Dylan Thomas: about the man

Dylan Marlais Thomas is perhaps Wales' best-known writer.

He wrote poems, short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself. His public
readings in merica were highly acclaimed, and his mellifluous !oice was celebrated in his numerous radio
broadcasts.Dylan Thomas' most celebrated works include "nder Milk Wood, Do #ot $o $entle %nto That $ood
#ight, &ern Hill and 'hild's 'hristmas %n Wales.
Early years
Dylan Thomas' early years shaped him, both as a person and as a writer.He was born on () *ctober +,+- at .
'wmdonkin Dri!e in /wansea, a newly built semi-detached house his parents had bought earlier that year.The
family 0 his father Da!id 1ohn Thomas, known to all as D1, his mother &lorence, the young Dylan and his sister
#ancy, eight years his elder - li!ed in the "plands suburb of /wansea. %t was a respectable area o!erlooking
/wansea bay and the town. Dylan Thomas' parents both spoke Welsh and had strong links to Welsh cultures
and customs, but brought up their children to speak only 2nglish. This was something 3uite usual in this largely
nglicised area. 4oth #ancy and Dylan were sent to elocution lessons, to which the poet later attributed his
'cut-glass' accent. s a boy, Dylan almost e5clusi!ely knew the western suburbs of /wansea, particularly
nearby 'wmdonkin 6ark. 4ut his childhood summers were mostly spent at &lorence's sister nn's dairy farm in
'armarthenshire. These holidays would later inspire the poem &ern Hill, published in +,-7. %n +,(., 8ust before
his ++th birthday, Dylan began attending /wansea $rammar /chool, where his father had been teaching for
two decades. D1 was in charge of the school maga9ine, and his son immediately began submitting material for
publication. %t was a matter of weeks before his first poem was published.
The writer
t school, the only sub8ect in which he e5celled was 2nglish. 4ut as an unruly child, he was undisciplined and
mostly underachie!ing. %n +,:+ he left school, and got a 8ob as a reporter for the /outh Wales 2!ening 6ost.
He was not wholly successful, and was e!entually sacked though he continued working as a freelance
8ournalist sporadically for se!eral more years. %n +,:: his poetry began to recei!e greater e5posure. He was
published in periodicals, and a submission to a 44' poetry competition resulted in it being read on air. The
following year he mo!ed to ;ondon, where his first poetry collection, +< 6oems was praised by a number of
established poets including 2dith /itwell. =et he was steadily ac3uiring a reputation as a bit of a drinker. The
main themes of Dylan Thomas' poetry were nostalgia, life, death, and lost innocence. He wrote often about his
past as a boy or as a young man. nd Wales, and the Welsh landscapes and people, became an integral part
of his writing.