A pictoral tour of some of the pubs Dylan Thomas
attended in Swansea, west Wales, Oxford, London and the
USA. This book will put Dylan Thomas's love of public
houses and liking of drink into its proper perspective.
Events that happened to him in and around pubs are
reflected in his famous works and these are discussed in
the book. One of the main experts on the life of Dylan
Thomas, Jeff Towns, is launching a brand new and
revealing book, Dylan Thomas: The Pubs Tired of the lazy
clichéd description of Dylan as a Bohemian drunken poet,
scrounger and womaniser, Jeff Towns and artist Wyn
Thomas decided to investigate exactly what role pubs and
alcohol had played in his remarkable life. Described by
Cerys Matthews as a literary lock-in , the brand new
book Dylan Thomas: The Pubs challenges the myths and
legends that surround Dylan and drink, and offers a new
and revealing insight into his life and work. Although
it is impossible to take drink out of Dylan s life
story, it is possible to reposition it to see it as
nothing so extraordinary or shameful, and to prevent it
from being a barrier between readers and Dylan s real
importance as a fine poet, story writer, broadcaster,
reader and dramatist. Believe it or not, Dylan Thomas
didn t delight in pubs for the booze, explains author
Jeff Towns, who is one of the world's leading Dylan
Thomas experts. In the book, I reveal the real reason
behind Dylan s love of pubs. After over forty years of
research, I can conclude that Dylan saw the pub as a
place of refuge; as a place of conviviality, warmth and
shelter; as a theatre in which he could always be
counted on to perform, and always be guaranteed an
audience! Much of his writing reflects the words,
expressions and sayings he heard around him every day,
especially so in pubs. Dylan was not only a good story
teller, he was also a good listener. It was in these
very pubs that Dylan would meet the people who would
inspire so much of his work. The book takes the reader
on a poetic pub crawl around the pubs and bars of Wales,
London and the USA visited and loved by Dylan Thomas.
The journey begins in Swansea with the Kardomah Gang, a
bunch of lively local artists, writers and musicians,
before heading across west Wales via Laugharne and New
Quay; it blazes through London's bohemian Fitzrovia with
Augustus John before ending in America with the Beat
poets, Stravinsky and Charlie Chaplin. Wyn Thomas
illustrations bring the pubs to life.
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