45. Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet, died 9 November 1953

Dylan Thomas. Born 27 October 2024; died 9 November 1953

Julie at Dylan Thomas birthplace, 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea, hoping to absorb some poetic talent! Details below the plaque on how to book a visit to the beautifully preserved birthplace of poet, Dylan Thomas.

Why do we become writers and poets? Or indeed, why do we become the people we are in any walk of life? The question should probably be how rather than why.

In my case, asking the question is like sitting by a river and answering by searching for its source. Tracking back along the banks of time, I travel upstream to the poets who show that poetry is a valuable means of expressing thoughts and feelings and make me want to write my own.

Higher into the hills of youth, I arrive at university where the river narrows and the currents of analysis run deep and fast. I take a leap of faith to land safely on the opposite bank of academic approval.

Beyond to secondary school, where several vital teachers turn my mind to the beauty of poetry by sharing their love of it. We paddle in metaphors and laugh at similes and double meanings like naughty children.

Now, closer to the primary source: at primary school we read, recite, write and sing verses and rhymes into the phials of memory .

And here is the source: the first true love of grown-up poetry when we are stamping on the bridge of puberty in the final term of primary school. Our teachers take us to the local theatre to see a performance of Dylan Thomas’ dramatic poem, Under Milk Wood, and for the first time poetry is about the comedy of human thought, desire, and sex. How we laugh and love it.

But deeper again, the underground source of my love of poetry, coursing through the rocks and seeking air, is my Welsh mother. She loved Dylan Thomas’ poetry. “One of the best poets,” she would say, “and he was Welsh.” And we have a family of Dylans and Thomases.

Dylan Thomas’ Writing desk and the writers who inspired him

Under Milk Wood

Under Milk Wood exploits the beauty and magic of language to play mischievously and luxuriously with sounds and meanings from the opening words:

To begin at the beginning:

It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black, the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters’-and-rabbits’ wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea.

Some of us knew these lines by heart, fascinated by the way Thomas plays with the sound and meaning to set the scene. You can enjoy reading it and playing with the sounds and inner rhymes yourself, but for the most famous reading of Under Milk Wood, it’s Richard Burton. Listen here:

Poems like A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Fern Hill flow gently with green beauty; And Death Shall Have No Dominion and Do not go gentle into that good night seem to rage like torrents in a storm.

View from Dylan Thomas birthplace to Swansea bay.

And this river of poetry flows into life’s delta: when our first child was born we gave him the second name of Dylan: Dylan because it’s a family name; Dylan because of Dylan Thomas; Dylan because another poetic talent borrowed his name: Bob Dylan.

Bonnie Helen Hawkins

Gifted Welsh artist, Bonnie Helen Hawkins, has created the most magnificent drawings inspired by Under Milk Wood. The series of drawings have been exhibited at various venues in Wales including the Dylan Thomas Birthplace. Visit Bonnie’s website to see them and to buy a book of the illustrations.

https://www.bhhawkins.com

You can hear Bonnie talking about how Thomas’ dramatic poem inspired her work and how she has captured the poem in her characters here:

Bonnie And Dylan 1

Hopefully, Bonnie Helen Hawkins’ brilliant artwork will not only pay tribute to one of the best poets of the twentieth century, but will trigger some theatres to perform Under Milk Wood again.

And Happy Birthday to Scottish poet Jackie Kay who deserves a post all of her own!

Writing Challenge is a Reading or Listening Challenge

The challenge is to listen to Under Milk Wood or read Dylan Thomas’ poetry and then try to write a poem yourself. See how the richness of Dylan Thomas poetry seeps into your own!