A Child's Christmas in Wales and Five Poems

Larger-than-life Dylan Thomas possessed a delicate aptness of detail in his writing, and his poetic sensibility shows in every crafted description in "A Child's Christmas in Wales." The story avoids sentiment or nostalgia and gets right to the sublime nature of new snow and mischief with friends and the difference between "useful gifts" (scratchy woolens) and the much more desirable useless ones (gobs of candy and perhaps a small ax). Thomas's deep, thunderous voice belies his sense of humor, which is amply evident in "A Child's Christmas." Caedmon's 1952 recording is without frills, but still a fine one, with a faint echo following each of Thomas's booming pronouncements, and the digitally remastered CD is a keepsake. The five poems are a bonus, and the stirring "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" might just be the perfect rumination for the cold, quiet nights creeping toward the new year. J.M.D.

January 6, 2003
"December, in my memory, is as white as Lapland," Thomas recalls, reading a line from "A Child's Christmas in Wales." For the poet, December also bursts with "deadly snowballs," "blue knuckles" and snow that "grows overnight on the roofs of houses." Although phrases like these are beautiful on their own, hearing Thomas speak them adds a magnificent melancholy. He recorded these six pieces in New York City in 1952, and they've been remastered and collected into one wonderful package. In the title story, Thomas marvels at winter's quirky delights: presents and holiday sweets (including candy cigarettes), snow boots and footprints, aunts who lace their tea with rum, wind rustling through the trees, family music recitals and caroling (Thomas even sings a line or two of Good King Wenceslas). His Welsh-accented voice rises and falls as he reads the evocative tale of his own long-ago Christmas. Thomas performs the other selections—"Fern Hill," "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," "In the White Giant's Thigh," "Ballad of the Long-Legged Bait" and "Ceremony After a Fire Raid"—with an equally vibrant and powerful voice. While they don't conjure up the same wintry images as the lead piece, they marvelously round out this lovely assemblage.