Notes toward “Poem on his Birthday” (1952), undated

Notes toward “Poem on his Birthday” (1952), undated

Collection

Dylan Thomas at 100

Citation

Thomas, Dylan, 1914-1953.. "Notes toward “Poem on his Birthday” (1952), undated." MSS 103 John Malcolm Brinnin papers, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library. Accessed 19 December 2024.
https://exhibitions.lib.udel.edu/dylan-thomas/exhibition-item/notes-toward-poem-on-his-birthday-1952-undated/

Title

Notes toward "Poem on his Birthday" (1952), undated

Subject

Thomas, Dylan, 1914-1953.

Description

Two versions of “Poem on his Birthday” were published in 1952: one in The Atlantic Monthly (March 1952) and in In Country Sleep and Other Poems, and a second in Collected Poems, which appeared in November 1952. The imagery emphasizes a preoccupation with death and decay, feelings with which Thomas was struggling on the occasion of his thirty-fifth birthday in 1949. This poem marks a significant difference from the bittersweet and nostalgic “Poem in October,” written for his thirtieth birthday.

Creator

Thomas, Dylan, 1914-1953.

Source

MSS 103 John Malcolm Brinnin papers, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library

Date

circa 1949.

Type

Still Image

Format

Manuscript Close