Famous Welsh Writers — Roald Dahl & Dylan Thomas

Two giants of Welsh literature

1. 1 Roald Dahl (1916–1990) Born in Llandaff, Cardiff, to Norwegian parents. Author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, and many more. His work is distinctive for its gleeful subversion — children who outwit adults. e.g. Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire (where he lived and wrote)
2. 2 Dylan Thomas (1914–1953) Born in Swansea. Poet and prose writer. Under Milk Wood (a radio play set in the fictional Welsh village of Llareggub), Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, and And Death Shall Have No Dominion are his most famous works. e.g. The Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea
3. 3 Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night Dylan Thomas's most famous poem — a villanelle addressed to his dying father. Repeating refrain: 'Do not go gentle into that good night, / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.'
4. 4 Under Milk Wood A 'play for voices' originally written for BBC radio. Set in the fictional Welsh fishing village of Llareggub (read backwards). Celebrates the everyday life of ordinary Welsh people.

• ▶ Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, on 13 September 1916 to Harald and Sofie Dahl (Norwegian immigrants).
• ▶ He was named after the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.
• ▶ His children's books often feature a kind, intelligent child triumphing over stupid, cruel, or greedy adults — a pattern some see in his own difficult early experiences.
• ▶ Matilda is often described as Dahl's most personal book — a child escaping through intelligence and books.
• ▶ Roald Dahl Day is celebrated on 13 September — his birthday.
• ▶ Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity provides grants for children's health in memory of Roald and his daughter Olivia.