Dylan Thomas lived from 1914 to 1953 and was a renowned Welsh poet and writer. Despite dying at the young age of 39, he had managed to become quite popular during his lifetime, which he remained after his death. To make enough money to live by, he went on reading tours around the UK and later America. He also appeared on many radio broadcasts, and it was one of those broadcasts for the BBC which brought him to the public’s attention. He is known as one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century, even though he only wrote in English and not in Welsh.
His most famous works are likely And death shall have no dominion and Do not go gentle into that good night. But I really like his poem about poetry and books, which is the one I chose to highlight today:
Notes on the Art of Poetry
by Dylan Thomas (1951)
I could never have dreamt that there were such goings-on
in the world between the covers of books,
such sandstorms and ice blasts of words,
such staggering peace, such enormous laughter,
such and so many blinding bright lights,
splashing all over the pages
in a million bits and pieces
all of which were words, words, words,
and each of which were alive forever
in its own delight and glory and oddity and light.
Happy reading,
Loes M.
Do you know what book this poem was published in?
Are you doing Level 3 BTEC Dance, unit 3?
Hi Hannah,
If you are talking to me, then the answer is no. I just googled to find beautiful bookish poems to share with my readers ;).
Can someone interpret the meaning behind the poem for me
For me, the meaning is that a book is so much more than a collection of words of letters. With those building blocks and your imagination, you can create entire worlds and adventures. And that is astonishing. At least, that is how I interpret this poem.