“The life, work and riotous pleasures of Dylan Thomas in Fitzrovia.” That was the title of a wide-ranging festival celebrating one of our greatest poets in 2014, his centenary year. It was also a celebration of Fitzrovia, the culturally rich district which played an important part in his life in London. The 19-year-old first came up on… Continue reading
Posts tagged Dylan Thomas
Swansea’s field of dreamers, poets and six sixes in an over
On August 31st, 1968, West Indies cricketer Garfield St Aubrun Sobers became the first player in the, roughly, 200 year history of the sport to hit every ball of an over for six, playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at the St Helens ground in Swansea. To date the feat has only been repeated once in conventional,… Continue reading →
Dylan Thomas’s worldwide party centres on Swansea
A shorter version of this piece appeared in the Mail on Sunday, May 18, 2014. The helpful app on my smartphone treats my request as just another random A to B walking route. Those navigational algorithms may be clever, but the Muse is missing. Without any comment, Google delivers me 5 Cwmdonkin Drive to Swansea Grammar School. Don’t they… Continue reading →
Dylan Thomas – the end story in New York City
Dylan Thomas, the greatest Welsh poet, died in New York 60 years ago, on November 9th, 1953 shortly after his 39th birthday. According to the medical record, he died as a result of an alcoholic “insult to the brain” – the result of a drinking session after which, it is often, perhaps erroneously, reported that… Continue reading →
Swansea shortlisted as candidate for City of Culture, 2017
Swansea has been shortlisted as one of the candidates for the City of Culture, 2017 Craning my neck I could see the dreamer’s window in one of the most famous back bedrooms in literature. From here, at no 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea, a 20th Century superstar looked down over the town to the “twin tongued…carol-singing sea” and… Continue reading →
You’ve seen The Snowman (30 times). So what about the other Christmas story?
The arthouse cinema near where I live shows It’s a Wonderful Life every Christmas Eve. You can’t get in, unless you book within the hour back in August, or something like that. I have my personal seasonal TV favorite. It’s the West Wing episode set in the days before Christmas, where Toby Ziegler arranges a… Continue reading →