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February 2014 ISSUE No. 2 WELSHfest 2014
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" Yes, the Welsh in America can be very proud of their heritage. And it is to be hoped that as each St. David Day comes around more people will remember how much good has come from so small a country, where the greatest honor each year is to be crowned Poet of the Year. "
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The renowed historian Gerald Morgan has published an informal, wide-ranging guide to Wales. Looking for Wales (Y Lolfa) is a pocket-sized introductory guide for the curious and inquisitive reader.
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How did dragons, goats and leeks become symbols of Welsh identity? Did Cardiff really want to become the Welsh capital? And where did all the Joneses come from? Looking for Wales answers these – and other – questions while also providing more conventional information on Welsh castles, churches as well as Welsh music, literature and sport.
“Looking for Wales is presented as an introductory guide to Wales, but I would argue that it’s a must-read for every Welshman,” says the author Gerald Morgan. “I can promise any Welshman or Welshwoman, however learned they may be, that there’s something in this book they don’t know about their country!”
Every page is informed by Gerald Morgan’s lifetime interest in Wales and its culture. The author is a respected historian, teacher and author who admits that he has “been in love with the history of Wales since I was ten years old…”. His other published works include Castles in Wales and Ceredigion: A Wealth of History.
“You may think you can survive without knowing about Winston Churchill and the Welsh goat, about Edith Mair Leonard, John Graham Chambers or Samothes, but I would like to persuade you otherwise.”
Similar to A Brief History of Wales, another one of Morgan’s popular guides, Looking for Wales is an easily digestable, pocketable and affordable introductory guide to Wales, priced at £4.95.
Gerald Morgan lives in Aberystwyth. After teaching English at Ysgol Maes Garmon, Mold, and at Ysgol Gyfun Aberteifi, he served 22 years as headteacher first of Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni and then of Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig, Aberystwyth. A second career saw him teaching Welsh and local history in Aberystwyth University. He has published numerous books and articles on a wide range of subjects, focussing on Welsh history.
Welsh First Minister To Visit New York - Dylan Thomas 100th Anniversary Celebrations
By Ceri Shaw, 2014-01-29
AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh poet and Seventh Quarry poetry magazine founder and editor Peter Thabit Jones about plans for the forthcoming DT100 ( Dylan Thomas 100th Anniversary ) celebrations in New York and other US cities.
"Dylan Thomas is a cultural icon around the world and a poet who made a major impact on poetry itself. In many ways, poetry was never the same after the publication of the astonishing 18 Poems in 1934 and 25 Poems in 1936. For Wales, it is a great opportunity to celebrate his life and works and to put the spotlight on the main places of his inspiration, Swansea and Laugharne, indeed the whole of Wales."
Two Men. Two Quests. Two Centuries Apart.
Four Ways To Experience The Search For A Lost Tribe.
Album. Book. Film. App.
In 2012 I embarked on an investigative concert tour of the American Interior, retracing the steps, and looking for the grave of a relative called John Evans.
John Evans left Wales for Baltimore in 1792 and walked into the wilderness of the Allegheny mountains in search of a lost tribe of Welsh-speaking Native Americans, believed to be the descendants of Prince Madog.
Over seven eventful years, with very little in the way of resources, he embarked on a series of incredible adventures, lived with several First Nation tribes and left a trail of political chaos from which America never recovered. I took his cue and travelled through the Midwest playing gigs and writing songs. In St Louis I picked up Kliph Scurlock from The Flaming Lips, who joined me on drums. We powered up the Missouri River by boat, playing more shows on the shore. In Omaha we went to Mike Mogis's Arc studio and cut a record, then carried on upriver to play the UMOnHOn and Fort Berthold reservations.
Dylan Goch who directed a film called 'Separado!' about my previous investigative concert tour joined me again and shot a new documentary on the way.
When I got home I wrote a book about the tour and John Evans's epic adventure. It's called American Interior. The film is also called American Interior. As is the album .
Just so there's no confusion there's an app that tells the same story in a brand new way. It's called American Interior too.
Evans was last sighted in New Spain in 1799 under a new name: Don Juan Evans. Did he find the tribe he was looking for? What became of him? What is it that sends men and women to the ends of the Earth in the vain pursuit of glory? I'll try and explain all in a PowerPoint presentation (across the nation) this summer.
In the meanwhile here's a trailer for the aforementioned:
Click on the image below to check it out. First St David's day cards added.
Jim Perrin talks to Gwen Watkins about his new book 'A Snow Goose and other Stories' at the National Library of Wales on January 29th at 7.30 pm. For full details and to read the flyer click the image below.
