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Jeff Towns (Dylan Thomas) Collection
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Later poetry,

Papers, [1939x2010], mostly drafts and worksheets, of later poems by Dylan Thomas, namely 'A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London', 'Elegy', 'In Country Heaven', 'Paper and sticks', 'Poem on his Birthday', and 'There was a saviour'. 'Letter to Loren', a letter written in verse, is also included in this group.

A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London,

Early pencil draft, dated Nov[ember] [19]44, by Dylan Thomas of the poem 'A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London', written on the back endpaper and paste-down of a copy of the anthology New Road 1944, ed. A. Comfort and J. Bayliss (London, 1944), containing two of his poems, 'Among those killed in the Dawn Raid was a Man aged One Hundred' and 'The Marriage of a Virgin'. The poem was first published in New Republic, vol. 112, no. 20, (May, 1945), and subsequently in Deaths and entrances (London, 1946). The letters 'Dy' are inscribed beneath the draft, together with a small doodle of a creature. Also included are two typescript copies, [1990x2010], (3 ff.), of 'A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London', being transcripts of the pencil draft.

Elegy,

One page of lined paper containing early untitled ink drafts, [1953], including words, phrases, and a list of possible verse forms, (recto side only), written by Dylan Thomas whilst composing the unfinished poem 'Elegy' to his father, D. J. Thomas. The work was first published in Encounter, 6/2 (February, 1956).

Letter to Loren,

Undated holograph draft in biro, [1951], of 'Letter to Loren', a letter by Dylan Thomas written in verse, and sent to his friends Lloyd Frankenberg and Loren MacIver on his return to Laugharne following his first American tour. A limited edition of the verse letter was published, with an introduction and notes by Jeff Towns (Swansea, 1993); it also appeared in The London Magazine, and in P. Ferris (ed.), Collected letters (London, 2000). The manuscript appears to be a final draft with few amendments. A doodle in pencil, in an unidentified hand, is drawn on the reverse of the final page.

Two poems from The map of love,

Two typescript poems, [1937]-[1939], which appear to be the earliest known versions of 'We lying by seasand' and 'If my head hurt a hair's foot', by Dylan Thomas, published in The map of love (London, 1939). The title, 'We lying by seasand', is noted in both pencil and ink at the top of the page, with 'Dylan Thomas' inscribed in pencil and ink beneath the poem. The typescript, [1937], contains pencil corrections, with some printers' marks. 'We lying in seasand' was first printed in Poetry Chicago, (1937), and amended for its publication in The year's poetry, (1937), with further minor changes made before it appeared in The map of love. The typescript, [1939], 'If my head hurt a hare's foot', is headed 'Poem', the title under which it was published in Poetry (London), (1939). The poem is signed in ink by the author, he has corrected the word 'joy' in the fifth stanza, and added a note, 'Hope this is in time. DT', at the bottom of the page; '32' is inscribed in pencil in an unidentified hand at the top of the page.

Daniel Jones,

Undated holograph letter, [1926x1928], written in pencil on a lined page torn from an exercise book (recto side only), from Dylan Thomas to Dan[iel Jones], requesting that the latter visits him to collaborate on a review and other work.

Alban Levy,

Undated holograph letter, [April 1937], by Dylan Thomas to Alban [Levy], written in black ink (recto side only) and sent from Bishopston, in reply to his letter following DT's first radio broadcast, 'Life and the Modern Poet'. DT hopes to visit Cardiff soon and read his new poems to Alban, Mervyn and Stella.

Dock Leaves memorial number,

Papers, 1954, relating to the Dylan Thomas commemorative number of Dock Leaves (Spring 1954), comprising manuscript, and mostly typescript copies, some containing corrections and notes for the publishers, of contributions for the journal; letters, 1954, from Louis MacNeice, and Henry Treece (2), addressed to the editor Raymond Garlick; corrected galley proofs (15 pp.); a copy of the journal; and a letter and invoice, 1955, from an American antiquarian book dealer.

Augustus John,

Holograph letter, (2 ff.), dated 5 March 1945, by Dylan Thomas to Augustus [John], written in blue ink (ff. 1r, 2r) and sent from New Quay, thanking the latter for his gift and referring to Mary Keene who is staying at New Quay. Also included is a typescript copy, [1950x1970], of the letter; inscribed '511/?I/NPQ/72' and '214' in pencil in unidentified hands at the bottom of the page.

Programmes,

Programmes and papers, including flyers, tickets, posters and covering letters, 1954-2005, some of which were collated by Joseph Gold, relating to productions of works by Dylan Thomas, mainly 'Under Milk Wood', staged in various countries, mostly Britain and the United States of America.

Gold, Joseph, 1912-

Letters,

Thirty-four unpublished autograph letters and cards, together with a telegram, 1947-1984, from Caitlin Thomas; among the recipients are Paul Ferris, Daniel Jones (with a draft reply by him), Mervyn Levy, Andrew Sinclair, Stuart Thomas, Ruthven Todd, and Gwen and Vernon Watkins. Also included is a handwritten and typescript copy of a letter, dated 16 December 1953, to George Reavey and Irene Rice Pereira, with a photograph of Caitlin and baby Colm; a typescript copy of a letter, 1954, to David [Higham]; and photocopies of two letters, 1951 and 1962, sent to Helen [McAlpine], held at the University of Texas. Personal matters are mainly discussed in these letters, and Caitlin's life and relationship with Dylan Thomas; several letters are written during the months following her husband's death, and some relate to the trial concerning ownership of the manuscript of 'Under Milk Wood'.

Thomas, Caitlin

Yvonne Macnamara,

Holograph letter, 1 December [1957], from Yvonne Macnamara to Vernon Watkins regarding the book, Letters to Vernon Watkins (London, 1957), and including her impressions of her son-in-law, Dylan Thomas.

Macnamara, Yvonne.

Dylan Thomas in print,

Papers, [1965x1969], relating to Ralph Maud's book, Dylan Thomas in print: a bibliographical history (London, 1970), consisting of an undated typescript copy of most of the work, containing manuscript amendments and notes; page proofs set for indexing; a bibliography compiled by Ralph Maud; two letters, 1966 and 1972, from him addressed to Joseph Gold; 'A list of published comment on his [Dylan Thomas'] works'; and other related papers.

Daniel Jones and Ruthven Todd,

Correspondence, May 1954 - March 1955, comprising three typescript letters from Ruthven Todd to Daniel Jones, and two replies from the latter, in which they discuss their own work, the relationship between Dylan Thomas and Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, and the text of Under Milk Wood.

Todd, Ruthven, 1914-

Daniel Jones,

Letters and papers, 1927-1978, of Daniel Jones, comprising correspondence, 1953-1955 and 1970-1978, mainly relating to the death of Dylan Thomas, the sale of the latter's manuscripts, and the publication of Dylan Thomas : the poems (London, 1971); holograph poems by Daniel Jones, namely 'Europa', 1927, and 'Passion Unrequited', 1928, both dedicated to Dylan Thomas; a story entitled 'Percy Droppeth', written in the hand of Daniel Jones, [1935]; a script, [?1977], (3 pp.), being an extract from the book My friend Dylan Thomas, read by Daniel Jones for the Dylan Thomas audio cassette; duplicate galley proofs, 1978, (5 pp.), for the reprint of the Dylan Thomas poems; and press cuttings, 1953, regarding the poet's death.

Jones, Daniel, 1912-1993

Daniel Jones,

Typescript copy, [1970-1971], entitled 'The poems of Dylan Thomas', published as Dylan Thomas: the poems, edited with an introduction by Daniel Jones (London, 1971), containing holograph corrections and additions by the editor; together with a copy of the first edition of the book annotated by Daniel Jones and including some additional notes, 1971-1977, mostly amendments for subsequent editions.

Jones, Daniel, 1912-1993

Unpublished letters by Dylan Thomas,

Letters, [1926x2011], from Dylan Thomas, all of which appear to be unpublished, comprising original letters, [1926]-1995, telegrams, 1942-1947, and photocopies of autograph letters, [1990x2011], mainly concerning literary and personal matters.

Results 41 to 60 of 191