is reported as 1.58 am Monday 9th of November 1953.

Laugharne is an established shrine but now his birthplace and childhood home is a hotel recreated to the décor of 1917.

The copyright of the article Dylan Thomas Poet and Playwright in Biographies/Memoirs is owned by John Howe. Permission to republish Dylan Thomas Poet and Playwright in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.