Dylan Thomas (1914-53) was born in Swansea & won wide acclaim for his often declamatory & rhetorical work of the 1940s which included Deaths & Entrances" (1946). He died from alcoholism shortly before the airing of his most famous work " Under Milk Wood" (1954). Derek Mahon was born in Belfast in 1941 studied at Trinity College Dublin & the Sorbonne & has held journalistic & academic appointments in London & New York. A member of Aosdana he has received numerous awards including the Irish Academy of Letters Award & the Scott Montcrieff translation prize. His " Collected Poems" was published in 1999. In the " Poet to Poet" series a contemporary poet advocates a poet of the past or present whom they have particularly admired. By their selection of verses & their critical reactions the selectors offer intriguing insights into their own work. Here Derek Mahon selects Dylan Thomas."