John Pudney

“Dylan [Thomas] I knew before and after he became famous. He was splendid, rapacious, demanding as a young man. To much has been written about him for me to add to the legend. As that legend began to grow in his lifetime I learned to separate him from his poetry, to find him in person increasingly tedious and his poems increasingly exciting, both in print and when he was reading them.”
― John Pudney

“Do not despair.........For Johnny-head-in-air;

He sleeps as sound.....As Johnny underground.

Fetch out no shroud....For Johnny-in-the-cloud;

And keep your tears....For him in after years.

Better by far..........For Johnny-the-bright-star,

To keep your head......And see his children fed.”
― John Pudney