This is a single print from limited edition [15] of 18 handprinted prints for the deialogau DYLAN THOMAS dialogues project. The 18 prints are also sold as a complete set in bespoke box with comprehensive catalogue and colophon, to celebrate the anniversary of a hundred years since the birth of Swansea’s most famous and admired poet in 1914.

Hey Mister, Hunchback in the Park | Dylan Thomas

In addressing the theme for the Dylan Thomas
Dialogues project, I gravitated towards Thomas’ poem,
The hunchback in the park as this subject has a particular
significance for me. In 1940, when I was three years old,
my parents moved from St. Thomas (near the docks and
station yards) to Cwmdonkin Terrace, a row of twentyfour
houses adjoining Cwmdonkin Park. We occupied
the ground floor flat in the home of Daniel Jones, the
composer friend of Dylan Thomas, who, I’m told, was
a frequent caller at No. 16. I lived there for ten years
and, like Dylan, spent hours in the park throughout
my childhood, getting to know every nook and cranny:
the bandstand, the water fountain, the shop, the
rhododendron bush where we had our ‘den’. And Mr Chips
the park-keeper whose bark was worse than his bite.
Whilst the park has much changed over time, my image
emanates from a myriad of childhood memories and
underscores my sense of ‘belonging’ which I still feel
when I go there with my grandchildren. When I moved
home in 1950 I missed the park I knew… and still do.