Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
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Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-36266596
Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
Newly-discovered documents have cast doubt on Dylan Thomas' reputation as a hard-drinking womaniser.
The poet is described as "shy and retiring" in a previously unseen memoir written by the Thomas family's GP.
Prof John Goodby, of Swansea University, who discovered the documents, said they confirmed the poet's life in Wales "wasn't sensational".
"He was fairly modest, he was sober," said Prof Goodby.
The memoir belonged to Dr David Mendelssohn Hughes, Thomas' doctor in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire.
"He was respectful of the doctor and other authority figures and there was absolutely no womanising while he was living in Laugharne," said Prof Goodby.
"He had regular routines of visiting his mother and father every morning, doing the shopping, going to Brown's Hotel for a couple of pints and returning to the Boathouse to work for four hours or so."
While the memoir praises Thomas' character, it pours scorn on the behaviour of his wife, Caitlin, who is labelled a "first-class bitch".
Meanwhile, a letter written by Thomas to the landlord of a pub in Laugharne has also appeared for the first time.
Dated 8 November 1950, Thomas asks after the welfare of a pig he and the landlord were hoping to fatten up for Christmas. He writes that he is hoping for "a beautiful piggy Christmas" ahead of a trip to Persia in the new year.
"The whole of the time that Dylan lives in Laugharne there has never been a breath of scandal involving Dylan with other women! With admiration of local females, married and unmarried, there surely existed opportunity for unfaithfulness but Dylan can be absolved absolutely from this.
"His capacity for drink was very limited compared with the average 'hearty'. He couldn't drink very much - three or four pints was his absolute limit - his daily limit was two pints in Brown's and on weekends with Phil in the Cross House. He never drank spirits, but in that last trip to America - described in that tragic book by John Brinnin - he undoubtedly posed as a hard drinking genius who could absorb whiskey and this cost him his life."
(continued)
Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
Newly-discovered documents have cast doubt on Dylan Thomas' reputation as a hard-drinking womaniser.
The poet is described as "shy and retiring" in a previously unseen memoir written by the Thomas family's GP.
Prof John Goodby, of Swansea University, who discovered the documents, said they confirmed the poet's life in Wales "wasn't sensational".
"He was fairly modest, he was sober," said Prof Goodby.
The memoir belonged to Dr David Mendelssohn Hughes, Thomas' doctor in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire.
"He was respectful of the doctor and other authority figures and there was absolutely no womanising while he was living in Laugharne," said Prof Goodby.
"He had regular routines of visiting his mother and father every morning, doing the shopping, going to Brown's Hotel for a couple of pints and returning to the Boathouse to work for four hours or so."
While the memoir praises Thomas' character, it pours scorn on the behaviour of his wife, Caitlin, who is labelled a "first-class bitch".
Meanwhile, a letter written by Thomas to the landlord of a pub in Laugharne has also appeared for the first time.
Dated 8 November 1950, Thomas asks after the welfare of a pig he and the landlord were hoping to fatten up for Christmas. He writes that he is hoping for "a beautiful piggy Christmas" ahead of a trip to Persia in the new year.
"The whole of the time that Dylan lives in Laugharne there has never been a breath of scandal involving Dylan with other women! With admiration of local females, married and unmarried, there surely existed opportunity for unfaithfulness but Dylan can be absolved absolutely from this.
"His capacity for drink was very limited compared with the average 'hearty'. He couldn't drink very much - three or four pints was his absolute limit - his daily limit was two pints in Brown's and on weekends with Phil in the Cross House. He never drank spirits, but in that last trip to America - described in that tragic book by John Brinnin - he undoubtedly posed as a hard drinking genius who could absorb whiskey and this cost him his life."
(continued)
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Re: Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
"Shy and retiring" = hungover.
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Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
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Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
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Re: Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
if I saw ma GP when I'm hungover, I'd have more serious medical bills than I actually do.
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Re: Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
Well listening to his wife who is telling the truth.
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Re: Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
Thanks for the link. Well, so much for those documents. The interview with Caitlin Thomas dispels any doubt about Dylan Thomas' reputation as a hard-drinking womaniser.Scot Dutchy wrote:Well listening to his wife who is telling the truth.
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Re: Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
If you gonna leave the show, and keep in mind it isn't really a choice, then either whisky or gin or vodka is the way to go. One thing The Holy Bible got right, strong drink for the dying.
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Re: Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
There was of course a Jewish version of Dylan Thomas, whose most famous poem starts with "Do not go Gentile into that good night..."
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Re: Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
Get out of here.
Rationalia relies on voluntary donations. There is no obligation of course, but if you value this place and want to see it continue please consider making a small donation towards the forum's running costs.
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"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."
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"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
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Details on how to do that can be found here.
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"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."
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"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
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Re: Dylan Thomas GP's memoir reveals "shy and retiring" poet
"Wat is het een gezellig boel hier".
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