Dylan Thomas, one of the great poets of the twentieth century, was born in Swansea, Wales in 1914. Inspired by the natural world and the rhythms of human life, he wrote with intense lyricism and emotion. His best-known works include the poem “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night”, the ‘play for voices’ Under Milk Wood, and the collection of short stories “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.” Thomas was a flamboyant performer who popularized poetry reading during his visits to the United States in the 1950s. He either wrote, narrated, or performed in more than one hundred BBC radio programs. Thomas married Caitlin MacNamara in 1937 and the couple had two sons, Llewelyn and Colm, and a daughter Aeronwy. In 1953, at the age of 39, Thomas died in New York City while working on a reading at the Poetry Center.
The drama Dylan, about the poet’s time in America, won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1964. Alec Guinness who played Dylan Thomas won in the Best Actor category and Kate Reid who played Caitlin Thomas was nominated for Best Featured Actress.
In 1982, Westminster Abbey unveiled a plaque dedicated to Thomas in its famed Poet’s Corner.
Take me back to A Child’s Christmas in Wales
