Launched at Swansea University in 2015.
Neither birth- nor death-day, the date is that of the first public
performance of _Under Milk Wood_ (1954) at the 92nd Street Y's Poetry
Center, New York. Actually that was the day it was finished:

"He was up at dawn on 14 May to work on the second half, and he
continued writing on the train between Boston and New York....With the performance just 90 minutes away, the "final third of the play was still unorganised and but partially written." The play's producer, Liz
Reitell, locked Thomas in a room to continue work on the script, the
last few lines of which were handed to the actors as they were preparing
to go on stage."

Language point: Why didn't he write in Welsh?

At the 1921 census, Nancy [his sister] and Dylan are noted as speaking
both Welsh and English. Their parents were also bilingual in English and
Welsh, and Jack Thomas taught Welsh at evening classes.One of their
Swansea relations has recalled that, at home, "Both Auntie Florrie and
Uncle Jack always spoke Welsh." ...All four aunts and uncles [with whom
he spent much time as a boy] spoke Welsh and English....All these
relatives were bilingual, and many worshipped at Smyrna chapel in
Llangain where the services were always in Welsh, including Sunday
School which Thomas sometimes attended. There is also an account of the
young Thomas being taught how to swear in Welsh. His schoolboy friends
recalled that "It was all Welsh—and the children played in Welsh...he couldn't speak English when he stopped at Fernhill...in all his
surroundings, everybody else spoke Welsh..." At the 1921 census, 95% of residents in the two parishes around Fernhill were Welsh speakers.

So, plenty of exposure to it in childhood, and must have spoken it at
least a bit.
BUT he was not educated in it:

When he wrote to Stephen Spender in 1952, thanking him for a review of
his Collected Poems, he added "Oh, & I forgot. I'm not influenced by
Welsh bardic poetry. I can't read Welsh."

also he disliked Welsh nationalism:

Robert Pocock, a friend from the BBC, recalled "I only once heard Dylan
express an opinion on Welsh Nationalism. He used three words. Two of
them were Welsh Nationalism."

and finally:

Dylan, pronounced ˈ [ˈdəlan] (Dull-an) in Welsh, caused his mother to
worry that he might be teased as the "dull one". When he broadcast on
Welsh BBC early in his career, he was introduced using this
pronunciation. Thomas favoured the Anglicised pronunciation and gave instructions that it should be Dillan /ˈdɪlən/.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas

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On 2024-05-14 00:44:39 +0000, Ross Clark said:

Launched at Swansea University in 2015.
Neither birth- nor death-day, the date is that of the first public performance of _Under Milk Wood_ (1954) at the 92nd Street Y's Poetry
Center, New York. Actually that was the day it was finished:

"He was up at dawn on 14 May to work on the second half, and he
continued writing on the train between Boston and New York....With the performance just 90 minutes away, the "final third of the play was
still unorganised and but partially written." The play's producer, Liz Reitell, locked Thomas in a room to continue work on the script, the
last few lines of which were handed to the actors as they were
preparing to go on stage."

Language point: Why didn't he write in Welsh?

At the 1921 census, Nancy [his sister] and Dylan are noted as speaking
both Welsh and English. Their parents were also bilingual in English
and Welsh, and Jack Thomas taught Welsh at evening classes.One of their Swansea relations has recalled that, at home, "Both Auntie Florrie and
Uncle Jack always spoke Welsh." ...All four aunts and uncles [with whom
he spent much time as a boy] spoke Welsh and English....All these
relatives were bilingual, and many worshipped at Smyrna chapel in
Llangain where the services were always in Welsh, including Sunday
School which Thomas sometimes attended. There is also an account of the
young Thomas being taught how to swear in Welsh. His schoolboy friends recalled that "It was all Welsh—and the children played in Welsh...he couldn't speak English when he stopped at Fernhill...in all his
surroundings, everybody else spoke Welsh..." At the 1921 census, 95% of residents in the two parishes around Fernhill were Welsh speakers.

So, plenty of exposure to it in childhood, and must have spoken it at
least a bit.
BUT he was not educated in it:

When he wrote to Stephen Spender in 1952, thanking him for a review of
his Collected Poems, he added "Oh, & I forgot. I'm not influenced by
Welsh bardic poetry. I can't read Welsh."

also he disliked Welsh nationalism:

Robert Pocock, a friend from the BBC, recalled "I only once heard Dylan express an opinion on Welsh Nationalism. He used three words. Two of
them were Welsh Nationalism."

and finally:

Dylan, pronounced ˈ [ˈdəlan] (Dull-an) in Welsh,

That must be south Welsh. In north Welsh (which I'm more familiar
with), y is often a schwa (for example in the name Machynlleth), or an
/ɪ/,as in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrn... (at least as said by
non-Welsh speakers).

caused his mother to worry that he might be teased as the "dull one".
When he broadcast on Welsh BBC early in his career, he was introduced
using this pronunciation. Thomas favoured the Anglicised pronunciation
and gave instructions that it should be Dillan /ˈdɪlən/.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas

--
Athel -- French and British, living in Marseilles for 37 years; mainly
in England until 1987.

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XPost: alt.usage.english, alt.poetry, soc.culture.welsh

On 5/14/2024 6:49 AM, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:

On 2024-05-14 00:44:39 +0000, Ross Clark said:

Launched at Swansea University in 2015.
Neither birth- nor death-day, the date is that of the first public
performance of _Under Milk Wood_ (1954) at the 92nd Street Y's Poetry
Center, New York. Actually that was the day it was finished:

"He was up at dawn on 14 May to work on the second half, and he
continued writing on the train between Boston and New York....With the
performance just 90 minutes away, the "final third of the play was
still unorganised and but partially written." The play's producer, Liz
Reitell, locked Thomas in a room to continue work on the script, the
last few lines of which were handed to the actors as they were
preparing to go on stage."

Does Crystal mention that Zimmerman got his stage-name
from his fav. poet?


i have this DVD -- Under Milk Wood (DVD, 2005)

This DVD features the legendary performances of
Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Peter O'Toole




__________Is there a film of Under Milk Wood?

Under Milk Wood (2015 film) - Wikipedia
This was the first feature adaptation of the play since the 1972 film,
which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It was largely filmed
in the Pembrokeshire village of Solva during the summer of 2014. Two
versions of the film were shot, one in English and the other in Welsh
(known as Dan y Wenallt).

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