Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) was born in South Wales. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he knew no Welsh. He began to write poetry at school, and worked as a journalist before moving to London in 1934; his first volume of verse, 1TITLE 18 Poems, appeared that year. He then embarked on a career in the media, spending much time in the 2INCREASE popular afternoon drinking clubs of the era. In 1937, Thomas married Caitlin Macnamara; they settled temporarily at Laugharne in Wales, returning there permanently in 1949. There were some allegations that Thomas had deliberately sought obscurity, but these may well have 3REPRESENT Thomas’s true motives for settling in Wales. Despite this, he gradually won an 4DENY following for his writing. His manuscripts, evidence of his 5RELENT perfectionism, reveal him as a 6PASSION, even obsessional, craftsman. He enjoyed 7PRECEDENT popularity as an entertainer on radio. In 1950, he undertook the first of his lecture tours to the United States. Legend grew about his 8VARY habit of drinking at all hours of the day and night. Shortly before his death, he took part in a reading in New York of what was to be his most famous single work, Under Milk Wood.