An extraordinary, 36-hour,non-stop reading of the works of Dylan Thomas as part of celebrations to mark the centenary of his birth today started yesterday on Sunday 26 October at 11am and will end tonight on Monday 27 October at 11pm. The “Dylathlon” is taking place at Swansea Grand theatre, and will feature a host of celebrities, including Ian McKellen, Sian Phillips Jonathan Pryce, JPR Williams, Ruth Madoc, Katherine Jenkins, Nicholas Parsons, Robert Peston, Gethin Jones, Sian Lloyd,  Jo Brand, Howard Brenton - and not forgetting the Wales laureate, Gillian Clarke - plus local schoolchildren,  young people and community groups.The closing hour of the show will include the first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, reading ‘Those Who Died in the Dawn Raid’,  Michael Sheen will join the party via live-link from New York, and Hannah Ellis, Dylan Thomas' granddaughter will read 'Letter to Aeron' - Dylan's letter to his daughter Aeronwy, Hannah's mother. The show is in aid of the Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts.

PHOTOGRAPH: THE POETRY FOUNDATION