Thomas, Dylan

explaining that he has been busy trying to "sell myself to Metro-Korda-Odeon as a Celtic Noel Coward, a Welsh J.B. Priestley, a Swansea Rattigan, a Laugharne cockle", then coming to his main point, which is to ask for extended credit on Caitlin's purchases at Graham's dress shop, one page, 4to, The Boat House, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, 15 September 1950

Collected Letters of Dylan Thomas, ed. Ferris (2000), p.857

"...Normally I'm fixed well enough, in my sordid way, but now, on top of the death of my last contract, the Income Tax Dracula has now got me into such a corner that I've had to agree ... to hand him over every single penny I earn until what he wants is fully paid. So I live, temporarily, on nothing, while working hard for that fiend..."

A BEGGING LETTER BY A MASTER OF THE GENRE, written to an old acquaintance from the Swansea Little Theatre in the 1930s who is unlikely to have been surprised by Thomas's request. Thomas's finances were in more or less permanent disarray, and his easy way with other people's money has long been part of the Dylan Thomas legend. His claims to be assiduously seeking out filmscript commissions is somewhat exaggerated, but he did write some hackwork - for example, he travelled to Iran early in 1951 for a propaganda film on behalf of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later BP) - and, more importantly, he was also beginning work with the BBC at this time on the radio play that became Under Milk Wood.