A collection of correspondence between Dylan Thomas and his close friend, fellow Welsh poet and literary confidant Vernon Watkins, offering an intimate glimpse into the poet's creative life.

Spanning the years of their friendship, the letters move between poetry, criticism, domestic troubles, financial anxieties and gossip,  Thomas emerges as exuberant, self-mocking, frequently chaotic and extraordinarily attentive to language. His letters are full of inventive turns of phrase, affectionate irreverence and sudden changes of register, but they also reveal how seriously he took the work of poetry. Watkins was among his most trusted readers, and their correspondence captures the negotiations of influence, friendship and artistic judgement that happen before a poem reaches its published form.

Edited and introduced by Vernon Watkins, this gorgeous look at two poets reading, questioning and encouraging one another, full of all the unfinished thoughts and everyday interruptions that rarely survive in the polished record of an author's work, is such a treasure to have. 

J. M. Dent & Sons / Faber and Faber, 1957. Hardcover with original dust jacket. Jacket shows considerable edge wear, chipping, small tears and discolouration, particularly along the lower edges. Some age-toning and spotting; binding appears sound. Good vintage condition, with a worn jacket.