Britain's Wales Office on Monday celebrated the 100th birthday of Wales's best-known poet and writer Dylan Thomas.

Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales, in 1914, and died in New York at the age of 39. He has been acknowledged as one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century, reputed for his original use of words and imagery in his poems.

"Wales is today celebrating the centenary of the birth of a Welsh icon, a literary giant and one who has done more to boost Wales than he would ever have imagined in his lifetime. Happy birthday, Dylan Marlais Thomas," said Jennifer Randerson, British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales.

She said that Thomas's legacy came in two forms.

"Firstly, there is his literary catalogue, from the delightful A Child's Christmas in Wales, through the moving Do not go Gentle and These Five Kings to the unrivalled delights of Fern Hill and, of course, the masterpiece that is Under Milk Wood," Randerson said, citing his works.

"Secondly, he has put Wales on the map as a tourist destination... Thousands come annually to visit his home, the boathouse in Laugharne. Millions have heard of his home city, the 'lovely ugly town' of Swansea, through his works," Randerson added.

Talking about the writer's international appeal, she said that former U.S. President Bill Clinton had "famously" come on a pilgrimage to Laugharne to visit the home of the poet but "equally famously" failed to find it.

The Wales Office, in partnership with Swansea University, will next week (3 November) be home to the Dylan Thomas International Prize at its London office, Gwydyr House.

Randerson will host the International Dylan Thomas Prize at the Wales Office in London next week.

Launched in 2006, the annual prize aims to encourage raw creative talent worldwide, awarding the best published or produced literary work in the English language written by an author aged 39 or under. Enditem

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