Dylan+Thomas

A turning point also came on 2 November. Air pollution in New York had risen significantly and exacerbated chest illnesses, such as Thomas had. By the end of the month, over two hundred New Yorkers had died from the smog. On 3 November Thomas spent most of that day in bed drinking. He went out in the evening to keep two drink appointments. After returning to the hotel, he went out again for a drink at 2am. He continued to drink, and became very ill. Thomas was admitted to the emergency ward at a nearby hospital. The medical notes state that he arrived in a coma at 1.58am, and that the "impression upon admission was acute alcoholic encephalopathy damage to the brain by alcohol, for which the patient was treated without response". The duty doctors found bronchitis in all parts of his bronchial tree, both left and right sides. An X-ray showed pneumonia, and a raised white cell count confirmed the presence of an infection. The pneumonia worsened and Thomas died, whilst in coma.
 * Background Information: ** Welshman Dylan Thomas left school at 16 to become a reporter and writer. He was in high demand for his sonorous readings, but debt and heavy drinking took their toll, and he died while on tour in 1953. Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself. Growing up, Thomas was an undistinguished student. Thomas's first poem was published in a school's magazine. He later became its editor. He left school at 16 to become a reporter for the local newspaper, only to leave the job under pressure 18 months later in 1932. After leaving the job he filled his notebooks even faster. It is often commented that Thomas was indulged like a child and he was, in fact, still a teenager when he published many of the poems he would become famous for. His highly acclaimed first poetry volume, 18 Poems, was published on December 18, 1934, and went on to win a contest run, getting him new admirers from the London poetry. The images in his writing were carefully ordered in a patterned sequence, and his major theme was the unity of all life, the continuing process of life and death and new life that linked the generations. In his poetry he sought a poetic ritual to celebrate this unity. He saw men and women locked in cycles of growth, love, procreation, new growth, death, and new life again. His passionate musical lyricism caused a sensation among the community, but led him into heavy drinking problems.He actively sought to build a reputation as a raconteur and outrageous writer, heavy drinker and wit. Thomas once confided that the poems that had most influenced him were Mother Goose rhymes which his parents taught him when he was a child. The publication of Deaths and Entrances in 1946 was a major turning point for Thomas.

**Most Famous Works:** @And Death Shall Have No Dominion @Deaths And Entrances @Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines Sources: __[]__ [] http://allpoetry.com/poem/8451835-Deaths_And_Entrances-by-Dylan_Thomas http://allpoetry.com/poem/8451867-Light_Breaks_Where_No_Sun_Shines-by-Dylan_Thomas http://www.dylanthomasboathouse.com/english/dylan/biog.html http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/dylan-thomas-245.php