Editing Dylan Thomas (section)

====Third tour 21 April to 3 June 1953====
In April 1953, Thomas returned alone for a third tour of America.{{sfnp|Ferris|1989|p=316}} He performed a "work in progress" version of ''Under Milk Wood'', solo, for the first time at [[Harvard University]] on 3 May.{{sfnp|FitzGibbon|1965|p=385}} A week later, the work was performed with a full cast at the Poetry Centre in New York. He met the deadline only after being locked in a room by Brinnin's assistant, Liz Reitell, and he was still editing the script on the afternoon of the performance; its last lines were handed to the actors as they were putting on their makeup.{{sfnmp|1a1=Bold|1y=1976|1p=61|2a1=Thomas|2y=2008|2p=33}}

During this penultimate tour, Thomas met the composer [[Stravinsky|Igor Stravinsky]] who had become an admirer after having been introduced to his poetry by [[W. H. Auden]]. They had discussions about collaborating on a "musical theatrical work" for which Thomas would provide the libretto on the theme of "the rediscovery of love and language in what might be left after the world after the bomb." The shock of Thomas's death later in the year moved Stravinsky to compose his ''In Memoriam Dylan Thomas'' for tenor, string quartet and four trombones. The first performance in [[Los Angeles]] in 1954 was introduced with a tribute to Thomas from [[Aldous Huxley]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Craft |first1=Robert |author-link=Robert Craft |title=Stravinsky: Glimpses of a Life |location=London |publisher=Lime Tree |year=1992 |pages=52–60 |isbn=978-0413454614}}</ref>

Thomas spent the last nine or ten days of his third tour in New York mostly in the company of Reitell, with whom he had an affair.{{sfnp|Ferris|1989|p=321}} During this time, Thomas fractured his arm falling down a flight of stairs when drunk. Reitell's doctor, Milton Feltenstein, put his arm in plaster and treated him for gout and gastritis.{{sfnp|Ferris|1989|p=321}}

After returning home, Thomas worked on ''Under Milk Wood'' in Laugharne. Aeronwy, his daughter, noticed that his health had "visibly deteriorated...I could hear his racking cough. Every morning he had a prolonged coughing attack...The coughing was nothing new but it seemed worse than before."{{sfnp|Thomas|2009|p=199}} She also noted that the blackouts that Thomas was experiencing were "a constant source of comment" amongst his Laugharne friends.{{sfnp|Thomas|2009|p=204}}

Thomas sent the original manuscript to Douglas Cleverdon on 15 October 1953. It was copied and returned to Thomas, who lost it in a pub in London and required a duplicate to take to America.{{sfnp|Ferris|1989|p=328}}<ref name="UMW Chron">{{cite web|url= http://www.dylanthomas.com/dylan/dylans-work/milk-wood-chronology/|title= Under Milk Wood&nbsp;– A Chronology|publisher= dylanthomas.com|access-date= 22 July 2014}}</ref> Thomas flew to the States on 19 October 1953 for what would be his final tour.{{sfnp|Ferris|1989|p=328}} He died in New York before the BBC could record ''Under Milk Wood''.<ref>Nicola Soames, CD notes from ''Dylan Thomas: Under Milk Wood'', Naxos Audiobooks.</ref><ref>{{cite web |first1= Andy|last1= Walker|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22765852|title= The days that defined Broadcasting House|date= 7 June 2013|access-date= 8 June 2013|publisher= BBC}}</ref> [[Richard Burton]] starred in the first broadcast in 1954, and was joined by [[Elizabeth Taylor]] in a [[Under Milk Wood (1972 film)|subsequent film]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/under_milk_wood.shtml|title= Under Milk Wood|publisher= BBC Radio 4|access-date= 23 July 2012}}</ref> In 1954, the play won the [[Prix Italia]] for literary or dramatic programmes.{{refn|The BBC submitted the play posthumously along with a French translation by [[Jacques-Bernard Brunius]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.prlog.org/11878434-prestigious-new-item-added-to-the-dylan-thomas-centre-collection.html |title= Prestigious new item added to the Dylan Thomas Centre collection|publisher= prlog.org|date= 18 May 2012|access-date= 31 July 2012}}</ref>|group="nb"}}