I was lucky enough to be introduced to medieval Welsh literature when I was an undergraduate, and the Welsh language mesmerised me. It is so unlike any other language that I had come across and translating texts from Welsh into English was as absorbing as code-cracking. My apprenticeship as a scholar was long and hard and I soon realised that my particular contribution was to make Welsh literature accessible to non-Welsh speakers, not simply through translations, but by aligning the Welsh tradition with the wider literary cultures of Europe. I want Wales and its two literatures to take their place as two of the great literatures of Europe.
I first read the tales of The Mabinogion when I was an undergraduate and their amazing otherness helped to propel me towards a career researching medieval Welsh literature.
These prose tales were composed in Welsh between 1100 and 1300. Four of the tales are linked together and are known as ‘The Four Branches of the Mabinogi’. Other tales include two original Arthurian stories, a dream vision set in the Roman British past, and three tales based on the French Arthurian romances of Chrétien de Troyes.
In this rich mixture of genres, otherworldly women marry heroic men, warfare between Wales and Ireland destroys a generation, and Arthur strides the land as the king of the whole island of Britain. Sioned Davies’s translation is the latest and best, capturing all the drama and apparent simplicity of the original Welsh texts.
'I cannot be killed indoors,' he said, 'nor out of doors; I cannot be killed on horseback, nor on foot.' 'Well,' she said, 'how can you be killed?'
Celtic mythology, Arthurian romance, and an intriguing interpretation of British history - these are just some of the themes embraced by the anonymous authors of the eleven tales that make up the Welsh medieval masterpiece known as the Mabinogion. They tell of Gwydion the shape-shifter, who can create a woman out of flowers; of Math the magician whose feet must lie in the lap of a virgin; of hanging a pregnant mouse…
M. Wynn Thomas is the foremost literary critic writing in Wales today, and a writer I particularly admire.
He pioneered the concept of ‘Welsh writing in English’ as distinct from ‘Welsh writing’ (in Welsh), honouring the bilingual culture of Wales. Thomas’s twelve poems are selected from three key periods of Welsh history, the Middle Ages, the pre-modern period, and our own time.
Each poem is read in the context of its social and political background, educating us about the politics of Welshness, the cultural assumptions written into the literature, and above all what it means to be Welsh in a nation that is not a state.
This is such an elegant and original way to foreground the creativity of Welsh poets alongside the cultural forces that shaped them.
Down the centuries, poets have provided Wales with a window onto its own distinctive world. This book gives the general reader a sense of the view to be seen through that special window in twelve illustrated poems, each bringing very different periods and aspects of the Welsh past into focus. Together, the poems give the flavour of a poetic tradition, both ancient and modern, that is internationally renowned for its distinction, demonstrating how Wales boast one of the oldest and yet continuing vibrant poetic traditions, the former in the Welsh language and the latter in English and bilingually.
I’m not particularly a foodie, but this book was an eye-opener.
Carwyn Graves takes us on a historical and topographical journey around Wales uncovering one of its best-kept secrets, its traditional and inventive cuisine. I discovered that there is definitely more to Welsh cooking than the famous Welsh rarebit or even the ubiquitous Welsh cakes (enjoyable though they are).
The book is structured around key foods from the Welsh menu, including Bara/Bread, Caws/Cheese, and Cig Oen/Lamb. The emphasis is on fresh natural foods, though the final chapter on Sglodion/Chips rather gives the game away.
Welsh Food Stories explores more than two thousand years of history to discover the rich but forgotten heritage of Welsh foods - from oysters to cider, salted butter to salt-marsh lamb. Despite centuries of industry, ancient traditions have survived in pockets across the country among farmers, bakers, fisherfolk, brewers and growers who are taking Welsh food back to its roots, and trailblazing truly sustainable foods as they do so.
In this important book, author Carwyn Graves travels Wales to uncover the country's traditional foods and meet the people making them today. There are the owners of a local Carmarthenshire chip…
There are a number of anthologies of Welsh poetry in translation, but Tony Conran’s collection remains my favourite.
It is a terrific selection, from the great medieval court poets to the giants of the nineteenth century and the modernist poets of the twentieth century. Well-known poets such as Dafydd ap Gwilym and Waldo Williams rub shoulders with less familiar names, such as Gruffudd ap Maredudd and Alun Llywelyn-Williams.
Some individual poems have their own prefaces explaining their context, while the whole volume begins with a masterly introduction to the Welsh bardic tradition.
As a bonus, the volume concludes with a substantial explanation of the metres of Welsh poetry, so if you are not sure how to tell an englyn from an awdl, this is the book for you.
"This selection of translations covers 14 centuries of Welsh poetry, from the epics of Taliesin and Aneirin to contemporary poets like Gwyn Thomas and Nesta Wyn Jones. The range of works includes sagas and carols, hymns and strict metres, and Romantics and social realism. Among the poets included are Cynddelw, Owain Gwynedd, Dafydd ap Gwilym, Ann Griffiths, Pantycelyn, T. Gwyn Jones, Williams Parry and his cousin Parry-Williams, Saunders Lewis, Gwenallt, and Waldo Williams. A substantial appendix of englynionstanzas to be accompanied by the harpis provided. Also included are a guide to the intricacies of Welsh meter, the complex rules that…
Pigeon is Alys Conran’s first novel and it exemplifies, for me, the huge energy and potential of the current generation of writers in Wales.
It is not only a powerful story of loss, guilt, and redemption, but a pointed comment on the state of contemporary Wales and its social challenges.
Pigeon’s young adulthood, dominated by a bullying English stepfather, echoes the difficult relationship between the Welsh and the English, while Pigeon’s troubled attitude towards the Welsh language, his birth language, throws up questions about the nature of linguistic identity in a bilingual country.
The novel won the Wales Book of the Year in 2017, has been translated into Welsh, and has been turned into a play, and yet is hardly known outside Wales. Welsh writers like Conran deserve a much wider readership.
Iola and Pijin make up stories to test each other, stories of daring and adventure, of bad people and of Gwyn who drives his ice-cream up the hill to their town every week. Gwyn is a dangerous man and Pijin knows it. Iola is not so sure. As they grow up and their friendship grows more complicated, some of their stories fall silent, but some will come true.
The literature of Wales is one of the oldest vernacular traditions in Europe, and one of the richest. Famous for its bardic poets and storytellers, the literary tradition has grown to encompass writing in English as well as Welsh, producing novels, poetry, and short stories that speak to the diversity and bilingualism of modern Wales. The Cambridge History is the first comprehensive guide to the literature of Wales in both languages, from the earliest medieval poetry and prose through to contemporary writing. Each chapter is written by an expert in their field and includes extracts from key texts, with translations where necessary. The chapters are arranged chronologically, and each section begins with a historical introduction that sets the scene for the literary works.
After writing The Flight To Brassbright, I realized that my characters spent a lot of time enjoying a wide variety of foods and beverages. I suppose it couldn't be helped since their author is such a foodie.
I thought it would be fun to spin off a cookbook with real, practical recipes so that readers could enjoy the same foods as my wacky cast did on their adventures. There's something for everyone, as the cookbook runs the gamut. You'll find mouth-watering treats such as hearty meat pies, 'coal' cookies, Victorian-era 'hot dogs', bread and butter pickles, and home-spun cotton…
Steamed and Steamy: Recipes from the Steampunk World of Industralia
Even fictional characters gotta eat. These are their recipes. Now you can make the favorite foods of the fictional country of Industralia, from breakfast right on through to late night snacks. You’ll even learn how to make traditional New Year's “Coal Week” holiday treats.
"Ah, the delightful sounds and smells of cooking. And explosions. Or maybe that is just my kitchen... Venture forth into the wilds of your own kitchen to explore the possibilities for flavor and ingredients you encountered in your explorations of Industralia! From carnival peanuts and cotton candy to some hearty meat pies these recipes can help…
