Dylan Thomas implored his readers to "rage, rage against the dying of the light".
And newly uncovered photos, lost in a drawer for decades, show the Welsh poet heeding his own words as he wrecked an employer's office after finding out they had no pay for him.
Thomas had a job making wartime documentaries for Strand Film Company in London in 1942 when a photographer captured him waiting to collect a cheque.
When no money was forthcoming, he can then be seen breaking up the furniture like a spoiled rock star in the series of never-before published photos.
A quick-thinking Strand receptionist told the photographer to document Thomas's outburst then tucked the evidence away, said Jeff Towns, a Dylan Thomas expert and author.
He bought the photos and got the back story from the receptionist's daughter, telling Cerys Matthews on BBC Radio 6 Music he believed Thomas's violent tantrum was the result of him being desperate for money.
"There's one picture of him looking immaculate [with a] big smile," he said.
"No cheque and he's pulling the desk apart like a rock and roller throwing a TV out the window."
The photos and story appear in Towns' new book, the Wilder Shores of Dylan Thomas.
