The centenary birthday is here and to kick start the celebrations, the Dylan Thomas Festival returns to the Dylan Thomas Centre 27 October – 9 November.
2014 marks the centenary of Dylan Thomas’ birth, and this year’s festival reflects these great celebrations. There is a packed programme of events, with everything from talks, workshops and exhibitions to performances, and a number of special guests as well.
This year’s festival kicks off in grand style with the opening of the brand new ‘Love the Words’ Dylan Thomas exhibition at the Dylan Thomas Centre. With thanks to £935,700 funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the exhibition has been completely refurbished to give a new exciting and interactive learning experience for all ages. The new exhibition will also include even more unique items and memorabilia linked to Dylan Thomas’ life.
As well as this, there is also a packed schedule of events throughout the festival, Throughout the duration of the festival, and throughout Swansea itself, ‘Poems in October’ will be broadcasting poems from Dylan Thomas and Shakespeare, so make sure you keep your eyes and ears open! These are all included in the Llareggub Times available to download by clicking on the image below.
To honour the main man himself, there are a number of events dedicated to Dylan’s birthday as well. Dylan’s Big Birthday Bash takes place on the 28th, with crafts, face painting, music, poetry, and much more. You will even get the chance to sign a giant, six foot birthday card for Dylan himself! There will also be a number of family drop in sessions throughout the festival, with birthday related fun and activities.
Bob Kingdom will be presenting his one man play of ‘Return Journey’ (29 Oct), Professor John Goodby discusses his new edition of Dylan Thomas’ Collected Poems (30 Oct) and Wendy Pollard discusses her new biography of Dylan’s first serious girlfriend, Pamela Hansford Johnson, on 4 November. Paul Henry, Rhian Edwards, Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch and Alan Kellermann discuss the influence of Dylan Thomas on their own poetry on 6 November, while Bluestocking Lounge present their “Wordy Shapes of Women” burlesque night (7 Nov). Richard Jones launches his debut collection Little Man (8 Nov), and take a walk through in Dylan’s shoes in the Guided Tour – Dylan’s Swansea (9 Nov) before listening to Hilly Janes discuss Dylan Thomas, Alfred Janes and the other members of the ‘Kardomah Gang’. For more information on all the Dylan Thomas centenary events and more, you can Download a free copy of the Llareggub Times, or visit www.dylanthomas.com.
