Just down the road from Splott in Cardiff, is Uplands, a suburb of Swansea. Birthplace and home for many of his years to Dylan Thomas.
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself. His public readings, particularly in America, won him great acclaim; his sonorous voice with a subtle Welsh lilt became almost as famous as his works. His best-known works include the "play for voices" Under Milk Wood and the celebrated villanelle for his dying father, Do not go gentle into that good night. Appreciative critics have also noted the superb craftsmanship and compression of poems such as In my craft or sullen art and the rhapsodic lyricism of Fern
Dylan Thomas was born at 5 Cwmdonkin Drivein the Uplands area of Swansea, South Wales, on 27 of October 1914 just a few months after the new house was bought by the Thomas family. Uplands was, and still is, one of the more affluent areas of the city, which kept him away from the more industrial areas. His father, David John ('DJ') Thomas, was an English master who taught English literature at the local grammar school. His mother, Florence Hannah Thomas (née Williams), was a seamstress born in Swansea. Dylan had a sister, Nancy, eight years older than him. Their father brought up both children to speak English only, even though both parents also knew Welsh and DJ was known to give Welsh lessons at home to children.
Dylan is pronounced /dəlan/ in Welsh, and in the early part of his career some announcers introduced him using this pronunciation. However, Dylan himself favoured the anglicised pronunciation /ˈdɪlən/ his mother was afraid that the Welsh pronunciation would be corrupted into 'Dull One'. His middle name, Marlais, was given to him in honour of his great-uncle, Unitarian minister William Thomas, whose bardic name was Gwilym Marles.
His childhood was spent largely in Swansea, with regular summer trips to visit his maternal aunt's Carmarthenshire dairy farm. These rural sojourns and the contrast with the town life of Swansea provided inspiration for much of his work, notably many short stories, radio essays and the poem Fern Hill. Thomas was known to be a sickly child who shied away from school and preferred reading on his own and was considered too frail to fight in World War II, instead serving the war effort by writing scripts for the government. He suffered from bronchitis and asthma.
Thomas's formal education began at Mrs. Hole's 'Dame School', a private school, which was situated a few streets away on Mirador Crescent. He described his experience there in Quite Early One Morning (New Directions Publishing, 1968).
Never was there such a dame school as ours, so firm and kind and smelling of galoshes, with the sweet and fumbled music of the piano lessons drifting down from upstairs to the lonely schoolroom, where only the sometimes tearful wicked sat over undone sums, or to repent a little crime — the pulling of a girl's hair during geography, the sly shin kick under the table during English literature."
In October 1925, Thomas attended the single-sex Swansea Grammar School, in the Mount Pleasant district of the city. Thomas's first poem was published in the school's magazine, of which he later became an editor. He left school at 16 to become a reporter for the local newspaper, the South Wales Daily Post only to leave the job under pressure 18 months later in 1932. He then joined an amateur dramatic group in Mumbles, but still continued to work as a freelance journalist for a few more years.
Thomas spent his days visiting the cinema in the Uplands, walking along Swansea Bay, and frequenting Swansea's public houses, especially those in the Mumbles area, the 'Antelope Hotel' and 'The Mermaid Hotel'; a theatre he used to perform at, among them. Thomas was also a regular patron of the 'Kardomah Café' in Castle Street in the centre of Swansea, a short walk from the local newspaper for which he worked, where he mingled with various contemporaries, such as his good friend poet Vernon Watkins. These poets, musicians, and artists became known as 'The Kardomah Gang'.
In 1932, Thomas embarked on what would be one of his various visits to London.
In February 1941, Swansea was bombed by the Luftwaffe in a 'three nights' blitz'. Castle Street was just one of the many streets in Swansea that suffered badly; the rows of shops, including the 'Kardomah Café', were destroyed. Thomas later wrote about this in his radio play Return Journey Home, in which he describes the café as being "razed to the snow". Return Journey Home was first broadcast on 15 June 1947, having been written soon after the bombing raids. Thomas walked the bombed-out shell which was once his home town centre with his friend Bert Trick. Upset at the sight, he concluded, "Our Swansea is dead". The 'Kardomah Café' later reopened on Portland street, not far from the original location.
Thomas wrote half of his poems and many short stories while living at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive; And death shall have no dominion is one of his best known works written at this address. His highly acclaimed first poetry volume, 18 Poems, was published on 18 December 1934, the same year he moved to London. The publication of 18 Poems won him many new admirers from the world of poetry, including Edith Sitwell; although it was also the time that his reputation for heavy drinking developed. The house itself has recently been restored to its original condition.
At the outset of the Second World War Dylan was designated C3, which meant that although he could, in theory, be called up for service he would be in one of the last groups to be so. He was saddened to see his friends enter active service leaving him behind and drank whilst struggling to support his family. He wrote to the director of the films division of the Ministry of Information asking for employment but after a rebuff eventually ended up working for Strand Films. Strand produced films for the Ministry of Information and Thomas scripted at least five in 1942 with titles such as This Is Colour (about dye), New Towns For Old, These Are The Men and Our Country (a sentimental tour of Britain).
The publication of Deaths and Entrances in 1946 was a major turning point in his career. Thomas was well known for being a versatile and dynamic speaker, best known for his poetry readings. His powerful voice would captivate American audiences during his speaking tours of the early 1950s. He made over 200 broadcasts for the BBC. Often considered his greatest single work is Under Milk Wood, a radio play featuring the characters of Llareggub, a fictional Welsh fishing village (humorously named; note that 'Llareggub' is 'Bugger All' backwards, implying that there is absolutely nothing to do there). The BBC credited their producer Stella Hillier with ensuring the play actually materialised. Assigned "some of the more wayward characters who were then writing for the BBC", she dragged the notoriously unreliable Thomas out of the pub and back to her office to finish the work. He performed Under Milk Wood solo for the first time on 3rd May in Harvard during his early 1953 United States tour, and then with a cast at the Poetry Centre in New York on 14th May. He worked on the play in England, and returned to the States in October, dying in New York on 5th November before the BBC could record the play. Richard Burton starred in the first broadcast in 1954; he was joined by Elizabeth Taylor in a subsequent film.
Dylan Thomas died in New York on 9 November 1953. The first rumours were of a brain haemorrhage, followed by reports that he had been mugged. Soon came the stories about alcohol, that he drank himself to death. Later, there were speculations about drugs and diabetes.
He was already ill when he arrived in New York on 20 October to take part in Under Milk Wood at the city's prestigious Poetry Center. He also took part in a recorded symposium on 28 October at Cinema 16: "Poetry And The Film" which included panellists Amos Vogel, Maya Deren, Parker Tyler, and Willard Maas.
Thomas had a history of blackouts and chest problems, and was using an inhaler to help his breathing. The director of the Poetry Center was John Brinnin. He was also Thomas's tour agent, taking a hefty twenty-five percent fee. Despite his duty of care, Brinnin remained at home in Boston and handed responsibility to his assistant, Liz Reitell. She met Thomas at Idlewild Airport who told her that he had had a terrible week, had missed her terribly and wanted to go to bed with her. Despite Liz's previous misgivings about their relationship they spent the rest of the day and night together at the Chelsea.
The next day she invited him to her apartment but he declined saying that he was not feeling well and retired to his bed for the rest of the afternoon.
After spending the night with him at the hotel Liz went back to her own apartment for a change of clothes. At breakfast Herb Hannum noticed how sick Dylan was looking and suggested a visit to a Dr. Feltenstein before the performance of Under Milk Wood that evening.
Liz would later describe him as a wild doctor who believed injections could cure anything. He went quickly to work with his needle, and Thomas made it through the two performances of Under Milk Wood, but collapsed straight afterwards.
October 27 was his thirty-ninth birthday. In the evening, he went to a party in his honour but was so unwell that he returned to his hotel. A turning point came on 2 November, when air pollution rose to levels that were a threat to those with chest problems. By the end of the month, over two hundred New Yorkers had died from the smog.
Thomas had an appointment to visit a clam-house in New Jersey on 4 November, but when telephoned at the Chelsea that morning he said that he was feeling awful and asked to take a "rain-check". He did however accompany Liz to the White Horse for a few beers. Feeling sick he again returned to the hotel.
Feltenstein came to see him three times that day, on the third call prescribing morphine. This seriously affected Dylan's breathing. At midnight on 5 November, his breathing became more difficult and his face turned blue. Liz Reitell unsuccessfully tried to get hold of Feltenstein. The night porter at the hotel then called the police who summoned an ambulance.
By 01:58 Thomas had been admitted to the emergency ward at nearby St Vincent's, by which time he was profoundly comatose. The doctors on duty found bronchitis in all parts of his bronchial tree, both left and right sides. An X-ray showed pneumonia, and a raised white cell count confirmed the presence of an infection. The hospital let the pneumonia run its course and Thomas died on 9 November.
At the post-mortem, the pathologist found that the immediate cause of death was swelling of the brain, caused by the pneumonia reducing the supply of oxygen. Despite his heavy drinking his liver showed little sign of cirrhosis. However there was pressure on the brain from a build-up of cerebro-spinal fluid, caused by alcohol poisoning.
According to Lycett the main cause of Dylan's demise was the alcoholic co-dependent relationship with his wife Caitlin, now doomed by her resentment at his betrayals in America.
Following his death, his body was brought back to Wales for his burial in the village churchyard at Laugharne on 25 November. One of the last people to stay at his graveside after the funeral was his mother, Florence. His wife, Caitlin, died in 1994 and was buried alongside him.
The rumor that Dylan's death was related to alcoholism is denied in the book Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas?, by David N. Thomas, in which he suggests Dylan died from medical malpractice when Dr. Feltenstein gave him morphine for delirium tremens — in actuality, he had pneumonia. David N. Thomas also suggests that Feltenstein covered his tracks by pressuring other doctors to agree that it was an alcohol-related death.
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself. His public readings, particularly in America, won him great acclaim; his sonorous voice with a subtle Welsh lilt became almost as famous as his works. His best-known works include the "play for voices" Under Milk Wood and the celebrated villanelle for his dying father, Do not go gentle into that good night. Appreciative critics have also noted the superb craftsmanship and compression of poems such as In my craft or sullen art and the rhapsodic lyricism of Fern
Dylan Thomas was born at 5 Cwmdonkin Drivein the Uplands area of Swansea, South Wales, on 27 of October 1914 just a few months after the new house was bought by the Thomas family. Uplands was, and still is, one of the more affluent areas of the city, which kept him away from the more industrial areas. His father, David John ('DJ') Thomas, was an English master who taught English literature at the local grammar school. His mother, Florence Hannah Thomas (née Williams), was a seamstress born in Swansea. Dylan had a sister, Nancy, eight years older than him. Their father brought up both children to speak English only, even though both parents also knew Welsh and DJ was known to give Welsh lessons at home to children.
Dylan is pronounced /dəlan/ in Welsh, and in the early part of his career some announcers introduced him using this pronunciation. However, Dylan himself favoured the anglicised pronunciation /ˈdɪlən/ his mother was afraid that the Welsh pronunciation would be corrupted into 'Dull One'. His middle name, Marlais, was given to him in honour of his great-uncle, Unitarian minister William Thomas, whose bardic name was Gwilym Marles.
His childhood was spent largely in Swansea, with regular summer trips to visit his maternal aunt's Carmarthenshire dairy farm. These rural sojourns and the contrast with the town life of Swansea provided inspiration for much of his work, notably many short stories, radio essays and the poem Fern Hill. Thomas was known to be a sickly child who shied away from school and preferred reading on his own and was considered too frail to fight in World War II, instead serving the war effort by writing scripts for the government. He suffered from bronchitis and asthma.
Thomas's formal education began at Mrs. Hole's 'Dame School', a private school, which was situated a few streets away on Mirador Crescent. He described his experience there in Quite Early One Morning (New Directions Publishing, 1968).
Never was there such a dame school as ours, so firm and kind and smelling of galoshes, with the sweet and fumbled music of the piano lessons drifting down from upstairs to the lonely schoolroom, where only the sometimes tearful wicked sat over undone sums, or to repent a little crime — the pulling of a girl's hair during geography, the sly shin kick under the table during English literature."
In October 1925, Thomas attended the single-sex Swansea Grammar School, in the Mount Pleasant district of the city. Thomas's first poem was published in the school's magazine, of which he later became an editor. He left school at 16 to become a reporter for the local newspaper, the South Wales Daily Post only to leave the job under pressure 18 months later in 1932. He then joined an amateur dramatic group in Mumbles, but still continued to work as a freelance journalist for a few more years.
Thomas spent his days visiting the cinema in the Uplands, walking along Swansea Bay, and frequenting Swansea's public houses, especially those in the Mumbles area, the 'Antelope Hotel' and 'The Mermaid Hotel'; a theatre he used to perform at, among them. Thomas was also a regular patron of the 'Kardomah Café' in Castle Street in the centre of Swansea, a short walk from the local newspaper for which he worked, where he mingled with various contemporaries, such as his good friend poet Vernon Watkins. These poets, musicians, and artists became known as 'The Kardomah Gang'.
In 1932, Thomas embarked on what would be one of his various visits to London.
In February 1941, Swansea was bombed by the Luftwaffe in a 'three nights' blitz'. Castle Street was just one of the many streets in Swansea that suffered badly; the rows of shops, including the 'Kardomah Café', were destroyed. Thomas later wrote about this in his radio play Return Journey Home, in which he describes the café as being "razed to the snow". Return Journey Home was first broadcast on 15 June 1947, having been written soon after the bombing raids. Thomas walked the bombed-out shell which was once his home town centre with his friend Bert Trick. Upset at the sight, he concluded, "Our Swansea is dead". The 'Kardomah Café' later reopened on Portland street, not far from the original location.
Thomas wrote half of his poems and many short stories while living at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive; And death shall have no dominion is one of his best known works written at this address. His highly acclaimed first poetry volume, 18 Poems, was published on 18 December 1934, the same year he moved to London. The publication of 18 Poems won him many new admirers from the world of poetry, including Edith Sitwell; although it was also the time that his reputation for heavy drinking developed. The house itself has recently been restored to its original condition.
At the outset of the Second World War Dylan was designated C3, which meant that although he could, in theory, be called up for service he would be in one of the last groups to be so. He was saddened to see his friends enter active service leaving him behind and drank whilst struggling to support his family. He wrote to the director of the films division of the Ministry of Information asking for employment but after a rebuff eventually ended up working for Strand Films. Strand produced films for the Ministry of Information and Thomas scripted at least five in 1942 with titles such as This Is Colour (about dye), New Towns For Old, These Are The Men and Our Country (a sentimental tour of Britain).
The publication of Deaths and Entrances in 1946 was a major turning point in his career. Thomas was well known for being a versatile and dynamic speaker, best known for his poetry readings. His powerful voice would captivate American audiences during his speaking tours of the early 1950s. He made over 200 broadcasts for the BBC. Often considered his greatest single work is Under Milk Wood, a radio play featuring the characters of Llareggub, a fictional Welsh fishing village (humorously named; note that 'Llareggub' is 'Bugger All' backwards, implying that there is absolutely nothing to do there). The BBC credited their producer Stella Hillier with ensuring the play actually materialised. Assigned "some of the more wayward characters who were then writing for the BBC", she dragged the notoriously unreliable Thomas out of the pub and back to her office to finish the work. He performed Under Milk Wood solo for the first time on 3rd May in Harvard during his early 1953 United States tour, and then with a cast at the Poetry Centre in New York on 14th May. He worked on the play in England, and returned to the States in October, dying in New York on 5th November before the BBC could record the play. Richard Burton starred in the first broadcast in 1954; he was joined by Elizabeth Taylor in a subsequent film.
Dylan Thomas died in New York on 9 November 1953. The first rumours were of a brain haemorrhage, followed by reports that he had been mugged. Soon came the stories about alcohol, that he drank himself to death. Later, there were speculations about drugs and diabetes.
He was already ill when he arrived in New York on 20 October to take part in Under Milk Wood at the city's prestigious Poetry Center. He also took part in a recorded symposium on 28 October at Cinema 16: "Poetry And The Film" which included panellists Amos Vogel, Maya Deren, Parker Tyler, and Willard Maas.
Thomas had a history of blackouts and chest problems, and was using an inhaler to help his breathing. The director of the Poetry Center was John Brinnin. He was also Thomas's tour agent, taking a hefty twenty-five percent fee. Despite his duty of care, Brinnin remained at home in Boston and handed responsibility to his assistant, Liz Reitell. She met Thomas at Idlewild Airport who told her that he had had a terrible week, had missed her terribly and wanted to go to bed with her. Despite Liz's previous misgivings about their relationship they spent the rest of the day and night together at the Chelsea.
The next day she invited him to her apartment but he declined saying that he was not feeling well and retired to his bed for the rest of the afternoon.
After spending the night with him at the hotel Liz went back to her own apartment for a change of clothes. At breakfast Herb Hannum noticed how sick Dylan was looking and suggested a visit to a Dr. Feltenstein before the performance of Under Milk Wood that evening.
Liz would later describe him as a wild doctor who believed injections could cure anything. He went quickly to work with his needle, and Thomas made it through the two performances of Under Milk Wood, but collapsed straight afterwards.
October 27 was his thirty-ninth birthday. In the evening, he went to a party in his honour but was so unwell that he returned to his hotel. A turning point came on 2 November, when air pollution rose to levels that were a threat to those with chest problems. By the end of the month, over two hundred New Yorkers had died from the smog.
Thomas had an appointment to visit a clam-house in New Jersey on 4 November, but when telephoned at the Chelsea that morning he said that he was feeling awful and asked to take a "rain-check". He did however accompany Liz to the White Horse for a few beers. Feeling sick he again returned to the hotel.
Feltenstein came to see him three times that day, on the third call prescribing morphine. This seriously affected Dylan's breathing. At midnight on 5 November, his breathing became more difficult and his face turned blue. Liz Reitell unsuccessfully tried to get hold of Feltenstein. The night porter at the hotel then called the police who summoned an ambulance.
By 01:58 Thomas had been admitted to the emergency ward at nearby St Vincent's, by which time he was profoundly comatose. The doctors on duty found bronchitis in all parts of his bronchial tree, both left and right sides. An X-ray showed pneumonia, and a raised white cell count confirmed the presence of an infection. The hospital let the pneumonia run its course and Thomas died on 9 November.
At the post-mortem, the pathologist found that the immediate cause of death was swelling of the brain, caused by the pneumonia reducing the supply of oxygen. Despite his heavy drinking his liver showed little sign of cirrhosis. However there was pressure on the brain from a build-up of cerebro-spinal fluid, caused by alcohol poisoning.
According to Lycett the main cause of Dylan's demise was the alcoholic co-dependent relationship with his wife Caitlin, now doomed by her resentment at his betrayals in America.
Following his death, his body was brought back to Wales for his burial in the village churchyard at Laugharne on 25 November. One of the last people to stay at his graveside after the funeral was his mother, Florence. His wife, Caitlin, died in 1994 and was buried alongside him.
The rumor that Dylan's death was related to alcoholism is denied in the book Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas?, by David N. Thomas, in which he suggests Dylan died from medical malpractice when Dr. Feltenstein gave him morphine for delirium tremens — in actuality, he had pneumonia. David N. Thomas also suggests that Feltenstein covered his tracks by pressuring other doctors to agree that it was an alcohol-related death.
