As a book blogger, I am obsessed with literary museums. I feel incredibly lucky to have the Dylan Thomas Centre on my doorstep, in his hometown of Swansea. A stone's throw away from Swansea train station, and right by Swansea Marina, this is a great location for a museum.
On entering, I see Dylan’s words glowing back to me. ‘Love the words.’ I don’t think a message has ever meant more to me.
Dylan Thomas only lived for 39 years, but this museum encapsulates these and pockets it into a Dylan-esque world. It doesn’t focus on the ‘rock star’ Dylan, the drunk Dylan, or the womaniser Dylan. Poet, friend, relative and creator all are shown.
The museum is laid out in Dylan’s timeline starting at his early years. As I walk in I see a Swansea Evening Post article that its said Dylan always kept in his wallet. He won the mile race for Under 15s aged 12. As someone who is known for embracing having ailments and always being ill (any letter will mention something ill!) it is an incredible achievement he won this race and he liked to tell everyone.
The luxury of having this museum in his hometown also means we get to see a young Dylan, before the poetry fame. He was an active member in Swansea Little Theatre and we are lucky enough to see some photos of him in plays prior to him being a known poet. I think this shows us he was a creative extrovert before anyone else outside of Swansea knew this.
The best bit of the museum for me is the use of audio. Scattered around the museum are pods with headphones, and you can press a button to listen to a clip from families and friends on their feelings towards Dylan. Some are anecdotal, some sentimental, but all reveal something new about him. This feels like a personal connection between myself and the person talking. We get close friends such as Daniel Jones, Vernon Watkins’ widow Gwen. It’s a wonderful record of a man who is enigmatic to most, and adds an atmosphere to an otherwise quiet museum.
This museum also has personal writings and drawings. It reveals as a poet how much crossing out he did when sculpting a poem (which his wife Caitlin openly said he would spend hours on three words.) This reveals the craft and how it comes to be in the form they’ve ended in. You can see the words that he’s crossed out to see how it developed. A truly fascinating insight.
He was also known for his doodlings- some better than others! This is a map he drew of Llareggub from Under Milk Wood (if you are confused read Llareggub backwards!)
This again reveals great insight into how he plotted his famous radio play and how it all links up. An absolute treasure for Dylan fans.
It is surprising that there is no video footage of Dylan Thomas, particularly as he did so much work for the BBC during war time. The main exhibition ends with footage from Dylan’s funeral and the clip finishes with his mother Florrie. She is stood alone staring back at her sons grave. A moving and powerful image and one that will always stay with me. He may have only lived for 39 years, but his poetry lives on. And more importantly, his love for the words.
* * *
Emma Hardy is a writer and book blogger based in Swansea, South Wales. As well as a bookworm, she’s a civil servant by day, and active in amateur dramatics by night. Twitter @bobsandbooks