1940s–1950s
Two writers born in Wales
Two writers born in Wales are worth knowing from the 1940s and 1950s. The first is the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953). He loved reading and performing his work to audiences, including on BBC radio. His best-known works are the radio play Under Milk Wood, which was first performed in 1954, after his death, and Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, a poem he wrote in 1952 for his father, who was dying. He died in New York aged only 39. His home town of Swansea remembers him with a statue and the Dylan Thomas Centre, among other places.
The second is Roald Dahl (1916–1990), who was born in Wales to Norwegian parents. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Air Force, and in the 1940s he started to publish books and short stories. He is best known for his children's books, though he wrote for adults too. Among the most famous are George's Marvellous Medicine and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and several have been turned into films.