18 Poems (1934)

Dylan’s first collection of poems was published in December 1934, a month after his twentieth birthday.
In April 1934 he won the Sunday Referee’s Poet’s Corner Prize, which included their sponsorship of his first book. He closely oversaw the publication of the book, staying in London to ensure that the printing went smoothly and to correct any typographical errors. 500 copies were initially produced, and the book was reissued in 1936.

All poems are included in the current edition of Dylan Thomas’ Collected Poems.

“But seasons must be challenged or they totter
Into a chiming quarter
Where, punctual as death, we ring the stars;”
I see the boys of summer

• I see the boys of summer
• Where once the twilight locks
• A process in the weather of the heart
• Before I knocked
• The force that through the green fuse
• My hero bares his nerves
• Where once the waters of your face
• If I were tickled by the rub of love
• Our eunuch dreams
• Especially when the October wind
• When, like a running grave
• From love’s first fever
• In the beginning
• Light breaks where no sun shines
• I fellowed sleep
• I dreamed my genesis
• My world is pyramid
• All all and all

This post is also available in: Welsh