Donald Michael Thomas (25 January 1935 – 26 March 2023) was a British poet, translator, novelist, editor, biographer and playwright. His work has been translated into 30 languages. Working primarily as a poet throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Thomas's 1981 poetry collection ''Dreaming in Bronze'' received a

Cholmondeley Award The Cholmondeley Awards ( ) are annual awards for poetry given by the Society of Authors in the United Kingdom. Awards honour distinguished poets, from a fund endowed by the Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley in 1966. Since 1991 the award has bee ...

. He began writing novels, with '' The Flute-Player'' (his second novel, though the first to be published) appearing in 1979. Thomas's third novel '' The White Hotel'' won the 1981 ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Fiction, the 1981 Cheltenham Prize for Literature and was shortlisted for the same year's

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

, whose judges were prevented from naming it joint-winner alongside

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

's ''

Midnight's Children ''Midnight's Children'' is the second novel by Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie, published by Jonathan Cape with cover design by Bill Botten, about India's transition from British colonial rule to independence and partition. It is a pos ...

'' due to prize rules. Between 1983 and 1990, Thomas published his "Russian Nights Quintet" of novels, beginning with ''Ararat'' and concluding with ''Summit'' (inspired by a meeting between

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in Switzerland) and ''Lying Together'' (which predicted the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

and the return of

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Soviet and Russian author and Soviet dissidents, dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag pris ...

to Russia). He then published ''Flying in to Love'' (which concerns the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

) and five other novels.

Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...

published ''The Puberty Tree'', the British edition of Thomas's "selected" poems, in 1992. This followed the

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

1983 publication of ''Selected Poems'', released for U.S. readers following his well-received novel ''The White Hotel''. A translator from Russian into English, Thomas worked particularly on

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; , . ( – 5 March 1966), better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova,. ...

and

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

, as well as on

Yevgeny Yevtushenko Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko (; 18 July 1933 – 1 April 2017) was a Soviet and Russian poet, novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, publisher, actor, editor, university professor, and director of several films. Biography Early lif ...

. He also wrote a biography of Solzhenitsyn, which was awarded an

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a board of trustees. Four prizes are award ...

in 1999.

Early life and education

Thomas was born to plasterer Harold Thomas and his wife Amy on 25 January 1935, in Carnkie, Redruth, Cornwall. He was a descendant of miners and carpenters. His father spent time living in California during the 1920s and was fond of the United States. Thomas attended Trewirgie Primary School between 1940 and 1945, then

Redruth Grammar School Redruth Grammar School in Redruth, Cornwall, was a boys school between 1907 and 1976. History The school was opened on 5 October 1907 by General Sir Redvers Buller. It was originally built to accommodate 150 pupils and to serve the Camborne-Red ...

from 1946 until 1949. In 1949, he and his family moved to the Australian city of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Thomas spent the years between 1949 and 1951 at

University High School University High School may refer to: Australia * University High School, Melbourne, Victoria Canada * University Hill Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia United States Arizona * University High School (Tolleson) * University High Sc ...

there. In 1951, he returned to Carnkie and to Redruth Grammar School. His

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

was from 1953 until 1955, most of which he spent learning Russian. He retained a lifelong interest in

Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. This culminated in a series of well-received translations of Russian poetry from the 1980s onwards, particularly from

and

, as well as from

. Thomas graduated with

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

from

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, having studied there between 1955 and 1958. Between 1959 and 1963 he was an English teacher at Teignmouth Grammar School. From 1963 he was an English lecturer at Hereford College of Education until he was made

redundant Redundancy or redundant may refer to: Language * Redundancy (linguistics), information that is expressed more than once Engineering and computer science * Data redundancy, database systems which have a field that is repeated in two or more table ...

upon its closure in 1978.

Writing

Thomas's first published work was a short story in ''

The Isis Magazine The ''Isis'' is a student publication at the University of Oxford, where the magazine was established in 1892. Historically a rival to the student newspaper '' Cherwell'', ''Isis'' was finally acquired by the latter's publishing house, Oxford ...

'' in 1959. He published poetry and some prose in the British science fiction magazine ''

New Worlds New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

'' (from 1968). Much of what he published until he was 40 years of age was poetry. ''Two Voices'', his first book, was published in 1968; it consisted of poetry. Its title poem relates to science fiction/fantasy. The title poem of ''Logan Stone'' (1971) refers to a

balancing rock A balancing rock, also called a balanced rock, precariously balanced rock (PBR), or precarious boulder, is a naturally occurring geological formation featuring a large rock or boulder, sometimes of substantial size, resting on other rocks, bedro ...

in Cornwall. ''Love and Other Deaths'' (1975) features elegiac poems relating to family. ''The Honeymoon Voyage'' (1978) was written around the time of his mother's death. His mother died in 1975. '' The Flute-Player'', the second novel Thomas wrote, was also published in 1978. Inspired by Russian poetry (especially Anna Akhmatova), it was his first novel to be published and does not contain much dialogue; he had earlier written ''Birthstone''. ''Birthstone'' was published in 1980; it is the only one of Thomas's novels to feature his native Cornwall and to deploy instances of Cornish speech. There is also sex, suspenders and

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

; the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'' described it as "Fantasy as

Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in t ...

envisaged it, powerful enough to counter reality, working like free association and allowing the unconscious to take over". ''Dreaming in Bronze'', Thomas's 1981 poetry collection, secured for him a

. However, the work that made him famous was not poetry; it was his erotic and somewhat fantastical novel '' The White Hotel'' (1981), the story of a woman undergoing psychoanalysis, which proved very popular in

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

and the United States. It was shortlisted for the 1981

, coming a close second, according to one of the judges, to the winner,

's ''

''. Thomas stated in an interview on BBC Radio Cornwall in 2015 that the Booker judges wanted to split the prize between himself and Rushdie, but that the Board informed them that the rules would not permit this, although the rules were indeed changed in this respect the following year. It has also elicited considerable controversy, as some of its passages are taken from

Anatoly Kuznetsov Anatoly Vasilievich Kuznetsov (; 18 August 1929, Kiev, USSR – 13 June 1979, London) was a Russian-language Soviet writer who described his experiences in German-occupied Kiev during World War II in his internationally acclaimed novel '' Babi ...

's ''

Babi Yar Babi Yar () or Babyn Yar () is a ravine in the Ukraine, Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during Eastern Front (World War II), its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. The first and ...

'', a novel about

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. In general, however, Thomas's use of such "composite material" (material taken from other sources and imitations of other writers) is seen as more

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

than plagiarist.

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

selected ''The White Hotel'' for his "Books of the Year".

William Golding Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel '' Lord of the Flies'' (1954), Golding published another 12 volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 19 ...

also selected ''The White Hotel'' as his Book of the Year for 1981. Thomas wrote the book during a

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bi ...

at New College, Oxford in 1978–79. He wrote some of it in

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, where he was living and used two typewriters, one in each city. It was translated into 30 languages. William Golding 1983

Follow-up novel ''Ararat'', published in 1983, was the first of a series concerning the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, referred to as the Russian Nights Quintet; it was inspired by Thomas's reading of Pushkin and a review of an Armenian poetry anthology which ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' asked him to write. It was followed by ''Swallow'' (1984), ''Sphinx'' (1986) ''Summit'' (1987) and ''Lying Together'' (1990). ''Summit'' was inspired by a meeting between

and

in Switzerland, while ''Lying Together'' predicted the

and the return of

to Russia. Thomas's 1992 novel ''Flying in to Love'' concerns the

(the "Love" in the title refers to

Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport in the neighborhood of Love Field, Dallas, Love Field, northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 17, 2025. It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas Fort Worth Internation ...

airport, where Kennedy had landed that morning), as well as the death of his own father in 1960. His 1993 novel ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' allowed Thomas to mix his interests in Freud,

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

and the Holocaust. Its writing was set off by Thomas's attendance at a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

exhibition, specifically its treatment of the

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( ; ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work ''The Scream'' has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inher ...

composition ''Madonna''; writing in the '' Sunday Independent'', critic and journalist

Clare Boylan Clare Boylan (21 April 1948 – 16 May 2006) was an Irish author, journalist and critic for newspapers, magazines and many international broadcast media. Life and career Born in Dublin, Ireland, on 21 April 1948, to Patrick and Evelyn Boyl ...

described ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' as "a compulsive page-turner". Thomas's 1994 novel ''Eating Pavlova'' is set in London in September 1940 and concerns Freud as he dies; ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described it as "the most devious and tragically generous Freud ever envisioned". His 1998 biography ''Alexander Solzhenitsyn: a Century in His Life'' was awarded an

in 1999. Thomas's 2004 poetry collection ''Dear Shadows'' is inspired by photography and its title is a reference to Yeats. His 2006 poetry collection ''Not Saying Everything'' is a tribute to his second wife, Denise (whom Thomas described as his

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

), following her death from cancer in 1998. ''Unknown Shores'', a collection released in 2009, consists of all of Thomas's poetry relating to science fiction. Reluctant for many years to reread his own novels, he eventually did so in October 2010 and concluded that his "strongest" novels are: '' The White Hotel'' (1981), ''Ararat'' (1983), ''Flying in to Love'' (1992), ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' (1993), ''Eating Pavlova'' (1994) and '' The Flute-Player'' (1979). His fourteenth novel (and his first in fourteen years), ''Hunters in the Snow'' appeared in 2014 and takes

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

ahead of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as its setting. Thomas wrote reviews for ''

''. He was one of the last people to see

, the

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

, alive. Thomas visited Golding's house in

Perranarworthal Perranarworthal () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about four miles (6.5 km) northwest of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth and five miles (8 km) southwest of ...

as a guest one evening in June 1993; he was the last person unrelated to Golding to leave, doing so around half an hour before Golding collapsed and died whilst preparing to go to bed. Saturday 10 June 2006 (''Review'' Section). Thomas blamed himself for Golding's death and wondered if it would have happened if he had left earlier, with the other guests.

Awards and honours

* 1979: Gollancz/Guardian Fantasy Prize, for '' The Flute-Player'' * 1981:

, for ''Dreaming in Bronze'' *1981: ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Fiction, for '' The White Hotel'' *1981: Cheltenham Prize for Literature, for '' The White Hotel'' *P.E.N. Prize, for '' The White Hotel'' *1981:

shortlist, for '' The White Hotel'' *1999:

, for ''Alexander Solzhenitsyn: a Century in His Life''

Works

Poetry

* ''Two Voices'' (Cape Goliard, 1968) * ''Logan Stone'' (Cape Goliard, 1971) * ''The Shaft'' (Arc, 1973), a long poem * ''Love and Other Deaths'' (

Elek Books Paul Elek (1906–1976)"Paul Elek"
Obituaries, ''AJR Information'', Association of Jew ...

, 1975) * ''The Honeymoon Voyage'' (

Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

, 1978) * ''Orpheus in Hell'' (

Sceptre A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a Staff of office, staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of regalia, royal or imperial insignia, signifying Sovereignty, sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and M ...

, 1977) * ''Protest'' (Hereford, 1980), after a poem by the medieval Armenian poet

Frik Frik () was an Armenian poet of the 13th and 14th centuries. He wrote on both secular and religious topics, and many of his poems are characterized by social criticism. He was the first Armenian poet to compose almost all of his works in the verna ...

; with an

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

by Reg Boulton * ''Dreaming in Bronze'' (Secker & Warburg, 1981) * ''Selected Poems'' (

, 1983), released in the United States following '' The White Hotel'' * ''The Puberty Tree'' (

, 1992), the British "selected" edition of Thomas's poetry * ''Dear Shadows'' (Fal Publications, 2004) * ''Not Saying Everything'' (Bluechrome, 2006) * ''Unknown Shores'' (Bluechrome, 2009) * ''Flight and Smoke'' (Francis Boutle, 2010, with signed limited editions available from 2009) * ''Two Countries'' (Francis Boutle, 2011) * ''Vintage Ghosts'' (Francis Boutle, 2012), a verse novel, with six

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of relief printing in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief printing, relief surface. A design i ...

illustrations by Tim Roberts * ''Mrs English & other women'' (Francis Boutle, 2014) * ''Corona Man: A Fictional Verse Journal in the Plague Year'' (The Cornovia Press, 2020) * ''The Last Waltz: Poems'' (The Cornovia Press, 2021) * ''A Child of Love and War: Verse Memoir'' (The Cornovia Press, 2021)

Novels

Thomas had 14 novels published between 1979 and 2014. The following books form a series known as the Russian Nights Quintet: ''Ararat'' (1983), ''Swallow'' (1984), ''Sphinx'' (1986) ''Summit'' (1987) and ''Lying Together'' (1990). * '' The Flute-Player'' (

Victor Gollancz Ltd Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group. Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, an ...

, 1979) * ''Birthstone'' (Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1980) * '' The White Hotel'' (

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...

, 1981) * ''Ararat'' (Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1983) * ''Swallow'' (Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1984) * ''Sphinx'' (Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1986) * ''Summit'' (Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1987) * ''Lying Together'' (Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1990) * ''Flying in to Love'' ( Scribner, 1992) * ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' (

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, 1993) * ''Eating Pavlova'' (

Carroll & Graf Carroll & Graf Publishers was an American publishing company based in New York City, New York that published a wide range of fiction and non-fiction by both new and established authors, as well as reprinted previously hard-to-find works. It c ...

, 1994) * ''Lady with a Laptop'' (

, 1996) * ''Charlotte'' (Duck, 2000) * ''Hunters in the Snow'' (The Cornovia Press, 2014)

Memoirs

* ''Memories and Hallucinations'' (

, 1989) * '' Bleak Hotel: The Hollywood Saga of the White Hotel'' (

Quartet Books Naim Ibrahim Attallah (, 1 May 1931 – 2 February 2021) was a Palestinian-British businessman and writer. He was the publisher of Quartet Books and the owner of The Women's Press. The Palestinian-born entrepreneur was described by ''The Guar ...

, 2008)

Biography

* ''Alexander Solzhenitsyn: A Century in His Life'' (St Martins, 1998)

Play

* ''Hell Fire Corner'' (2004)

Texts edited

* ''The Granite Kingdom'' (Bradford Barton Ltd,

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

, 1970), an anthology of poems about Cornwall, edited by D. M. Thomas * ''Songs from the Earth'' (Lodenek Press), an anthology of poems by John Harris, edited by D. M. Thomas * ''Poetry in Crosslight'' (

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...

, 1975)

Translations

, ''Requiem and Poem without a Hero'', (

Elek Books Paul Elek (1906–1976)"Paul Elek"
Obituaries, ''AJR Information'', Association of Jew ...

, 1976) * Anna Akhmatova, ''Way of All the Earth'' (

, 1979) *

, ''The Bronze Horseman: Selected Poems of Alexander Pushkin'' (

, 1982) *

, ''A Dove in Santiago: A novella in verse'' (Secker & Warburg, 1982) * Alexander Pushkin, ''Boris Godunov'' (Sixth Chamber Press, 1985) * Anna Akhmatova, ''You Will Hear Thunder'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1985) * Anna Akhmatova, ''Selected Poems'' (

, 1988) * Anna Akhmatova, ''Everyman's Library Pocket Poets'' (

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

, 2006) * Alexander Pushkin, ''Onegin'' (Francis Boutle, 2010) * Alexander Pushkin, ''Ruslan and Ludmila'' (

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 2019)

Personal life

Thomas married on four occasions and fathered three children from the first two of those marriages. He married his first wife, Maureen Skewes, in 1958. He had a daughter (born 1960) and a son,

Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name '' Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; a ...

(born 1963), with her. He married Denise Aldred in 1976 and their son was born the following year; she would die (of cancer) in 1998, with the three of them having moved to

in 1987. He married Victoria Field in 1998 and Angela Embree in 2005. As well as the Russians Pushkin and Akhmatova, Thomas listed his favourite poets as

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

Charles Causley Charles Stanley Causley CBE FRSL (24 August 1917 – 4 November 2003) was a Cornish poet, school teacher and writer. His work is often noted for its simplicity and directness as well as its associations with folklore, legends and magic, especi ...

and

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

. His musical interests included

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

and

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

; his favourite painter was

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...

, his second favourite,

. Thomas died at his home in Truro on 26 March 2023, at the age of 88.

References

External links

Official website

D. M. Thomas recordings
at the

Poetry Archive The Poetry Archive is a free, web-based library formed to hold recordings of English language poets reading their own work. The Archive holds over 20000 poems and keeps the recordings safe and accessible so that current and future visitors can ...

D. M. Thomas biography
at ''The Literary Encyclopedia'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, D. M. 1935 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English poets 20th-century British translators 21st-century British translators 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English poets Alumni of New College, Oxford Dramatists and playwrights from Cornwall English male novelists English male poets British lecturers Non-fiction writers from Cornwall Novelists from Cornwall People educated at Redruth Grammar School People educated at University High School, Melbourne People from Redruth Writers from Truro Poets from Cornwall Translators from Russian

Early life and education

Writing

Awards and honours

Works

Poetry

Novels

Memoirs

Biography

Play

Texts edited

Translations

Personal life

See also

References

External links