Dylan Thomas - Life and Career - Death

Death

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

“ ” From "And death shall have no dominion"
Twenty-five Poems (1936)

Thomas arrived in New York on 20 October 1953 to undertake another tour of poetry reading and talks, organised by Brinnin. He was ill, complaining of chest trouble and gout while still in Britain, though there is no record he received medical treatment for either condition. He was in a melancholy mood about the trip and his health was poor, relying on an inhaler to aid his breathing and there were reports that he was suffering from blackouts. His visit to say goodbye to BBC producer Philip Burton, a few days before he left for New York, was interrupted by a blackout. On his last night in London he had another, in the company of fellow poet Louis MacNeice. The next day he visited a doctor for a smallpox vaccination certificate.

His first appearance was planned to be at a rehearsal of Under Milk Wood at the Poetry Centre. Brinnin, who was director of the Poetry Centre, did not travel to New York but remained in Boston to write. He handed responsibility to his assistant, Liz Reitell, who was keen to see Thomas for the first time since their three week romance in the spring. She met Thomas at Idlewild Airport and was shocked at his appearance, as he "looked pale, delicate and shaky, not his usual robust self." Thomas told her he had had a terrible week, had missed her terribly and wanted to go to bed with her. Despite Reitell's previous misgivings about their relationship they spent the rest of the day and night together. After being taken by Reitel to check-in at the Chelsea Hotel, Thomas took the first rehearsal of Under Milk Wood. They then went to the White Horse, before returning to the Chelsea.

The next day she invited him to her apartment but he declined. They went sight-seeing, but Thomas was unwell and retired to his bed for the rest of the afternoon. Reitell gave him half a grain of phenobarbitone to help him sleep and spent the night at the hotel with him. Two days later on 23 October, Herb Hannum, a friend from an earlier trip, noticed how sick Thomas looked and suggested an appointment with Feltenstein before the performances of Under Milk Wood that evening. Feltenstein administered injections and Thomas made it through the two performances, but collapsed immediately afterwards. Reitell later said that Feltenstein was "rather a wild doctor who thought injections would cure anything".

On the evening of 27 October 1953, Thomas attended his 39th birthday party but felt unwell and returned to his hotel after an hour. The next day he took part in Poetry And The Film, a recorded symposium at Cinema 16, with panellists Amos Vogel, Arthur Miller, Maya Deren, Parker Tyler, and Willard Maas.

A turning point came on 2 November. Air pollution in New York had risen significantly and exacerbated chest illnesses, such as Thomas had. By the end of the month, over 200 New Yorkers had died from the smog. On 3 November Thomas spent most of the day in bed drinking. He went out in the evening to keep two drink appointments. After returning to the hotel, he went out again for a drink at 2 am. After drinking at the White Horse, a pub he had found through Scottish poet Ruthven Todd, Thomas returned to the Hotel Chelsea, declaring, "I've had 18 straight whiskies. I think that's the record!" The barman and the owner of the pub who served him later commented that Thomas could not have imbibed more than half that amount. Thomas had an appointment at a clam house in New Jersey with Todd on 4 November. When phoned at the Chelsea that morning, he said he was feeling ill and postponed the engagement. Later he went drinking with Reitell at the White Horse and, feeling sick again, returned to the hotel. Feltenstein came to see him three times that day, administering the steroid ACTH by injection and, on his third visit, half a grain of morphine sulphate, which affected his breathing. Reitell became increasingly concerned and telephoned Feltenstein for advice. He suggested she get male assistance, so she called upon the painter Jack Heliker, who arrived before 11pm. At midnight on 5 November, Thomas' breathing became more difficult and his face turned blue. An ambulance was summoned.

Thomas was admitted to the emergency ward at St Vincent's Hospital at 1.58am. He was comatose, and his medical notes state that the "impression upon admission was acute alcoholic encephalopathy damage to the brain by alcohol, for which the patient was treated without response". Caitlin flew to America the following day and was taken to the hospital, by which time a tracheotomy had been performed. Her reported first words were, "Is the bloody man dead yet?" She was allowed to see Thomas only for 40 minutes in the morning but returned in the afternoon and, in a drunken rage, threatened to kill Brinnin. When she became uncontrollable, she was put in a straight-jacket and committed to the River Crest private psychiatric detox clinic on Long Island by Feltenstein.

Thomas died at noon on 9 November, still in a coma. A post mortem gave the primary cause of death as pneumonia, with pressure on the brain and a fatty liver as contributing factors.