Welsh Verse

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… show more.