Aeronwy Thomas-Ellis interview (2002)

Aeronwy was sheltered from her father Dylan Thomas' reputation to such an extent that she didn't even read his poems until 20 years after his death. But here she recalls her memories of her father.

"We had a very rigid routine as a family. In the morning he'd read detective novels and answer his correspondence. Then he'd go to Browns Hotel in Laugharne to meet his father and do the Times crossword. Then he'd go off to write all afternoon.

"I was told I wasn't to disturb my father. Well that was just too tempting, so we'd pass by on our bikes making as much noise as possible, playing the bells and kicking the dog so it would bark. My father, if we were lucky, would occasionally come out and shout at us.

"I don't find the image of him as a drunken genius upsetting, because it's a long time ago. The only time I felt indignant about the way my father's been depicted was when the major institutions here in Wales didn't take my father seriously because he was a drunk. I thought that has nothing to do with his literary output and he didn't write in Welsh.

"My favourite poem is Fern Hill. I've never become tired of it. It's special because I recognise those places from childhood and the imagery is not all about places but emotions too."