More times than I can think of, I start a book, become bogged down in it, and lay it aside. Or, another book catches my eye and I shift to the other book and set aside the first. Or, the busyness of life and cares of the world get in the way, resulting in my putting the book on the shelf and then forget that I had ever started it.
Such was the case with The Collected Letters of Dylan Thomas. Now, this is a book that checks a couple of boxes on my likes list. It’s letters. Readers of this blog know I like to read published letters. It’s about a poet, a poet I knew a little about but whose poetry isn’t my favorite. I don’t remember where I got this book, though I’m pretty sure I picked it up used, though in immaculate condition.
It was more than 20 years ago that I started this book. I remember reading in it, liking it, and then making a presentation from it to Poets Northwest, the local chapter of the Poets Roundtable of Arkansas. That presentation was well received by the group, if I remember correctly.
But I set it aside when life got in the way.
Not long ago I decided that I would, in the interest of dis-accumulation in anticipation of a future downsizing, break up my collection of published letters. Scanning my shelves, I saw this book and decided I would finish it.
Dylan Thomas is an enigma among poets. That is, he is difficult to understand. He was undisciplined in life, unfaithful to his wife, unrestrained in his appetites, unable to budget and constantly begging money. His poetry doesn’t move me a lot, though some are good. Others who know poetry better than I do, i.e. those considered critics, consider him one of the great poets of the 20th Century.
His letters contain great information. He wrote many begging letters to various friends and patrons, asking for money. In other letters he discusses poetry. Many related to the broadcasts he made on various BBC programs, or scripts for others. It’s hard to explain everything Thomas was into.
I had left off reading about halfway through the book, in the year 1940. The letters are arranged chronologically from around 1932 to his death in November 1953. It includes letters back to his wife, Caitlinn, while he was on trips to the USA. Even though he made a large amount of money from his poetry and prose readings in the US, he was still broke due to overspending. He professed great love in letters to Caitlinn even while having affairs with multiple women in the US.
Reading these letters is sometimes painful. He was constantly dealing with money issues with those who would publish his poems and prose. He sold off his copyrights to make money, only to try to buy them back again. All this is documented in the letters.
If letters are your thing, these are well worth reading. If they are not, of course there’s no point in trying to find this—unless you are a Dylan Thomas lover, that is. Then it is well worth reading. The book printing is also excellent. The letters are well-arranged, and editor intrusions of footnotes and historical inserts are just about right.
I give this book 5-stars. However, it is not a keeper for me. I may go back and re-read some of the early letters, which I barely remember two decades after reading them. But otherwise, out to the sale/donation shelf it goes.
