Kardomah group
Encyclopedia
The Kardomah Gang,The Kardomah Boys, or Kardomah Group is the name given to the group of bohemian
friends – various artists, musicians, poets and writers – who frequented the Kardomah Café in Castle Street, Swansea
, Wales, in the 1930s. Regulars included poets Charles Fisher
, Dylan Thomas
, John Prichard and Vernon Watkins
, composer and linguist Daniel Jones
, artists Alfred Janes
and Mervyn Levy
, Mabley Owen and Tom Warner. It was in this café, just across the road from the offices of the Evening Post newspaper where Thomas and Fisher worked, that these friends would drink coffee and discuss, amongst many subjects, Einstein & Epstein
, Greta Garbo
, Stravinsky, death, religion and Picasso.
During February 1941, Swansea was heavily bombed
by the Luftwaffe
, known as 'The Three Nights Blitz'. Castle Street was just one of the many streets in Swansea that suffered badly; the rows of shops, including the 'Kardomah Café', were destroyed. After the bombing, Dylan Thomas came back to visit Swansea. He later he wrote about the devastation in his radio play entitled Return Journey to Swansea. In the play, he describes the café as being "Razed to the snow". The Kardomah Café reopened after the war in a new location, and can still be found today in the city's Portland Street, a short walk from where the original stood. The Castle Street site where the Kardomah Café was situated in the days of the Kardomah Gang had previously been the site of a Congregational Chapel. It was in this church that Dylan Thomas's parents were married in 1903.
Some recollections of the cafe and the people who met there were recorded by Fisher and are available at kardomahgroup.net http://www.kardomahgroup.net
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
friends – various artists, musicians, poets and writers – who frequented the Kardomah Café in Castle Street, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Wales, in the 1930s. Regulars included poets Charles Fisher
Charles Fisher (poet)
Charles Fisher was a British journalist, writer, poet and adventurer. Charles was the last surviving member of the Kardomah group, a literary and artistic circle in Swansea circa 1930, which included Dylan Thomas, Vernon Watkins and Daniel Jones.Fisher was educated at the Bishop Gore School,...
, Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
, John Prichard and Vernon Watkins
Vernon Watkins
Vernon Phillips Watkins , was a British poet, and a translator and painter. He was a close friend of Dylan Thomas, who described him as "the most profound and greatly accomplished Welshman writing poems in English"....
, composer and linguist Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones (composer)
Daniel Jenkyn Jones OBE was a composer of classical music, who worked in Britain. He used both serial and tonal techniques...
, artists Alfred Janes
Alfred Janes
Alfred George Janes was a Welsh artist, who is also remembered as one of The Kardomah Gang; a group of bohemian friends that included the poets Dylan Thomas and Vernon Watkins, and the composer Daniel Jones....
and Mervyn Levy
Mervyn Levy
Mervyn Levy was a Welsh artist, art dealer, writer and critic. He is also known for his association with the poet Dylan Thomas as one of The Kardomah Gang....
, Mabley Owen and Tom Warner. It was in this café, just across the road from the offices of the Evening Post newspaper where Thomas and Fisher worked, that these friends would drink coffee and discuss, amongst many subjects, Einstein & Epstein
Epstein
The surname Epstein is one of the oldest Jewish family names in the Slavic countries. Some people with this name include:-Religion:* Abraham Epstein , Russo-Austrian rabbinical scholar* Aryeh Löb Epstein ben Mordecai, Polish rabbi...
, Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Stravinsky, death, religion and Picasso.
During February 1941, Swansea was heavily bombed
Swansea Blitz
The Swansea Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of Swansea by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany on 19–21 February 1941.Swansea was selected as a legitimate target due to its importance as a port and docks and the oil refinery just beyond and its destruction was key to Nazi German war efforts as...
by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, known as 'The Three Nights Blitz'. Castle Street was just one of the many streets in Swansea that suffered badly; the rows of shops, including the 'Kardomah Café', were destroyed. After the bombing, Dylan Thomas came back to visit Swansea. He later he wrote about the devastation in his radio play entitled Return Journey to Swansea. In the play, he describes the café as being "Razed to the snow". The Kardomah Café reopened after the war in a new location, and can still be found today in the city's Portland Street, a short walk from where the original stood. The Castle Street site where the Kardomah Café was situated in the days of the Kardomah Gang had previously been the site of a Congregational Chapel. It was in this church that Dylan Thomas's parents were married in 1903.
Some recollections of the cafe and the people who met there were recorded by Fisher and are available at kardomahgroup.net http://www.kardomahgroup.net
- "My recollections of the place date from the year I started working for the Post (1934?) Dylan, briefly a reporter at the same time as myself, was in the process of leaving the paper and preparing his assault on literary London. (But he and I were in the habit of meeting there even before then, in Grammar School days when editing the school magazine was used as a pretext for cutting classes)" etc...
External links
- Piece that appeared in the Independent about the Kardomah occasioned by the death of the last surviving member, Charles FisherCharles Fisher (poet)Charles Fisher was a British journalist, writer, poet and adventurer. Charles was the last surviving member of the Kardomah group, a literary and artistic circle in Swansea circa 1930, which included Dylan Thomas, Vernon Watkins and Daniel Jones.Fisher was educated at the Bishop Gore School,...
, in 2006: http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/features/article344727.ece - BBC WalesBBC WalesBBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
documentary on "The Kardomah Boys", broadcast in 1997 http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/walesonair/top_100_database_pages/catalyststhekardomahboys.shtml