Dylan, Dylan and Dylan .. who are they?

Dear Mr Postman .. on my travels to San Diego and back .. I bought Time Magazine to provide some light reading, which I thought might get my creative juices flowing .. & yes it did - thank you. I had an excellent trip .. and it is so good to see you again and to know that our letters are delivered safely.

Dylan, Dylan and Dylan .. I can hear you thinking .. all will be revealed .. the Time special publication regarding the World's most influential people is very interesting .. containing relatively short articles on 100 people .. and as Joel Stern, the contributor & LA Times columnist, confirms .. he didn't know half of them either. The 2009 Time 100: The World's Most Influential People.

Bob Dylan also has a feature under the Time Music section - with an article entitled "Bringing It All Back Home". The lyrics of his song ..: "The Times They Are A-Changin': Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown ..." is so resonate of today (albeit for a different reason) .. the times are changing .. however there are always links back to the past. If you feel like a little nostalgia for the song .. go here!

Dylan (born 1941) began life as a folksinger, accompanying himself on the guitar and harmonica in coffee houses as a student in Minnesota; He was influenced by Woody Guthrie, the folk balladeer, and after visiting his idol in hospital in New York he stayed on.

He has admitted that he was influenced by the work of Dylan Thomas, whose name he appropriated, while his lyrics have been published and are admired for their poetry and wit: he was also formally nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997.

Dylan Thomas (1914 - 1953) (via Wikipedia) was a Welsh poet, who wrote exclusively in English; in addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself. He was well known for being a versatile and dynamic speaker, best known for his poetry readings, his powerful voice with its subtle Welsh lilt would captivate American audiences during his speaking tours in the early 1950s.

He made over 200 broadcasts for the BBC. Often considered his greatest single work is the "play for voices" Under Milk Wood, a radio play featuring the characters of Llareggub, a fictional Welsh fishing village (humorously named; note that 'Llareggub' is 'Bugger All' backwards, implying that there is absolutely nothing to do there).

Richard Burton, the iconic Welsh actor, starred in the first BBC broadcast (1954) of the play, which fortunately materialised as Thomas had to be dragged out of the pub back up to the BBC offices to finish the work; while for the film made in 1972 Burton was joined by Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole.

Dylan Thomas died in New York on 9 November 1953. He was already ill when he arrived in New York on 20 October to take part in Under Milk Wood at the City’s prestigious Poetry Center (so prestigious .. that I can't find a reference to it now .. anyone know?!).

The third Dylan is somewhat younger .. a mere one year old .. and who is the quite delightful son of Giovanna Garcia, whose home I had the privilege of staying in last weekend, while I had some Imperfect Action training ... Giovanna's blog is brilliant and well worth a read ..

To my surprise his bedroom is full of African animals and African prints .. elephants, zebra, a lion, leopard prints on the walls and curtains, and inlcudes a special 'person' Geoffrey the giraffe = Dylan's favourite ..

.. and as you will have gathered my last few posts have been mainly on Africa, elephants and other animals - as the present I'd brought Dylan is a copy of the "Just So Stories" by Rudyard Kipling .. including "The Elephant's Child". Kipling didn't write a story on how the Giraffe got his Neck .. perhaps I should one day? I'm sure Geoffrey would like to know .. and I'm certain Dylan will .. later on ...

So that dear Readers is how these three Dylans became linked together ..

Thank you Mr Postman for delivering this .. did you like the links - oh good .. My mother will also be pleased to have her regular daily letter again .. Yes - she is 'fine' .. this latest episode has really knocked her for six .. but she was also still spunky yesterday .. even briefly ..

Hilary Melton-Butcher

PositiveLetters.com