Recently Rated:
Stats
Sister Envy's new single 'Tide' a sprawling psych and grunge tinged anthem & Debut appearance at Focus Wales
By Ceri Shaw, 2024-04-23
Sister Envy return with their awesome second single ‘Tide’ on the 10th of May. The follow up to their warmly received debut single ‘ Mourning Sickness’ , the cinematic psychedelia of ‘Tide’ , grows from enveloping heart on the sleeve melodies, decorated in a carousel of psych tinged guitars into a sprawling epic anthem.
‘I’ll be the one to saves you’ promises Joliffe in a track that’s woozy, romantic, mysterious yet with a sting in the tail. Gradually swelling into a fuzz laden chorus that has elements of the shoegaze anthems of Ride. Verve or the grungy gaze of early Smashing Pumpkins. It's another fascinating glimpse of Sister’s Envy’s sonic arsenal and world of intrigue and ambition that looks at the horizon beyond their North Walian homes.
Vocalist and guitarist, Kameron Jolliffe says: " Tide is the first song we recorded together as a band, I wrote it whilst severely hungover one sunny afternoon, it was one of those days where the moon was visible.. I wrote it about someone i used to see, a toxic relationship that still pulls you in just to inevitably throw you back. "Sister Envy hail from the North Wales coast, a place of mystery, harshness, and beauty, a place where opportunity is blocked for younger people yet dreams can break through. It’s here that Sister Envy met at college, this fast-emerging Alternative Psychedelic rock quartet are a brand new signing to North Wales label Yr Wyddfa Records Snowdonia(home to Holy Coves).
Sister Envy have been busy honing their sound in the studio with Welsh producers Owain Ginsberg (Hippies Vs Ghosts) & Scott Marsden (Holy Coves) over recent months getting ready for the release of a trio of initial tracks.
Their initial three singles were recorded in Liverpool at the famous Motor Museum Studio with Ben Harper. Mixed in France by Welsh legend Owain Ginsberg and mastered in Austin Texas by American producer Erik Wofford (The Black Angels). Over the next twelve months, Sister Envy will invite you into their fascinating world over a series of singles releases and shows including a debut performance at Focus Wales in May. Gradually revealing the different faces of their tapestry of sound and fledgling experience.
"Compelling, intense and brooding...something atonal beneath that sets it apart" Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales .
“Full of complexities, Verve-esque vibes from the early days, shoe-gaze tonalities with an undercurrent that is reminiscent of bands like Velvet Undergound, a heady blend of rock fused with 60’s psychedelia and delivered in a way that makes your head spin” Upcoming Bands
“A raw and visceral blend of 90s Brit Rock with a twinge of psychedelic rock, with the spark and earnest nature of the early 2010s NME scene.” We All Want Someone
Sister Envy band members
Kameron Jolliffe - Vocals and Lead Guitar
Matty Waring - Guitar
Callum Jones - Bass
Ryan Roberts - Drums
http://www.instagram.com/
http://www.twitter.com/
|
THIS HOUSE by Sian Northey Translated from Welsh by Susan Walton Published by 3TimesRebel Press Plastic-free paperback with French flaps & Wibalin® endpapers Pages: 190 ISBN 978-1-7391287-9-1 Price £12.99 / e-book £6.99 |
Out 21 March 2024
Grief, solitude, and the inner call to be freed from her past are the threads that beautifully and tightly intertwine in this novel.
Anna has lived alone for decades. She is cocooned by, and marooned in, an isolated cottage called Nant yr Aur in the Welsh mountains. The arrival of Siôn, a young man who seems strangely at home in the house, leads to an unpicking of Anna’s past.
As Anna’s relationship with Siôn develops, her perspective on the solidity of her past shifts. Uncertainty, distortion, illusion and subtle betrayal are gradually exposed. Ultimately, a quietly devastating revelation changes the lives of both Siôn and Anna.
Sian Northey writes with economy and precision, setting out what the life of a middle-aged woman with an emotionally complicated past feels like from the inside.
'Astute, understated, compassionate. Sian Northey gently unpicks the threads of love and memory that bind us to place and to each other. A beautiful, glowing gem of a novel, now brought to a wider audience by Susan Walton's wonderful translation.'
Angharad Price, Welsh academic and novelist.
Sian Northey has been a full-time writer for the last fourteen years. Almost all her work is written and published in Welsh. She is the author of three novels for adults, one poetry collection, three short story collections, several scripts, and numerous children’s and teens’ novels. Her novels are Yn y Tŷ Hwn (Gwasg Gomer, 2011), Rhyd y Gro (Gwasg Gomer, 2016), and Perthyn (Gwasg Gomer, 2019). In 2022 she co-edited the bilingual poetry anthology A470: Poems for the Road/Cerddi'r Ffordd (Arachne Press, 2022).
Sian Northey is also a literary translator. She translated into Welsh the memoir The Journey is Home by John Sam Jones, and Alys Conran’s debut novel, Pigeon , which in its original English won the Wales Book of the Year Award in 2017. Both books were published in English and Welsh by Parthian Books in 2021 and 2016, respectively. She recently translated the award-winning The Last Firefox by Lee Newbery (Penguin Random House, 2022) under the title Y Llwynog Tân Olaf (Firefly Press, 2022).
Susan Walton has been commissioned to translate books from Welsh to English for the publishing house Gwasg Carreg Gwalch since 2009. She has had fourteen translated books published, including eight novels for older children/young adults. During 2020 Susan was mentored under the Literature Wales scheme as an emerging literary translator. This House is her first translation of adult fiction.
ABOUT 3TIMESREBEL PRESS
Based in Dundee, Scotland, and founded by Bibiana Mas, 3TimesRebel Press is an independent publisher like no other, looking to shake up the publishing world and contemporary society.
Challenging the mainstream by being rebel in three ways, 3TimesRebel Press exclusively publish books that are: written in minority languages originally; written by women; and finally written to inspire deep, challenging conversations.
As a pioneering fair-trade publisher, 3TimesRebel Press work to achieve equitable agreements with their authors, translators, illustrators and partners. Their books are locally printed in the UK using responsibly sourced paper, minimising carbon footprint and following environmentally friendly standards. This House is its first plastic-free publication.
3TimesRebel Press are keen to preserve an artisanal feel and meticulous attention to detail in everything they do. Their books are beautifully designed by award-winning master in typography Enric Jardí, and each has a visually striking cover created by a nominated artist.
Website : 3TimesRebel.com | X : @3TimesRebel | Instagram : @3TimesRebel
bbbbb
|
THIS HOUSE gan Sian Northey Cyfieithwyd o'r Gymraeg gan Susan Walton Cyhoeddwyd gan 3TimesRebel Press Clawr meddal cyfan gwbl di-blastig Tudalennau: 190 ISBN 978-1-7391287-9-1 Pris £12.99 / e-lyfr £6.99 |
Dyddiad cyhoeddi 21 Mawrth 2024
Galar, unigedd, ac angen menyw i gael ei rhyddhau oddi wrth ei gorffennol yw'r llinynnau sydd yn plethu yn dynn a chelfydd yn y nofel hon.
Mae Anna wedi byw ar ei phen ei hun ers degawdau. Caiff ei gwarchod, a'i hynysu, gan Nant yr Aur, ei chartref anghysbell. Yna mae Siôn yn ymddangos, dyn ifanc sydd fel petai'n od o gartrefol yn y tŷ, ac mae hynny'n arwain at ddatod gwead gorffennol Anna.
Wrth i berthynas Anna a Siôn ddatblygu, sylweddola nad yw ei gorffennol mor gadarn ag y dychmygai. Bob yn dipyn datgelir ansicrwydd, twyll a brad tawel. Yn y diwedd mae datguddiad distaw ddinistriol yn newid bywydau Siôn ac Anna.
Mae Sian Northey yn awdur eithriadol gynnil, ac yn cyflwyno bywyd mewnol menyw ganol oed sydd â gorffennol emosiynol gymhleth.
Craff, cynnil a thawel angerddol. Perl o nofel sy'n datod edefynnau cariad a'r cofion sy'n ein clymu wrth le ac i'n gilydd. A braf yw gweld dawn arbennig Sian Northey yn cyrraedd cynulleidfa ehangach trwy gyfieithiad meistrolgar Susan Walton.
Angharad Price
Bu Sian Northey yn awdur llawn amser ers bron i bymtheg mlynedd bellach. Mae wedi cyhoeddi tair nofel i oedolion, un casgliad o gerddi, tri chasgliad o straeon byrion, a sawl llyfr i blant. Mae hefyd yn sgriptio a golygu. Ei nofelau yw Yn y Tŷ Hwn (Gwasg Gomer, 2011), Rhyd y Gro (Gwasg Gomer, 2016), a Perthyn (Gwasg Gomer, 2019). Yn 2022 cyd-olygodd, gyda Ness Owen, A470:Poems for the Road/Cerddi'r Ffordd (Arachne Press, 2022).
Ond mae Sian hefyd yn gyfieithydd llenyddol ei hun. Cyfieithodd gofiant John Sam Jones, The Journey is Home , a nofel gyntaf Alys Conran, Pigeon , i'r Gymraeg o dan y teitlau Y Daith Ydi Adra a Pijin . Yn y Saesneg gwreiddiol enillodd Pigeon Lyfr y Flwyddyn yn 2017 a bu cynhyrchiad llwyfan dwyieithog llwyddiannus. Cyhoeddwyd y llyfrau hyn, yn Saesneg ac yn Gymraeg, gan Parthian. Yn ddiweddar cyfieithodd The Last Firefox gan Lee Newbery (Penguin Random House, 2022) o dan y teitl Y Llwynog Tân Olaf (Firefly Press, 2022). Mae The Last Firefox wedi ennill sawl gwobr.
Mae Susan Walton wedi bod yn cael ei chomisiynu i gyfieithu llyfrau o'r Gymraeg i Saesneg ar gyfer Gwasg Carreg Gwalch ers 2009. Bellach mae tri ar ddeg o lyfrau a gyfieithwyd ganddi wedi'u cyhoeddi, gan gynnwys saith nofel ar gyfer plant hŷn neu oedolion ifanc. Yn ystod 2020 derbyniodd Susan fentoriaeth dan nawdd cynllun Llenyddiaeth Cymru ar gyfer cyfieithwyr llenyddol newydd. Dyma'r tro cyntaf iddi gyfieithu nofel lenyddol ar gyfer oedolion.
GWYBODAETH AM WASG 3TIMESREBEL
Lleolir y wasg yn Dundee yn yr Alban a chafodd ei sefydlu gan Bibiana Mas. Mae 3TimesRebel yn gyhoeddwr annibynnol unigryw a'r nod yw gweddnewid y byd cyhoeddi a chymdeithas.
Gan herio'r prif-ffrwd trwy fod yn rebel mewn tair ffordd mae pob llyfr sy'n cael ei gyhoeddi gan 3TimesRebel wedi'i ysgrifennu yn wreiddiol mewn iaith leiafrifol, wedi'i ysgrifennu gan fenyw, ac yn olaf wedi'i ysgrifennu i ysbrydoli sgyrsiau dwfn a heriol.
Fel cyhoeddwr marchnad deg blaengar mae 3TimesRebel yn ymdrechu i gael cytundebau teg gyda'i awduron, cyfieithwyr, darlunwyr a phartneriaid. Mae'r llyfrau yn cael eu hargraffu yn lleol yn y DU gan ddefnyddio papur wedi'i gaffael yn gydwybodol, gan wneud yr ôl troed carbon mor fach â phosib a chan gadw at safonau amgylcheddol gyfeillgar. This House fydd y llyfr cyntaf iddynt lwyddo i'w gynhyrchu heb unrhyw blastig yn y clawr hyd yn oed, peth sydd yn anghyffredin iawn.
Mae 3TimesRebel yn awyddus i'r llyfrau gael eu cynhyrchu yn grefftus a chan roi sylw gofalu i'r manylion ym mhob ffordd. Creir dyluniad hardd y llyfrau gan y teipograffydd arobryn Enric Jardí, ac mae clawr trawiadol pob un wedi'i greu gan artist penodol.
Website : 3TimesRebel.com | X : @3TimesRebel | Instagram : @3TimesRebel
Worldcub's new album 'Back To The Beginning' out 17th of May, a trippy jaunt through past lives and memory
By Ceri Shaw, 2024-04-09
Worldcub release their new album ‘Back to the Beginning’ is out 17th of May. New single 'One Small Mistake' out on the 12th of April.
Worldcub invites you on a jaunt through past lives and memory with their brand new concept album 'Back To The Beginning' a carefully crafted collection of tracks containing sharp hooks, joyous West Coast pleasure trips and contemplative stop-offs along the way. Beguiling lead single and title track rumbles through time and space, that opens up new worlds on the arms of a kraut rock groove. spacey guitar licks, splashes of keyboards, floating harmonies, the vocal interplay guides you deep into the mind's eye of a melody, at once both wistful for a past and for a future of unknowns.
Worldcub, are a group from North Wales piloted by brothers Cynyr (guitar & vocals) and Dion Hamer (drums & vocals), they began their musical journey under the name CaStLeS, taking influence from 70s/80s Paul McCartney and DIY ‘Fantastic Man’, William Onyeabor . They produce material from their home studio on the hills of Eryri, splicing together elements of surf guitar music, kraut-rock grooves and hypnotic psych tinged Cymru vocal harmonies.
Through fourteen lucid and addictive tracks ‘Back To The Beginning’ journeys through wormholes, keyholes and time warps. 'Grog' is an awesomely woozy trip, fantastic surf guitars decorate a pulsing percussive tapestry, trippy and lilting vocals, it could be something lifted from the famous Nuggets compilations. Haunting ‘One Small Mistake’ with its lucid melodies, almost bossa nova rhythms and bouncing psych pop sound, is an off kilter delight. The album also contains previous single 'Look through the Keyhole' is a hypnotic, West Coast tinged, surf inspired jaunt through past lives and memory. The record also contains Welsh language tracks the gleaming ‘Hel Y Hadau’ and the iridescent entwined melodies, 70s fuzz guitar and insidious percussion of ‘Pwysau Yn Pwyso’ which translates as a Pressing Matter.
Their self-released, site-specific themed debut album Fforesteering gained coverage on major platforms such as The Guardian and UNCUT Magazine, with air time on BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio Cymru & Wales. The band also earned their debut performance slot on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading & Leeds Festival and found success playing shows as part of the 'Horizons 12' scheme; which included a recording session at the historic Maida Vale Studios in London.
After an extensive run of live shows, including festivals such as Liverpool Sound City, Liverpool Psych Fest, Farmfest and more recently BreakOut West in Canada and main support to Public Service Broadcasting at FOCUS Wales Festival, Worldcub emerge again with a new catalogue of material for 2024 along with band members; Calvin Thomas on Bass and Jasmine Roberts on guitar.
Tour dates:
http://www.twitter.com/worldcubworld
http://www.worldcub.bandcamp.com
SENGL NEWYDD SIULA, 'LUCID LOVE', ALLAN NAWR AR LIBERTINO
Mae Siula, prosiect newydd Llion Robertson ac Iqra Malik, yn plethu pop-sinematig gydag alawon meddal ac mae'u trac diweddaraf, 'Lucid Love', yn gwneud union hynny mewn modd cwbl hudolus.
Yn gerddorol, mae 'Lucid Love' yn gweu alawon chwerw-felys gydag hooks hypnotig, tra bod y curiadau cyson yn cydio'n hiraethus a'n efelychu arddull artistiaid fel y Cocteau Twins a Yazoo.
Eglura Iqra: “Mae’r gân yn daith sy’n dangos cyfnodau o gariad a chaethiwed i rywbeth/rhywun, er eich bod yn gwybod nad ydynt yn dda i chi. Mae'n cyfleu’r da a'r drwg mewn perthynas a'r cryfder a ddaw ar ôl i'r cwbl ddod i ben."
Mae 'Lucid Love' allan nawr ar Libertino!
SIULA'S NEW SINGLE, 'LUCID LOVE', OUT NOW VIA LIBERTINO
Siula’s vivid sound pallet evokes a nostalgic yet futuristic dive into a world of poetic optimism and romantic vulnerability and that's perfectly realised on their new single, ‘Lucid Love’.
The Cardiff-based cinematic pop project from Llion Robertson and Iqra Malik have crafted a song that explores the darker side of love. ‘Lucid Love’ is unafraid to delve into the shadowy corners of the heart and expose hidden desire that can turn into romantic obsession.
Musically we can hear the influence of the Cocteau Twins' beautiful and fragile melodies intertwined with Yazoo’s hypnotic pop hooks to create a song naked in its open hearted vulnerability, even as the dance floor lights blind and the rhythm carries your troubles away.
Iqra explains: “The song is a journey that shows the stages of love and addiction to something/someone that’s bad for you; shows the highs and lows of being consumed by someone and the growth that comes after it’s all over. It’s kind of like looking back on something that you know was harmful but appreciating the euphoria you got from the experience (whilst knowing you’re grown enough to never go back).”
'Lucid Love' is out now via Libertino!
SYBS release new 'Canned Laughter' single via Libertino Sengl Newydd SYBS 'Canned Laughter' Allan Nawr ar Libertino
By Ceri Shaw, 2024-03-29
SENGL NEWYDD SYBS, 'CANNED LAUGHTER', ALLAN NAWR AR LIBERTINO
‘Canned laughter’ yw’r gân gyntaf a ysgrifennwyd ar y cyd rhwng gitarydd SYBS, Kieran Macdonald-Brown, a’r canwr/gitarydd, Osian Llŷr. Mae'n nodi sengl ddwyieithog cyntaf y band a hefyd yn ein cymryd yn gam yn agosach at albwm cyntaf SYBS, fydd allan cyn diwedd y flwyddyn.
Yn drac sydd â dylanwadau sy'n ymestyn o bossa nova i pync, mae 'Canned Laughter' yn dwyn ysbrydoliaeth gan bobl fel Mark E Smith (The Fall) a Dave Datblygu.
Eglura Kieran: "Yn y bôn, 'Canned Chwerthin' ydy fi'n trio 'sgwennu cân SYBS ar ôl cael fy nylanwadu'n fawr gan arddull 'sgwennu Osian. Ysgrifennais y riff yn gyntaf cyn gwneud rhyw fath o demo sydyn yn ystod y pandemig. Er hynny, ddo'th y gân 'mond at ei gilydd ar ôl i ni gyd ddod at ein gilydd yn y stiwdio yn Hounslow, ger Llundain, i recordio'r albwm. Yn fano, penderfynom y byddai'r trac yn gweithio'n dda yn ddwyieithog."
Ychwanega Osian: "Yn delynegol, roeddwn i eisiau 'sgwennu cân a oedd yn seiliedig ar fy mhrofiad i o weithio mewn swyddfa. Mae'n dilyn cymeriad unig sydd wedi llwyr colli diddordeb a'u gwaith 9-5 ac yna'n cwestiynu pa mor annheg yw gweld pobl eraill sy'n byw bywydau tebyg ond yn hapus ynddyn nhw ei hunain."
Mae 'Canned Laughter' allan nawr ar Libertino.
SYBS' NEW SINGLE, 'CANNED LAUGHTER', OUT NOW VIA LIBERTINO
‘Canned laughter’ is the first single written in collaboration between SYBS' guitarist, Kieran Macdonald-Brown, and singer/guitarist, Osian Llŷr. It’s also the bands first bilingual song and another step closer to the release of their eagerly anticipated debut album later this year.
‘Canned Laughter’ is bossa nova, post-punk with Mark E Smith meets Dave Datblygu urgent lead vocals pulling the listener in to be fully immersed in the bands exciting musical world. Kieran and Osian explain the background to the creation of their unique and compelling new single.
Kieran explains: "Basically ‘Canned Laughter’ is me trying to write a SYBS song, having been greatly influenced by Osian's writing style after a long stretch gigging throughout 2019, particularly in the summer. Writing the riff firstly, then making a sort of off-kitler muzak/Splatoon inspired demo when the pandemic kicked off. It wasn't until we got together to record the majority of the album in Hounslow that the arrangement, while still maintaining the casiotone beat and the quacky autowah lead lines, was fully worked out with Daf's drums and a heightened angst likely influenced by impending uni finals, the style beginning to lean more into bossa post-punk.
Synths and percussion were overdubbed a bit further down the line, keeping the electric organ sound but adding a g-funk-esque lead synth, at that time very influenced by GTA San Andreas theme. Then me and Osian, deciding it would be fitting to make it a bilingual song, decided to run with the more angsty/paranoid feeling."
Osian adds: "Lyrically, I wanted to write a narrative song, somewhat loosely based on my own experience of office work. It’s about a character who’s going through the motions at their 9-5 who’s lost a sense of purpose with their work, clocking out and wasting away the rest of their day watching sit coms, and becoming envious of these characters' positive outlook on life in spite of their repetitive lifestyle.
Eventually the character begins to spiral after a few too many instant coffees, loses grip on reality and begins to feel they themselves are in one of these sit coms, in a Truman show-esque sense, with every decision made for them already. Essentially it’s a meditation on ideas of free will, and what it is that gives us a sense of purpose and meaning".
With tongue-in-cheek humour throughout, the themes of ‘Domestic Majestic’ revolve around self-care in the face of the difficult and mundane early-2020s. Here’s the Email is the band at its angriest and mostdestructive - presenting the perspective of the disgruntled office worker, now working from home, juxtaposing corporate life lyrics with jagged post-punk chaos. “Here’s the email / Hope you are safe and well / Hope your family’s well.”
On the other end of the spectrum you have Petrol Station Flowers , perhaps the most different and defiant song on the album which could be described as ambient chamber pop. The ghostly slide guitar, reverberating synths and crisp percussion join together as a monumental cloud. It would be the band’s most romantic statement yet if it wasn’t for Better With You, a song which started life as a synth line run through various bass guitar pedals, forming the backbone of the melody. The guitars, trying to find a
way in, pull from classical music tropes rarely heard in rock music. This results in a bombastic, spy movie feel.
'Domestic Majestic Tracklist'
1. Yes Man
2. Here’s the Email
3. Treat Yourself
4. Better with You
5. Me but not Tired
6. Cat Pose
7. The Grand Burstin Hotel
8. Petrol Station Flowers
9. U OK?
10. Little Bird
John Kennedy, Radio X
Bethan Elfyn, BBC Radio Wales
Gary Crowley, BBC Radio London
Adam Walton, BBC Introducing
God Is In The TV Zine
“Silent Forum are a combination of shadowy post punk and the more accessible side of indie rock. Theymove from cold and brooding to nervy, and almost overbold.”
Destroy//Exist
“Silent Forum provide a cinematic take on broody indie rock… The band melds thrumming guitar linesand emphatic vocals with an unwavering beat.”
Buffablog
“So many textures and layers...the rippling guitars and the wall of voices that hit you when you first listen to it...i'm absolutley obsessed'
Molly Palmer, BBC Radio Wales
Gillie' releases new 'Yn Y Bore' EP via Libertino // 'Gillie' yn rhyddhau EP newydd 'Yn Y Bore' ar Libertino
By Ceri Shaw, 2024-02-24
‘Yn Y Bore ’ is a body of work that capture life changing moments, emotionally, spiritually and geographically over the last two years for singer / songwriter / producer Gillie . It is the first material the Carmarthenshire born artist has written in the Welsh language and the first songs written and recorded after her return to live in Wales after spending her late teens and early twenties in London.
Deeply influenced by place, Gillie blends musically on songs that make up ‘Yn Y Bore’ gold-flecked guitar loops into an ambient haze on top of relentless driving rhythms. Gillie harnesses the anxieties, stress and struggles of modern life, weaving them into something unapologetic and inherently intimate.
Gillie explains:
“There have been a lot of changes in my life over the time I wrote this collection of songs. It captures a chapter of two years, with lots of uncertainty and big changes - as this track title suggests, I wanted to end the EP on something that says it's all going to work itself out by the arrival of the morning.
This is the first collection of tracks that I have ever released in Welsh, and it feels nice to bind them together within an EP. These songs are really special to me; I can hear the journey that I have gone on as an artist when I listen to them, and a growth in confidence. They are in chronological order with regards to when they were written and released, so I feel it takes the listener on a journey too.
There are moments of light and dark throughout all four tracks, which perfectly encapsulates my feelings around uncertainty and change. It was really cathartic to explore space and texture within this EP, and lay a foundation for what’s to come next.”
This week sees the extraordinary book Pity the Swagman: The Australian Odyssey of a Victorian Diarist by Bethan Phillips republished. Described by the late Jan Morris as “a truly fascinating book”, Pity the Swagman is a classic that has been out of print for over twenty years.
The book is the biography of Joseph Jenkins (1818-98) who was a successful farmer in Tregaron in west Wales. Without warning, aged 50, he left his farm and family to travel Australia and live as an itinerant farm labourer. His diaries returned to Wales with him and were kept by one of his daughters for over 70 years, until a chance encounter between the author and Joseph Jenkins’ great-grand-daughter.
In his Preface to the book, Dr R. Brinley Jones, then President of the National Library of Wales, describes it as “a very moving human story” and Bethan Phillips’ work as both “readable and scholarly”.
The diary illustrates both the state of Welsh rural society at the time – with social and financial inequality between the poor and the gentry - and the corruption in parliamentary elections. The hardships endured by early migrants to Australia and the travails of the Aborigines are described, as well as the fate of the Kelly Gang.
In her Foreword, written in 2002, Bethan Phillips says:
“The diaries reveal him as a man seeking to exorcise his own demons by attempting to escape from them, but they also reveal him as an astute observer of the people and occurrences impacting on his own eventful life. His dogged determination in keeping a daily journal, often under the most difficult of circumstances and in the most unpropitious surroundings, has given us a uniquely valuable historical record of life in the nineteenth century.”
Bethan Phillips’ spent 15 years studying the original diaries, which covered a period of 58 years, skilfully choosing extracts from them. She also spoke to Joseph Jenkins’ descendants, still living in Ceredigion, hearing family stories, and reading further writings, including his poetry, which won prizes. She also followed Joseph Jenkins’ footsteps in Australia, which was filmed for a documentary for the BBC.
Joseph Jenkins’ diary spanned 58 years and is celebrated as one of the richest sources of information about life in rural Australia. Pity the Swagman is an in-depth, authoritative study of rural life in the nineteenth century and is studied on the school curriculum in Australia.
Pity the Swagman by Bethan Phillips (£16.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
