Dylan Thomas Autograph Letter Signed.

THOMAS, Dylan.

Item Number: 135411

Autograph letter signed by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas to an admirer. One page, the letter is dated May 15, 1939 and reads in full, ” Sea View Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, South Wales Dear Sir, Returning your information sheet. Long delay because I couldn’t find a photograph or get one taken. Sorry my answers are so unhelpful. I just live in this small town on the coast & write as much as  I can. I enclose two photographs; you can use either, they’re privately taken. Yours truly, Dylan Thomas.” Dylan Thomas was first recognized by the literary establishment in 1934, with the publication of his poem, “Light breaks where no sun shines.” Only a few months after writing this letter, Thomas would publish “Map of Love,” a collection of prose and poetry. In 1936, Thomas had first visited Laugharne, a small village in South Wales about 40 miles northwest of Swansea by car. He and his wife Caitlin Macnamara moved to Laugharne in early 1938 and stayed in several places in town, including Seaview, until they left to escape tradesman’s debts in July 1940. Thomas described Laugharne elsewhere as an out-of-the-way place, unspoiled by tourists or artists, “a good place…It’s a sociable place too…with good pubs and little law.” Laugharne provided the basis for the fictional town of Llareggub featured in Thomas‘s play “Under Milk Wood.” After Thomas‘s sudden death at age 39 while traveling abroad in the United States, his body was brought back to Wales and he was buried in St. Martin’s churchyard in Laugharne. One of the poet’s Laugharne residences was at Seaview, a five-bedroom mid-nineteenth-century Georgian style house on Market Street, situated just below Laugharne Castle and overlooking the River Taf. Thomas‘s widow Caitlin recalls their time at Seaview as some of the happiest of their marriage. Thomas entertained famous visitors at Seaview, such as Arthur Miller and T.S. Eliot. In near fine condition. Matted and farmed with a portrait of Thomas. The entire piece measures 22 inches by 17 inches.

Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas became widely popular in his lifetime and remained so after his death at the age of 39 in New York City. By then, he had acquired a reputation, which he had encouraged, as a "roistering, drunken and doomed poet." His best-known works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", the "play for voices" Under Milk Wood, and stories and radio broadcasts such as A Child's Christmas in Wales and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog. Although Thomas wrote exclusively in the English language, he has been acknowledged as one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century. He is noted for his original, rhythmic, and ingenious use of words and imagery. His position as one of the great modern poets has been much discussed, and he remains popular with the public.