R. S. Thomas, Desperado

This study ranges R. S. Thomas’s career, and includes a study of unpublished early notebooks; a comparison of his Manafon poems with a contemporary sociological account of a similar region; reflections on his interest in Native American history; an exploration of his poetic relationship with Geoffrey Hill; and a survey of his enduring image in Welsh poetic culture. One of the book’s recurrent themes is Thomas’s role as cultural warrior representing a marginalised nation – a crucial aspect often overlooked, not least because readers may lack the relevant historical, cultural and political context to appreciate it. With a consideration of his influence on one major Welsh contemporary religious poet, the volume concludes with a reflection on the revealing light thrown on his poetry by Thomas’s lifelong interest in Miguel de Unamuno’s The Tragic Sense of Life.