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Just go to the 'Donate' button in the right hand column on this page to make a donation to the West Coast Eisteddfod AND enter the draw for two fantastic prizes ( both original works of art ). View the video above and the slideshow below for more details about the original artwork contributed by Swansea artist and illustrator Jeff Phillips. Ever thought of turning your home into an art gallery? Well, this is your chance! Proudly exhibit original and unique portraits of 26 leading Welsh Icons for just one dollar! Each ticket purchased entitles you to a chance in both draws. Pob Lwc 
Bio.
My name is Gerald Lewis and I am a Welshman now living in Portland Oregon. I grew up near Llantrisant, a small town 10 miles outside of Cardiff. After attending Grammar school in Cowbridge I went on to Swansea College of Art, studying photography and film.
Graduating college I was taken on by BBC Wales, where I worked in their film department, starting as an assistant film cameraman and working my way up to Lighting Cameraman.
During this time I worked on many documentaries some of which have won awards in different film festivals across Europe and Scandinavia.
After several years traveling and working in Europe, (HTV, S4C, Swedish Television) I accepted a position in Saudi Arabia as a documentary producer. It was there I met my American wife and moved to Portland.
Current Project
I am currently working on the production of a documentary which will examine small cultures living inside of larger, dominant ones, one that will document Wales and the Welsh.
With the oldest language still in use in Europe and a literary tradition alive since the 6th century, the Celts of Wales have inhabited this corner of Europe since before the Pyramids were built.
The language and the history of Wales is one of a culture that has survived where many fell to the colonist powers of the recent centuries. Speaking Welsh was extremely restricted for many years, and children found speaking it in school were severely punished.
Despite this Wales has retained it's culture and it's language, to the extent that schools are now actively teaching Welsh, the people of Wales now have their own parliament, there are dual language (English and Welsh) on all road signs and official documents and there is now Welsh language Television and Radio broadcasting.
What is it about Wales and the Welsh that has allowed them to flourish where so many other cultures in a similar position have been absorbed into the larger more dominant one?
I intend to examine the influence of the mountainous, sometimes formidable landscape of Wales and it's influence in shaping the Welsh Character.
It will be a look at the people, concentrating on those that work closest to the land together with the artists and musicians whose work is inspired by their environment. Through interviews and samples of the artists work, overlaid with video depicting the landscape in all it's beauty and splendor, I intend to explore this link.
Support the project here:- http://kck.st/dNouLw
We are raising funds for 'transportation' and secure accommodation for the three serial literary perpetrators pictured below
Read more about Wordstock here
'When Kids Could Play Outside' - An Interview With Welsh Author Paul Mansell
By Ceri Shaw, 2013-03-27
Americymru spoke to Welsh author Paul Mansell about his first book, When Kids Could Play Outside. The book is set in the Cynon valley in the 1970's and offers a colorful picture of teenage life in the valleys in that decade. The book ( in electronic form ) can be purchased from the Americymru bookstorehere:- 'When Kids Could Play Outside'
Americymru: Hi Paul and many thanks for agreeing to speak to Americymru. Care to introduce your book 'When Kids Could Play Outside' for our readers?
Paul: Hi Ceri firstly many thanks for the opportunity and I hope you enjoyed the book.
When Tom, a 43-year-old man, goes on a quiet bicycle ride in the Cotswold, little does he expect that his life will soon be changed forever. Suddenly, he has a terrible accident and lies dying in a damp, cold forest, but when he takes his final breath, instead of passing over to the other side, he is reborn in the 1970s.
He gets a second chance and lives his life all over again as a 8-year-old boy. What ensues is a fast and furious account of growing up in the 70s, in a time with very little rules or restrictions, and when playing outside was an education in its own right.
Playing hard was a test of true character and survival where nothing was off-limits.
Tom relives an era full of danger and competitiveness, when pranks were the order of the day, and children experienced freedom and fun that the modern generation has been deprived of.
When Kids Could Play Outside will transport readers back to a time when computer games and the internet were still in their infancy, and childrens idea of fun was a simple outdoor adventure. This is a must read for those lucky enough to have grown up in the 70s, those who had to discover who they were the hard way.
Paul: The Cynon Valley and the beautiful countryside which surrounds it is nestled between The Merthyr and Rhondda Valleys, The Cynon Valley is situated within easy reach of the cities of Cardiff and Swansea and very close to the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Renowned for it's coal mining history, hospitality and beautiful scenery, the small village which I wrote about in the book Penycynon (name change) is only a stone throw from Pontypridd (the land of the voice) Tom Jones,
Americymru; In what way are conditions different for kids growing up in the 21st century? Are they missing out on something? If so, what?
Paul: For me the children of today have been deprived of so much fun and freedom due to ridiculous health and safety laws, hundreds of TV channels, Mobile phones, PC and internet.
If you recorded the top 40 off the radio, made a den, used jumpers for goal posts, got grounded if you were late, vandalised your school desk with a compass, climbed trees, made bows and arrows, rode a chopper bicycle, bought a 10 sweets mix for 10p, only had 4 TV channels, you must have been a Seventies kid !
Americymru: Where can people find your book online?
Paul: When kids could play outside can be found on Amazon - When Kids Could Play Outside
Americymru: 'When Kids Could Play Outside' is your first book. What's next for Paul Mansell? Any new works in the pipeline?
Paul: Well believe it or not I have just completed another chapter for 'Kids' named "Billy the Kid" which is about CB radio's, scrumping apples, sliding down grass embankments on cardboard sheets and entering the Miners show room to get my father.
I have started my second book, which is another true story about my father starting work in the South Wales coal mines at the age of fifteen but progress has been slow and it could take a few years to complete.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?
Paul: After last weeks brilliant performance against the English, you realise that no amount of time away from Wales can make you forget where you're coming from ! So be proud to be Welsh! You can take the boy out of the valley but you'll never take the valley out of the boy!
Printable Entry Form Here
The 7th international Welsh Poetry Competition, 2013, was launched this week in Pontypridd, South Wales.
This annual competition has gone from strength to strength each year and is an essential part of the literary calendar.
Writer and competition organizer Dave Lewis said: The continued success of the competition shows there is a great hunger for honest appreciation of the spoken word. Many feel the competition is unique because it is truly independent, we do not use filter judges and all our entries are judged anonymously. So, whether you are an established writer or a complete beginner, everyone has the same chance of winning. This is vitally important because it allows exciting new talent to emerge.
This year the competition will be judged by Welsh writer and poet, Eloise Williams.
We are delighted that Eloise has agreed to judge this years competition. She is a fantastic writer of poetry, fiction and plays. She has been widely published and won several awards for her work. Born in Cardiff, Eloise grew up in Llantrisant and now lives in beautiful Tenby.
The competition has had six great years already and we have also published an anthology containing all the winning poems from the first five years so if anyone wants to see the standard of work before they enter they can buy a copy from the competition web site.
As always, we hope to discover previously unpublished voices alongside the more familiar literary names. We believe good poetry should be raw, passionate, and honest. Have you got what it takes?
Prizes are: 1st Prize - 400, 2nd Prize - 200 and 3rd Prize - 100, plus 17 runners-up will be published on our web site.
To enter you just need to compose a poem, in English, of less than 50 lines and send to the competition organizers. Entry forms are available by post, can be downloaded from the web site or picked up from local libraries. It is just 4 to enter and the closing date is Sunday 26th May 2013.
Competition Website - www.welshpoetry.co.uk
Competition Judge www.eloisewilliams.com
Contact Tel: Dave Lewis - 07890 888585
We are searching for volunteers for the Welsh Festival, earn a theatre ticket for your hard work!
We need the following:
1. Friday (Sept 23) parking information person (does not take money) -shift of 3 hours (5-7pm),
2. Saturday (Sept 24) parking info person (does not take money) - shift of 3 hours (11-2:00pm)
3. Saturday (Sept 24) parking info person (does not take money) - shift of 3 hours (2:00 to 5pm)
4. Sunday (Sept 25) parking info person (does not take money) - shift of 3 hours (11-2:00pm)
5. Sunday (Sept 25) parking info person (does not take money) - shift of 3 hours (2:00 to 5pm)
6. Saturday (Sept 24) setup volunteer(s) - shift of 2 hours (9am-11am),
7. Friday (Sept 23) Theatre usher - shift of 2 hour (6:00pm-8:00pm),
8. Sunday (Sept 25) Theatre usher - shift of 2 1/2 hours (1:30-4pm),
9. Sunday (Sept 25) Cleanup volunteer(s) - shift of 2 hours (5-7pm).
Please let us know what day/time you can volunteer, and Valerie the volunteer coordinator will get in touch with you for further details.Contact Valerie with questions - enkiofarcadia@aol.com
Please spread the word if you might know someone interested!
