We agreed to Zoists: Dylan Thomas & the Occultist

Victor Neuburg (Aleister ro!ley"s lo#er &

collaborator$
Extracts from Jean Overton-Fullers Magical Dilemma of
Victor Neuburg: available from http://www.mandrake.uk.net
!e a"reed to #oists.
$unia wanted us to have bad"es% &so that one #oist can
reco"ni'e another% if (ou meet outside% or if we have provincial
centres.
)here was a murmur of dissent. *ome of us felt this thin"
was "ettin" inflated. +nd we didnt want bad"es. !e werent bo(
scouts, -ust a few people who wanted to come here and sit and
talk to each other on *aturda( evenin"s.
&+ll ri"ht% no bad"es% she said. &.ut it is a"reed we have a
name/
0t was a"reed but there was no enthusiasm for the name%
our feelin" bein" for the informal. .efore we left $unia made us
cups of tea.
!hen eventuall( we broke up% and 0 stood a"ain in the road
outside% 0 felt 0 could tell m( mother 0 had been amon"
distin"uished people. .ut the truth was 0 felt somethin" else as
well. 0 felt 0 had been in ancient E"(pt and for this feelin" 0 could
find no explanation.
1ot all of those who had been present on the first evenin"
returned the followin" *aturda(% but as 0 attended ever( week 0
be"an to know the re"ulars. +rrivin" soon after 2 3dinner at the
hotel where m( mother and 0 lived% was at 4% so it was a rush5% 0
alwa(s found a certain number of people there alread(% thou"h
there was usuall( some time to wait until 6ick( and $unia came
from the inner room. 0t was in this waitin" time that 0 had to find
m( feet% as it were amon" the other (oun" ones. 1obod( was
ever introduced at 6ick(s. One -ust found out for oneself. 0 did not
find the (oun" men eas( althou"h the( made efforts to draw me
into the circle% for the( assumed an ac7uaintance with modern
poetr( and political authors "reater than 0 possessed, 0 could not
alwa(s follow their allusions% and 0 had the feelin" the( all
participated in a form of culture sli"htl( stran"e to me. 0 was
therefore "rateful when a "ood lookin" (oun" man% 7uiet
mannered and of a more ordinaril( civili'ed demeanour% settled
himself beside me and asked% simpl(% &8ow did (ou come to
6ick(s/
0 told him about the circular letter 0 had received. 8e knew
9eoffre( :lo(d had sent some out and asked% &!hat do (ou do
when (oure not writin" poems for 6ick(/ !hats (our
back"round% so to speak/
0 told him 0 had been on the sta"e since 0 was seventeen.
8e said &Fanc( our havin" an actress amon" us;
&!hats (our name/ 0 asked him.
&!illiam )homas% was what 0 first thou"ht he said% but then
he added% &0ts a special !elsh name.
)here could be nothin" ver( special about !illiam% and 0
puckered m( brows.
&<oull never have heard it before% he said. &1obod( in
En"land ever has. 0t should reall( be pronounced !ullam% in
!elsh. Or was he sa(in" &=ullan/
&0ts a special !elsh name% he repeated. &0 shall have to
spell it for (ou. =-<-:-+-1. 0n !ales% its pronounced =ullan. .ut
0d been correspondin" with 6ick( for some time before 0 came to
:ondon% and when 0 arrived 0 found he had been callin" me =illan%
in his mind. 0 thou"ht if 6ick( didnt know how to pronounce it
nobod( in En"land would% so 0 decided to take it as the standard
En"lish pronunciation of m( name. Otherwise 0d spend all m(
time tellin" people it was =ull and not =ill% and 0 think perhaps
=illan sounds more ele"ant than =ullan. Onl( 0dris ob-ects and
thinks its fri"htfull( fanc(; .ecause hes !elsh% too% and he
knows; but now 0m "ettin" even 0dris trained to call me =illan%
thou"h its under protest;
&!hat part of !ales do (ou come from/ 0 said.
&Oh% 0 onl( come from a small town. *wansea.
!hereas 0 had previousl( felt m(self to be the most naive
member of a "roup otherwise composed of sophisticated%
bohemian intellectuals% 0 now felt 0 had% vis->-vis =(lan )homas%
at an( rate% an advanta"e in bein" a :ondoner. &0 should have
thou"ht *wansea was a lar"e town% 0 said. &0 was near there all
last summer. 0f (ou had been to the theatre at ?orthcawl (ou
would have seen me on the sta"e;
&1o% 0m afraid 0 didnt he said. &!hat a pit(;
9ivin" the conversation a turn he did not expect% 0 said%
&8ave (ou ever been down a mine/
&1o.
&0 have; 0 explained triumphantl(. &1ear @rumlin. 0 once
pla(ed a Januar( date in the $hondda. Or more exactl( the Ebbw
6ale. 0 told him how 0 had persuaded the men at a pit to take me
down the shaft% and how% havin" arrived at the bottom% 0 was
"iven a lamp to hold and escorted alon" a passa"e which had
been hewed throu"h the coal to a point where it became so low
that one would have had to proceed on hands and knees. 0 was
shown a fault seam% which 0 felt with m( fin"ers.
&<ou have seen somethin" in !ales which 0 havent; said
=(lan. 8e explained that his home was some distance from the
minin" re"ions. 8e described the part of *wansea where he lived%
with a detail 0 cannot now recall% except that it sounded salubrious
and a"reeable. 8is father was *enior En"lish Aaster at the
9rammar *chool. &:ivin" where 0 do one doesnt reall( see
an(thin" of all that% he said% with reference to m( allusion to the
coal minin" 3and depressed5 areas. &0dris comes from the
$hondda%
B
he said. &0 havent been into those areas. +s thou"h
he had been sli"htl( shamed b( m( adventure% he added%
&?erhaps 0 ou"ht to have done.
&0ts because (ou live there that (ou wouldnt think of it% 0
said. &!hen one is tourin" one feels one must see ever(thin" in
case one never comes a"ain. !hen 0 was sixteen% m( mother and
0 made a tour of 0tal(% ?isa% $ome% 1aples% @apri% and back
throu"h ?eru"ia% Florence and Ailan. !e felt we had to "o into
ever(thin"% even the smallest church we passed on an( street.
!e reali'ed we had never doneC :ondon half as thorou"hl(
because we took it for "ranted.
0 have no &outra"eous sa(in"s of =(lan )homas to record.
8is conversation with me was perfectl( drawin"-room and
unexceptional. 0 remember him as a polite (oun" man. Friendl(%
but not at all presumin".
8e told me the ori"ins of the circle of which 0 now formed
part. &First one and then another of us found our wa( to 6ick(s
throu"h enterin" into correspondence with him or somethin" like
that% and so a circle "rew up around 6ick(. !ere all ver( fond of
6ick(. 8e explained that% &alwa(s readin" each others names in
print we be"an to wonder what the ones whom we hadnt seen
were like. *o the( had had the idea &of sendin" out circulars to
ever(bod( who was a contributor. 8e thou"ht it had brou"ht in
some interestin" people. &!ell% it has brou"ht (ou; ?erhaps one
could name some kind of a re"ular thin" of it. &)he onl( thin" 0
dont like is the name #oists; he said.
0 lau"hed and said% &0t does sound a bit like proto'oa%
'ooph(tes and 'oids;
=(lan pulled a funn( face.
&!ere alwa(s called 6ick(s childrenC% said =(lan. &0ts a bit
sentimental% but 0 dont think we shall ever be called an(thin"
else.
0t had been at the back of m( mind while he was speakin"
that his name% as he had spelled it out% was one which 0 had read
in the Sunday Referee in a context more important than that of
the weekl( pri'es. 0 had not taken the paper re"ularl( before 0
-oined the circle% or 0 would have known the whole build-up. 0 said%
&+rent (ou the winner of a bi" pri'e/ 0 believe (oure one of the
distin"uished people here;
&0t was throu"h 6ick( and the Sunday Referee that a book of
m( poems has been published% he said. 8e explained that a pri'e
was offered twice (earl(% part of which consisted in the publication
of the winners poems in book form. &)he first was awarded to
?amela 8ansford Johnson. *he isnt here toni"ht. 0 was "iven the
second of them. 8e said that 6ick( had helped him pick out what
he thou"ht were the best of the poems he had written.
&!hats it called/
&Just 18 Poems. 0t was published -ust before @hristmas% and
0 think its doin" 7uite well. 8e added% &0m ver( "rateful to 6ick(.
0ts a bi" thin" for me. Ones first book is the most difficult to "et
published. Ever(one sa(s so. 1ow that 0 have one book
published% it should be easier to "et the next accepted% perhaps
b( an ordinar( firm.
A( sentiment for 6ick( was alread( so stron" that 0 was
sli"htl( shocked.
=(lan )homas saw it. &6ick( doesnt expect us to sta( with
him; he said. &)his is a nurser( school from which we are
expected to "o out into the world. !hen we can "et published
elsewhere nobod( is more pleased than 6ick(;
Just then the moment for which we had been waitin"
arrived. )he door from the inner part of the house opened and our
hosts came out to -oin us.
6ick( came strai"ht up to =(lan and me. 0 did not know
which of us the distinction was meant for but it "ave me -o(. 8e
stood b( m( chair% lookin" down on us beamin"l(% and said to
=(lan% &<oure entertainin" this little lad(/
=(lan said% &0ve been tellin" her somethin" of the histor( of
the Poets Corner.
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
:au"harne%
@armarthenshire%
!ales
BE June BEFG
=ear Aiss Fuller
0 havent heard an(thin" from 6ick( and $unia for (ears% until
about a fortni"ht a"o.
)hen ?amela Johnson wrote to tell me that 6ick( had -ust died. 0
was ver( "rieved to hear it, he was a sweet% wise man. $unias
address is 2F% .oundar( $oad% 1!2. +t least% 0 suppose she is
still there. 0 wrote her a letter% but 0 havent had a repl( (et,
probabl( shes too sad to write.
<ours sincerel(
=(lan )homas