Poet's turbulent marriage remembered in diary

Poet's turbulent marriage remembered in diary

By JENNIFER QUINN, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 3 minutes ago

It was a legendarily turbulent union, fueled by adoration, adultery and alcohol.

In the final hours of Dylan Thomas' life, his wife, Caitlin, according to lore, allegedly stormed in and demanded to know if the celebrated Welsh poet — who she described as the "bloody man" — was dead yet.

But like most marriages, it appears there was a different side, and in a diary that is now for sale, Caitlin Thomas wrote sadly about her dead husband.

"Oh God, oh Dylan, it must be cold down there; it is cold enough on top, in November: the dirtiest month of the year that killed you on the ninth vile day. If only I could take you a bowl of your bread, and milk, and salt, that you always drank at night, to warm you up," the diary says, according to notes provided by a London rare book dealer who is selling the collection.

The couple met in a London pub in 1936 and married a year later. Dylan Thomas died in New York on Nov. 9, 1953. Caitlin Thomas died in 1994.

Her writings, contained in a school exercise book, are included in a collection of more than 40 letters, books, and manuscripts and first editions. Rick Gekoski, the dealer who is selling the materials, said Monday that it came from a New York collector and is priced at $480,000.

Also up for sale is a first-edition copy of Thomas' second book, "Twenty-five Poems."

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