Do Not Go Gentle
Dylan Thomas opened me up to the world of poetry. Every time I read him, I’m inspired to write myself. And every time I set out to do it, I rediscover how maddeningly hard it is to be a poet. It’s not something that you can force. The way Thomas writes, I picture him not having any choice in the matter. The words just pour out of him onto the page. I think, in large part because of this, he has one of the best voices in poetry… so deep and authoritative. It’s surprising the first time you hear it, because you don’t expect it to come out of him. But after you’ve heard him read, it’s hard to imagine anyone else doing justice to his poems out loud. Unless you count the music of John Lennon and Bob Dylan.
