What do you think?
Rate this book
The Death of the King's Canary
Hardcover edition of this jointly written novel--an unusual and interesting work!
145 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Dylan Thomas
611 books1,429 followersDylan Marlais Thomas (1914-1953) was a Welsh poet who wrote in English. Many regard him as one of the 20th century's most influential poets.
In addition to poetry, Thomas wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, with the latter frequently performed by Thomas himself. His public readings, particularly in America, won him great acclaim; his booming, at times, ostentatious voice, with a subtle Welsh lilt, became almost as famous as his works. His best-known work includes the "play for voices" Under Milk Wood and the celebrated villanelle for his dying father, "Do not go gentle into that good night." Appreciative critics have also noted the superb craftsmanship and compression of poems such as "In my craft or sullen art" and the rhapsodic lyricism of Fern Hill.
In addition to poetry, Thomas wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, with the latter frequently performed by Thomas himself. His public readings, particularly in America, won him great acclaim; his booming, at times, ostentatious voice, with a subtle Welsh lilt, became almost as famous as his works. His best-known work includes the "play for voices" Under Milk Wood and the celebrated villanelle for his dying father, "Do not go gentle into that good night." Appreciative critics have also noted the superb craftsmanship and compression of poems such as "In my craft or sullen art" and the rhapsodic lyricism of Fern Hill.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 1, 2011
On November 3, 1953, Dylan Thomas drank 18 straight whiskeys at a bar called the White Horse in New York City and died. Having found a little book shop called The White Horse on my roadtrip from Houston to Boston, I thought it appropriate to pick up a Thomas, and I had it done by my first week of school.
This is a parody of William Empson’s “Request to Leda,” and is a mock-detective novel satirizing modern British poetry and poets. The book, which might well have laid Thomas and Davenport open to legal action, was finished in the 40’s, but remained unpublished until 1976. Several modern poets, including Thomas himself, are caricatured in the narrative, and one section includes verse parodies as well. Alas, I know too little of 21st century poetry to appreciate all the cleverness and nuance. I had a lovely time reading it anyway.
This is a parody of William Empson’s “Request to Leda,” and is a mock-detective novel satirizing modern British poetry and poets. The book, which might well have laid Thomas and Davenport open to legal action, was finished in the 40’s, but remained unpublished until 1976. Several modern poets, including Thomas himself, are caricatured in the narrative, and one section includes verse parodies as well. Alas, I know too little of 21st century poetry to appreciate all the cleverness and nuance. I had a lovely time reading it anyway.
November 18, 2022
Funny but dated. Gratuitous jokes at the expense of 'dwarves', not to mention the use of the 'n word', the novel is a satire along the lines of Alexander Pope's The Duniciad (which I must read). I can guess the identity of some of the poets but its only a few I'm afraid. A savage burlesque which at times made me laugh out loud. Thomas and Davenport obviously found their contemporaries easy picking when it came to satire...
When the poet Robert Gordon arrives at Dymmock Hall to celebrate the selection of the new Poet Laureate (the King's Canary) he drunkenly heads off to lunch - "On the way to the door he stumbled over an occasional table, too short for practical use, and saw for the first time that it was shaped out of an elephant's member. Funny chap, young Byrd. No taste. Too much taste. It was all the same." (23)
When the poet Robert Gordon arrives at Dymmock Hall to celebrate the selection of the new Poet Laureate (the King's Canary) he drunkenly heads off to lunch - "On the way to the door he stumbled over an occasional table, too short for practical use, and saw for the first time that it was shaped out of an elephant's member. Funny chap, young Byrd. No taste. Too much taste. It was all the same." (23)
July 25, 2014
A 144 page collaborative novella of nup.
What a lot of tosh and don’t bother, frat boyhood misogyny mostly. If there is humour, it has gone so out-of-date that it makes sense only to those who are intensely engrained with poets/artists of the 1940s.
What a lot of tosh and don’t bother, frat boyhood misogyny mostly. If there is humour, it has gone so out-of-date that it makes sense only to those who are intensely engrained with poets/artists of the 1940s.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews