Fifty years after his death, many consider Dylan Thomas to have been the greatest lyric poet of his age...
In this masterly biography Andrew Sinclair explains how Thomas attracted a new mass audience, and discusses the influences on his work that stemmed from the divisions and tensions of the poet’s Welsh heritage.
Sinclair captures the tragic and exuberant story of Thomas’s personal life, his vision of Wales and the writing of his masterpiece, Under Milk Wood, the brawling and boozing in Fitzrovia during the 1930s and 40s, and the last American tour of the 50s, that ultimately ended with his death.
Dylan the Bard is the definitive biography of this great poet.
Praise for Dylan the Bard
‘Mr Sinclair writes beautifully and analyses the poet’s development with clarity and humour.’ - Keith Baxter, Daily Telegraph
‘Sinclair shares with his subject a lively, paronomastic prose style, and his account of an instinctively respectable psyche afflicted with the frightening gift of poetry makes fascinating and most enjoyable reading.’ - Sean Macmahon, Irish Independent
‘You have picked the plums and touched the living quick of the Dylan situation with penetrating insight … What baffles me is from whence first did your passion and your understanding of your subject come?’ - Caitlin Thomas
‘Most enjoyable reading’ – The Irish Independent
‘...rousing history of the poet and his life’ – Kirkus Reviews
Andrew Sinclair is a novelist, historian, critic and filmmaker. He was a Founding Member of Churchill College, Cambridge, and has taught and travelled across the world. He made the film, now regarded as a classic, of Under Milk Wood . His recent film, Dylan on Dylan , of the life of the poet will be released on DVD with Under Milk Wood in 2003. He lives in London and is married to the writer Sonia Melchett.