You never know what might happen at a 92nd Street Y event. That’s true today and it was very much the case in 1952. One February night that year, two young Hunter College grads — Barbara Holdridge and Marianne Roney — came to a Dylan Thomas reading at 92NY, and their actions that night would change the course of their lives — and his. As the two young women sat in the audience, glued to Thomas’ every word, they had it in mind to approach the rock star poet afterwards, so that they could share their big idea: a new record label featuring readings by the great poets and authors of the day.
Their attempt to have a word with Thomas in the green room was thwarted by an usher, but their goal was achieved, as a note they'd written found its way to his manager: they wanted Thomas to be the first featured author on their dreamed-of record label, Caedmon Records. Would he read for them in a Manhattan recording studio?
The manager suggested phoning Thomas at the Chelsea Hotel — several went unanswered, and then a breakthrough call led to a lunch with the great poet himself at the hotel, whereby he agreed to read some of his best-known poems in a recording session.
It was a smashing success — except for one thing: Thomas didn’t bring enough material for the B-side of the album. Ever the brilliant thinker, Thomas suggested a story he’d recently had published in Harper’s Bazaar, A Child’s Christmas in Wales. Harper’s New York office had a copy of it, as it turned out, and the rest is history. A Child’s Christmas in Wales would go on to be a runaway hit, and Caedmon records would become the gold standard of literary record labels — and the precursor of the modern-day audio book business. To this day, many families across the pond and in the US gather round and listen to A Child’s Christmas in Wales, or read the illustrated book. The album is a timeless holiday classic, and it all began in the cozy climes of 92NY’s Kaufmann Concert Hall in 1952.
Listen to the reading:
Dylan Thomas, 1952: A Child’s Christmas in Wales, A Story - Recorded at Steinway Hall, NY - YouTube
And hear Dylan Thomas read his poem “Under Milk Wood” on our stage in 1953.