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Tag Archives: Dylan Thomas
“Never write from your head; write from your cock.” — Wystan Hugh Auden
W.H. Auden was born on this day in York, England, 1907. I first encountered Auden in my “Humanities” class, senior year in high school. I got a lot out of that class, and I remember we analyzed Auden’s famous most-anthologized … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Camille Paglia, Christopher Hitchens, Dylan Thomas, Elizabeth Bishop, England, George Orwell, Hamlet, Harold Bloom, Hugh MacDiarmid, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord Tennyson, Louis MacNeice, Marianne Moore, Michael Schmidt, Philip Larkin, poetry, Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Thomas Hardy, W.H. Auden, William Shakespeare
23 Comments
“Out of the inevitable conflict of images – … the womb of war – I try to make that momentary peace which is a poem.” — poet Dylan Thomas
“[My] poems, with all their crudities, doubts and confusions, are written for the love of Man and in praise of God, and I’d be a damn fool if they weren’t.” – Dylan Thomas, 1952 Dylan Thomas was born on this … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Camille Paglia, Dylan Thomas, Elizabeth Bishop, Michael Schmidt, Philip Larkin, poetry, Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Wales
2 Comments
“[At Swim-Two-Birds is] just the book to give to your sister, if she is a dirty, boozey girl.” – Dylan Thomas on Flann O’Brien’s masterpiece
When a man sleeps, he is steeped and lost in a limp toneless happiness: awake he is restless, tortured by his body and the illusion of existence. Why have men spent the centuries seeking to overcome the awakened body? Put … Continue reading
Posted in Books, James Joyce, On This Day, writers
Tagged Dylan Thomas, Flann O'Brien, Ireland, poetry
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“My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity.” — WWI poet Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen, one of the best “war poets” of World War I, was born on this day in 1893. He was killed in battle in 1918, just seven days before the Armistice. He was 25 years old. His poetry was … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Dylan Thomas, England, Harold Bloom, poetry, T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, war, WWI
33 Comments
November 2020 Viewing Diary
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993; d. Steven Zaillian) Popped this fave in because I was still revved up by Queen’s Gambit … I love this movie so much. Makes me cry every time. Supernatural, Season 15, episode 17 “Unity” (2020; … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Bill Murray, Bong Joon-Ho, comedy, documentary, drama, Dylan Thomas, England, Germany, Italy, Romania, Russia, sci-fi, South Korea, Spike Lee, sports movies, Supernatural, Wales, war, X-Files
6 Comments
Review: Last Call (2020)
Rhys Ifans plays Dylan Thomas in his final hours in Last Call. I reviewed for Ebert.
The Books: The Redress of Poetry ‘Dylan the Durable? On Dylan Thomas,’ by Seamus Heaney
On the essays shelf (yes, there are still more books to excerpt in my vast library. I can’t seem to stop this excerpts-from-my-library project. I started it in 2006!) NEXT BOOK: Seamus Heaney’s The Redress of Poetry. Dylan Thomas was … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Dylan Thomas, essays, Ireland, poetry, Seamus Heaney, The Redress of Poetry, Wales
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Today in history, February 21, 1907
W.H. Auden was born in York, England. Two pieces of advice for writers from Mr. Auden: To keep his errors down to a minimum, the internal Censor to whom a poet submits his work in progress should be a Censorate. … Continue reading
Posted in On This Day, writers
Tagged Christopher Hitchens, Dylan Thomas, George Orwell, Hamlet, Michael Schmidt, poetry, Seamus Heaney, Thomas Hardy, W.H. Auden, William Shakespeare
3 Comments
“I’ve had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that’s the record . . .” — Dylan Thomas’ last words
A famous place.
National Poetry Month: W.H. Auden
April is National Poetry Month. I’ll lead off here with my favorite poem, one I come back to again and again and again …At times, it’s been a life raft. I’m sad right now. I’m sad about so many things. … Continue reading