one of those rare books that can be read over and over again without losing any of its beauty or mystery. there is not one bad poem in this book. ( )

ahhhh... ( )

Dylan Thomas - Collected Poems is a brief book. It contains poems which, according to a short introductory note by Thomas, he considered important works in his career as a poet. The poems span Thomas' career from 1934-1952 and include those for which he is best known - "Do not go gentle into that good night", "And death shall have no dominion", and "After the funeral". The poems were selected by Thomas in 1952, one year before his untimely death.

The collection starts with a prologue in verse, a lyrical piece filled with beautiful natural imagery. While much of the poetry in the book deals with death and the persistence of life in unflinching terms, the beauty of Wales and its countryside seeps through in many of Thomas' poems. His poetry, in blank verse, draws on natural imagery, train-of-consciousness techniques and unusual metaphors to paint a picture, or rather, give vague substance to an idea or feeling without providing clear definition. It is only occasionally, as in "The hand that signed the paper", or "This bread I break" that his meaning is clear and easy to follow. These poems are not for the lazy mind to enjoy on a summer's day. They are challenging both mentally and emotionally. Apparently, Thomas held an immortalist view of life and believed in the perseverance of the human spirit but he seems, in these poems, to be struggling with the idea of death. He's probably not the best poet to read when depressed. If you are expecting a set of poems along the lines of "A child's Christmas in Wales" you may be disappointed with this. Occasional flashes of romantic lyricism shine in poems such as "A poem in October" or "Fern Hill" but the tone is mostly somber.

If I have a quibble with this book it is not with the poetry but with the edition. The book is entirely bare of any explanatory notes, footnotes, or references. There is a brief (one paragraph) note by the author at the start and a longer note by Vernon Watkins at the end describing the incomplete state of "Elegy" but nothing at all in between. While this allows one to enjoy the poetry in its raw state, Thomas' metaphors are often unusual to the point of inscrutability. Some background and definition of obscure and Welsh terms would seem necessary for full enjoyment of the poems. If you really want to understand Thomas' work you will be forced to do further research. If you just want to let the poetry wash over you then this is a great book by a truly great poet. ( )

Dylan Thomas is one of the literati whose life story gives support to the generally dubious theory that drunkenness helps one be a better artist. Unfaithfulness, volatile relationships, and depression feed into the image as well. And what of his art? Of his facility with language there can be no doubt. His obsession with death is a little much (but, it should be noted, helps fill in the Portrait of the Artist as a drunken depressed guy.) Yet who has not been inspired by his plea to his dying father, reprinted in this collection, to "not go gentle into that good night: rage, rage against the dying of the light!" Dylan himself, in his preface, claims these poems are "written for the love of Man and in praise of God." In light of their morbidity that seems a bit of a stretch to me, but he should know. And sometimes, these sentiments actually come through:

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

(JAF)

This is a nice collection for someone who likes rich, metaphorical, obtuse poetry... Its way too heavy for me.

Some of his more accessible poems are real masterpieces, but that's only around 10% of the book.

The book also provides excellent annotations of the poems. ( )