 |
Llwyd Owen is a Welsh-language fiction author born in Cardiff in 1977. He lives in Cardiff with his wife and daughters and works as a translator when not writing fiction. As well as publishing six acclaimed Welsh language novels and one English language adaptation, he is also a published poet and photographer who presented his own television documentary on S4C on the Cardiff art scene in 2008.[ citation needed ]
His first novel, Ffawd, Cywilydd a Chelwyddau (Fate, Shame & Lies) was published by Y Lolfa in March 2006, and his second, Ffydd Gobaith Cariad (Faith Hope Love) in November 2006. Ffawd, Cywilydd a Chelwyddau was described by the judges of the National Eisteddfod of Wales' Daniel Owen Memorial Prize as "close to genius" but was not awarded the prize. Critics have said that it goes "beyond normal and safe publishing boundaries" because of its disturbing content, swearing and slang, which was uncommon in Welsh-language literature at the time. [1] Publication of the book was delayed for a year due to its controversial nature.
An English-language version of Ffydd Gobaith Cariad, adapted by the author himself, was published in May 2010 by Alcemi with the title Faith Hope & Love. It garnered favourable reviews, with Suzy Ceulan Hughes of the New Welsh Review calling it "deftly plotted and pitch-perfect in its pacing", Time Out Magazine praising it as "an absorbing fable… enjoyable and pacey… providing a thoughtful take on what it means to be alive and how suffering can control and overwhelm you" and The South Wales Argus claiming the author to be "Wales' answer to Irvine Welsh".
His English-language translation of his third novel, Yr Ergyd Olaf, was originally published in serialised form on his website before being released in print under the title The Last Hit. The main character was inspired by a chance encounter with a Welsh-born member of a biker gang while Owen was living in Mission Beach, Queensland. [2]
Hedd Wyn was a Welsh-language poet who was killed on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod. Evans, who had been awarded several chairs for his poetry, was inspired to take the bardic name Hedd Wyn from the way sunlight penetrated the mist in the Meirionnydd valleys.
William Salesbury also Salusbury was the leading Welsh scholar of the Renaissance and the principal translator of the 1567 Welsh New Testament.
Kate Roberts was one of the foremost Welsh-language authors of the 20th century. Styled Brenhines ein llên, she is known mainly for her short stories, but also wrote novels. Roberts was a prominent Welsh nationalist.
Morgan Llwyd was a Puritan Fifth Monarchist and Welsh-language poet and prose author.
Urdd Gobaith Cymru is a national voluntary youth organisation, which claimed over 56,000 members in 2019 aged between 8 and 25. It provides opportunities for children and young people across Wales to take part in a range of experiences through the medium of Welsh. The Urdd turned 100 on 25 January 2022 and celebrated by breaking two Guinness World Records.
Meic Stevens is a Welsh singer-songwriter. He has been one of the most prominent figures in the Welsh music scene for over five decades, and played a key role in establishing the popular music scene in Wales. He is described by some as "the Welsh Bob Dylan" and has also been compared favorably with musicians such as Syd Barrett. Stevens's songs are mostly sung in his native Welsh language and have a mystical, faintly psychedelic flavour. His work has influenced groups such as Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Super Furry Animals. He is largely unknown outside Wales.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1976 to Wales and its people.
The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors. Established in 1992, the awards are currently administered by Literature Wales, and supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government and the Welsh Books Council.
The Tir na n-Og Awards are a set of annual children's literary awards in Wales from 1976. They are presented by the Books Council of Wales to the best books published during the preceding calendar year in each of three awards categories, one English-language and two Welsh-language. Their purpose is "[to raise] the standard of children's and young people's books and to encourage the buying and reading of good books." There is no restriction to fiction or prose. Each prize is £1,000.
William Rees, usually known in Wales by his bardic name of Gwilym Hiraethog, was a Welsh poet and author, one of the major figures of Welsh literature during the 19th century.
"Gwahoddiad" is a Welsh hymn of American origin.
Y Lolfa is a Welsh printing and publishing company based in Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion, in Mid-Wales. It publishes a wide variety of books in Welsh and English. It also provides a commercial print service. Y Lolfa was established in 1967 by Robat Gruffudd. It is now an independent, limited company run by the founder's sons, Garmon Gruffudd and Lefi Gruffudd, with Paul Williams as production manager.
Steve Eaves is a Welsh poet, songwriter and singer, working in the Welsh language. He has lived for most of his life in the Bangor area of North Wales. He has been a performing musician for over 45 years. During the late 1960s and early 1970s he worked as a labourer and musician, with frequent forays to Chester, Crewe and other locations to perform at folk clubs and underground venues of the period. He also performed at the now legendary Les Cousins folk club in Soho, sharing the floor spot with legendary blues singer Jo Ann Kelly. He also performed with various 'underground' luminaries of the time such as Al Stewart, Tea and Symphony, and the Sutherland Brothers.
Fflur Dafydd is a Welsh novelist, singer-songwriter and musician. Though mainly publishing in Welsh, she also writes in English. She contributes regularly in Welsh to Radio Cymru.
Angharad Tomos is a Welsh author and prominent language activist. She is a recipient of the Tir na n-Og Award.
Norah Isaac was a Welsh author, drama producer and campaigner for Welsh-language education. She became head of the country's first Welsh-medium school, Ysgol Gymraeg yr Urdd, in 1939.
Geraint Jarman is a Welsh musician, poet and television producer whose career dates back to the early years of Welsh popular music. He has recorded many albums as a solo artist and with his band Geraint Jarman a'r Cynganeddwyr.
Judith Maro was an Israeli-Welsh writer who published her works in English and Welsh. She was born in Yekaterinoslav, and raised in Haifa. She was educated at the Hebrew Reali School, and joined both the paramilitary organization Haganah and the political organization Hashomer Hatzair in her youth. During World War II, Maro joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service. Maro served as an officer in the Palmach during the 1947–1949 Palestine war, before moving to the United Kingdom in 1947. She moved to Wales in 1949 and became immersed in its culture. During her career, Maro published an autobiography, wrote novels and made a compilation of a number of English and Welsh Publications. She also worked for the British printed press, and for the BBC World Service.
John Gwilym Jones was a Welsh dramatist, novelist, short-story writer, drama director, academic and critic, considered a pre-eminent figure in those fields. In particular, he is widely acknowledged to be one of the two greatest 20th-century Welsh playwrights, along with Saunders Lewis; of his many plays, Hanes Rhyw Gymro (1964), Ac Eto Nid Myfi (1976) and Yr Adduned (1979) are considered masterpieces. Almost all of his work was written in the Welsh language. A writer in the modernist tradition, he is credited with introducing Brechtian techniques, stream-of-consciousness narrative and Freudianism to Welsh literature. Creative writers such as Kate Roberts and John Rowlands owed him a profound debt, and a whole generation of critics were influenced by his work as a teacher of Welsh literature.
Rhiannon Ifans, FLSW is a Welsh academic specialising in English, Medieval and Welsh literature. She was an Anthony Dyson Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, in University of Wales Trinity St. David. She twice won a Tir na-n-Og prize for her work and won the literary medal competition at the Welsh Eisteddfod, for her 2019 debut novel, Ingrid, which was chosen for the Welsh Literature Exchange Bookshelf. In 2020, Ifans was elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
