Watching Dylan Thomas with a mixture of wonder and bafflement.
In 1950, Dylan Thomas came to America for his first tour on the college circuit. At the time, he was the Jim Morrison of poetry: adored and scandalous, intoxicated and intoxicating. In a 1959 issue of Partisan Review, Elizabeth Hardwick recalled the giddiness that would seize a campus before Hurricane Dylan made landfall: “Would he arrive only to break down on the stage? Would some dismaying scene take place at the faculty party? Would he be offensive, violent, obscene? These were alarming and yet exciting possibilities.” According to Set Fire to the Stars, the answers to Hardwick’s questions were no, yes, and yes.…
