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Afternoon all,
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Sharon Jenkins
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John Good is well known throughout the West, South, Midwest and in his native Wales as a multi-instrumentalist, Welsh piper, singer/songwriter, storyteller, composer and poet. John Good and Liz Warren''s performance of ''Pwyll Prince of Dyfed'' is available as a digital download on this page or below.
To coincide with the launch of the digital download on AmeriCymu, we interviewed John about the importance of the Mabinogion in his life and work.
AmeriCymru: What is the Mabinogion? Does it have a theme or purpose? Why were these particular stories gathered in one volume?
John: In the first place, the word Mabinogion is probably a scribal error institutionalized by Lady Guest, the work’s first major translator. The common Welsh plural suffix …ion seems to be an understandable mistake on the part of the probably monastic scribe who, although not the author, collected and wrote down these tales in Dyfed(?) and they should probably be called Mabinogi. With either spelling, the word is not fully understood. Mab means son and the most commonly agreed upon meaning is something like the life/instruction/biography/rites of passage (?) of the Prince (Pryderi). This name, whatever it might have conveyed to medieval taffies, is rightly only applied to the first four stories (branches), in which, in varying degrees of focus, we are told about Pryderi’s birth, upbringing, recovered birthright, manhood and death. In Branwen, for example he is barely mentioned; in Manawydan he is a major character, leading many commentators to believe we only have preserved incomplete tangled threads of this and a vast web of native tales that went the way of much material of the ancient oral tradition. The other tales in the collection are mainly of later collection/writing (Culwch ac Olwen might be earlier) and some show the influence of continental literature. But throughout the collection, fully integrated almost casual magic and the infrequent light Christian overlay, suggest a distant and probably pagan age as the genesis point of at least some of the material.
To try to answer the second and third parts of your question, I’d say that Lady Guest was just translating earlier Welsh language collections, excluding some of the material and including a number of these old Welsh stories that attracted and motivated her to seek out literary/linguistic knowledge and help, and God bless her for doing it! The four branches have a common theme: The subtle instruction by a scribal monk (?) of a warlike elite that discretion is often better than rash valour which, with the ever present and increasing threat across Offa’s Dike was pertinent; at the same time that leaders should be wisely decisive and also, that dabbling in deception and magic leads to bad ends. This is my opinion and far from universally accepted. I’ll get back to that at a later date. The other tales, like all good stories outline various moral strengths/weaknesses along with the results of wisdom and rashness. But we must never forget that these stories were meant as after-repast entertainment for the ruling classes, drawing on real/perceived and mythic history/genealogy; medieval interests, customs, law and etiquette; magic and wonders; humor, dark-age in-jokes and commonly known allusions; romance and chastity; mystery and revelation and not to forget heroism and armed conflict. In other words, the so called ‘Mabinogion’ is a pre-Norman-dominance, native Welsh Netflix.
AmeriCymru: H ow important is the Mabinogion in Welsh literature? How would you advise new readers or students to approach the work?
John: The tales are amongst the earliest recorded Welsh prose tales in the Welsh language (11th or 12th centuries). They provide a fairly detailed picture of early Welsh life, albeit mainly the ruling and semi-divine classes and thereby a context for other Welsh literature, particularly poetry. King Arthur makes a very early literary appearance which has importance for a world-wide literary character-obsession that continues to this day and hour. Once the 20th century vitriolic and historically short-sighted literati were superseded by equally brilliant yet compassionate modern commentators, the scribe of the four-branch Mabinogi is being recognized as a master of his craft rather than a confused monk who didn’t understand his material. In a word, dare I say they show strong elements of masterpiece, if we can ever forget the nearly thousand intervening years and embrace the different yet fully developed and sophisticated native minds of a society that was capable of much more than internecine blood baths and probably, after 1066, found the invading William the Bastard as a very dangerous churl.
So to answer the second part of the question (How would you advise new readers or students to approach the work?), open your mind/intellect/imagination; slip back a millennium, imagining yourself in the hall, at table, warmed by the fire and a glass or two of mead, beer or wine; loosening a couple of bodice buttons when the ‘storyteller’ steps up and the general conversation ebbs.
AmeriCymru: What is your personal relationship with the work? What does the Mabinogion mean to you?
John: I am a proud Welshman and Welsh speaker. When I read the tales, especially in the original Welsh – with aid from Ifor Williams’ notes, a historical vocabulary and modern dictionary – I feel connected to past greatness and an otherwise often allusive magical experience of belonging. These days when I visit my home town and see the Golden Arches peddling chemically altered trash to increasingly overweight local kids, I sometimes despair. When I sit by the gentle and wise giant Bendigeidfran (Bran the Blessed) as he skillfully avoids Celtic mayhem breaking out with Ireland, I am recharged and ready to do what I can to preserve and even strengthen the remnants of a once and future culture!
AmeriCymru: There have been several translations of the text. Which one would you recommend?
John: I have always liked Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones’ version. Sioned Davies, Gantz and Ford are all good but Lady Guest’s version is still a quaint classic. If you’re a Welsh learner, there are any number of children’s versions in accessible Welsh. For more advanced speakers/readers, the version by Dafydd a Rhiannon Ifans is hard to find but lovely and, to read the original, go to the classic Pedeir Keinc y Mabinogi gan Ifor Williams.
AmeriCymru: What in your opinion is the most interesting or significant of these tales and why?
John: I don’t really have a favorite, but like all aging children I delight in the magical parts, especially the dragons which leads me to Ludd a Llefelys. As for interesting and significant, Manawydan fab Llyr ties up loose ends from Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed, encapsulates what I take to be the overall message (discretion trumping valour) of the four branches and is very cleverly put together. You also see our scribe clearly using the techniques of oral storytelling … repetition of stock phrases and scenarios; mystery and marvels; use and integration of separate tales and an almost parable-like underlying fabric. Culwch ac Olwen is the wildest, may be the oldest, not to mention that a pre-Chretien De Troyes - and tantalizingly different - King Arthur graces the pages.
AmeriCymru: Why did you choose Pwyll for your first recording with Mythic Crew?
John: It’s the first. You know, on page one. [Sorry Ceri!] We also worked on, performed and recorded Branwen (to be available later) and would like to do the lot. The interesting thing about this project is that we present the stories as contemporary oral storytelling with musical accompaniment. We are not reading from a script, and the music is structured improvisation, making for sometimes considerable variations and fresh audience interaction each time, which may well be the way they were given before they were written down. So, we are recreating traditional yet contemporary oral performances based on a textual interpretation of an even earlier oral repertoire; the wheel having taken a leisurely multi-millennial and complete revolution. But, pretention aside, it’s a hell of a lot of fun and a great thrill to do the research, discuss and agree on the slant/pitch of the tale - trying to respect the original - then rehearse, add the music and step out into that circle of light and bring these ancient Welsh classics back to life for a new century of listeners.. so there!
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Journey – Responses to Place, An Interview With Sculptor & Artist Sue Roberts
By Ceri Shaw, 2014-01-18
Susan was born in 1953 in Sussex. From 1979-82, she obtained an education degree at Bulmershe College, Reading (B.Ed). After having brought up a family, she embarked on a Foundation Course in Fine Art at Pontypridd College of Art, i.e. from 1997-98, which was followed, from 1998 to 2001, by a degree course in Art & Aesthetics (BA.hons) at University of Wales Institute Cardiff. In 2001 to 2003 she completed her art education by a M.A. Course at UWIC/Howard Gardens Cardiff. She lives and works in Cardiff where she has been active for the past 20 years; has her studio in Canton, Cardiff.
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AmeriCymru: Hi Sue and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. How does one become a sculptor? How did your interest in this art form evolve?
Sue: I moved to Wales in the early 1980s with my husband who is Welsh and I thought it was important to learn to speak Welsh. My children went to Welsh language nursery in Cardiff where I started helping out. Eventually I became the teacher of the class and this involved making things with the children every day. I have always liked making things it is a creative process. When I left the nursery there was a chance to do something for myself and this was when I started my journey into the world of art. At the age of 43 I did a foundation and enjoyed it a lot. The only difficult thing was deciding what medium to work in. I chose ceramics, painting, printing, and photography as this way I could carry on making. I then went off to the University of Wales Institute Cardiff and did a BA in Art and Aesthetics which was so enjoyable, that I went straight on to do an MA in Fine Art. It was whilst I was in UWIC that I was introduced to sculpture. My main interest was in the human body and in particular the female from which was something I understood. I was keen to find ways of portraying women that moved away from the conventional forms of beauty. Having had five children I had a particular interest in the mother. I read a lot about ways women had been portrayed in prehistory and fell in love with early carvings of mother Godesses. As a mother of five here were depictions of a beautiful female body I could relate to but they werent conventional to the modern eye. By the end of my MA my life had changed a lot. Art had become something inside me. I got myself a studio and I started working, as well as teaching Drawing at a local community Arts Centre. I have always felt it important to pay my way with my chosen path. It took a bit of juggling to get things right in terms of family and art but it all seemed to fit in.
AmeriCymru: We note from your website that you work in metal, stone and ceramics. What are the advantages and limitations of these materials for your work? Do you have a preference?
Sue: I love working in metal, but it is a team game, and takes a lot more organizing. I mainly work in wax clay or plaster first and then when money allows I get things cast in iron or bronze. I suffer from diabetes which can make the physical work difficult but there are excellent technicians in Wales who help with the process. I sometimes use a chisel and stone but I find working in plaster to be a very tactile experience. I try to express this tactility into my work and in particular into the surface texture of the finished piece. I use rough and smooth areas to express tension or inner conflict. I also use twists in the body to express emotions and often make pairs of figures that interact with each other as well as the viewer.
Bronze has a sense of universality about it which is something I like to play with and iron is a brittle material that corrodes over time. The surface of raw bronze can be changed using chemicals to create different colours and iron rusts which can also be very expressive and very beautiful or you can wax or paint the surface. I also work in stone which takes a great deal of effort. It is the opposite of building something up in clay or plaster. You just chip away until you feel the form is there. It can be difficult, heavy and dirty work but the rewards are great.
AmeriCymru: You also paint. How would you characterize your paintings and drawings?
Sue: I teach life drawing which is vital to my understanding of the body. Drawing is often a starting point for my sculpture. It allows me to search for those moments of expression or to develop ideas. Painting is another way of expressing the things I want to say. I usually paint single figures, the background is a space, so in a way it is similar to sculpting for me. I tend to work on very large canvases and this is also similar to the monumentality of some of my sculpture.
AmeriCymru: Can you tell us about your involvement with the Sculpture Cymru project - Journey Responses to Place?
Sue: I am Vice Chair of Sculpture Cymru which is a group of sculptors from Wales who come together to promote sculpture. The group has had exhibitions all over the Europe including Germany, Ireland and France. The Journeys Project is a response to landscape and in our case the Welsh landscape. At one of our Journey meetings, a sculptor from Brecon , Matthew Tomlin said something that described what we had all done up to that point. There is an atavistic tendency in our ideas, a sense of the disappeared, fragile, destroyed or lost - over long periods of time together with whatever it is remains and whatever still contains the memory of lost lives. We have used this quote to describe our work. The intention is to explore the idea of a special place of interest and our relationship to that place and its past.
When our children were young we would take them out on day trips and in Wales that often meant historic or prehistoric sites. As we explored I fell in love with this beautiful country and its long, rich history. My response to the project is to combine my love of the history and geography of Wales with my sculpture. So for my part of the project I have devised a project called Figure in the Landscape which involves visiting places that are special to me and rather than just taking photographs or memories away I decided to leave something behind that marks my visit. So I have made some small figures that I intend to leave at these special sites. There is an element of pilgrimage in this project and pilgrimages often end with an offering. Making art is like making an offering, so that is what I am doing. Each figure will have a tag attached that asks people to take the figure to a place that is special to them. I am then asking them to take a photograph of the figure in their special place and tell me something about why it is special to them. I have started a Facebook page for collecting this information and pictures. By using Facebook as a medium to share my work seemed to me to be one way to bring it from the past up to the present.
www.facebook.com/figureinthelandscape
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Maen Llia
This work will then be shown at the several exhibitions for Sculpture Cymrus Journeys project. These will show the works of all the members and the first show will be at the Gas Gallery in Aberystwyth from February 26th to April 1st This will be followed by three other venues around Wales including Oriel Lliw in Pontardawe, the Wyeside Gallery in Builth Wells, and Arts Central in Barry. There will also be a book relating to the Journeys project.
Details about the Journeys project will be posted on the Sculpture Cymru website which is
AmeriCymru: What's next for Sue Roberts? Do you have any further exhibitions planned?
Sue: Recently I was lucky enough to get a grant from the Welsh Arts Council. This was a great boost for me and allowed me to make lots of work. However artists have to promote themselves which doesnt always come naturally but there is no point doing all this work if it doesnt get seen.
In March I have a solo show at the Cynon Valley Museum and Art Gallery in Aberdare so that means a lot of work as I have to fill two floors! I am a member of several groups which show work in Wales and around the world. Earlier this year I was part of a show in Vienna and I am currently part of an exchange program with the International Society of Experimental Artists and The Welsh Group. Through this some of my work is currently being shown in America. The exhibition starts in Florida and will then move on to California. I am also going to be part of a show in Mid Wales, then in Dusseldorf later this year.
I am a founding member of a group called 3ormore which is a mentoring and exhibiting group. We have two shows lined up in Cardiff, one which is actually inside the Welsh assembly itself and the other at the fabulous Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay. Next year we will be showing at the newly renovated Penarth Pier.
I am also a member of the Vale of Glamorgan artists where we are having an exhibition in the beautiful Dyffryn Gardens in October. The idea is to make work that responds to the space.
I am a committee member of the Women Arts Association which is having several exhibitions in March to celebrate womens day.
So it is a very busy time for me which is great. There is a website of my work at
www.suerobertsartist.co.uk
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Sue: I came to the world of art fairly late in life because I was busy having a family, but I believe it is important for people and nations to express their identity. The Arts are under a lot of pressure at the moment with the financial problems we all face, but art is a way of telling others what you think and feel. It is a way of talking about the things that are important to people. Sometimes these things are abstract or difficult but art seems to be the ideal way to address these things and begin a dialogue. Art is an important part of our culture, so I can only urge people to get involved, either by having a go for themselves or through supporting the arts. If you are on a day out in Wales and spot a little figure lying there with a label on it, pick it up and take it somewhere that means something to you and that might be your first steps to becoming an artist.
Check out our selection of St Dwynwen's Day ecards here .
You can customize the cards with your own message and your text will appear on the reverse of the image just like a postcard ( see below ) .
Front
Back
More card selections to come soon!
More Here - dysgwr2014
After chatting with Brett on AmeriCymru the other night the above question occurred to me. We were talking about fish'n'chips ( pysgod a sglodion ) when I realised that my Welsh vocabulary for common dishes and menu items is woefully deficient. Bangers'n'mash is a well known British culinary masterpiece and gastronomic delight. I occasionally cook it and here is my recipe ( please note the mystery ingredient ):- Bangers'n'Mash
The problem is, of course that the term bangers'n'mash is highly idiomatic and would not translate literally other than as literal nonsense. So I'm wondering if there is a Welsh name for this dish? If anyone knows please feel free to comment below.
On a more serious note I have recently discovered that there are a number of novels and short story collections available for Welsh learners. Most of these have vocabularies either on the page or at the back of the book and they are all easy to read.
It seems to me that reading through a few of these, mentally translating them at first but eventually grasping the meaning directly from the Welsh language text, would be a good way to speed up the learning process. Has anyone tried this and if so with what result?
Here are a few Welsh learners titles from our Dysgwyr Cymraeg page:- Eistedd Ar Groen Ieti , O Law I Law (Welsh Edition) , Nofelau Nawr: Tri Chynnig I Blodwen Jones , 4 Stories for Welsh Learners (Welsh Edition) , Bywyd Blodwen Jones (Nofelau Nawr)
I am keen to be able to read the popular Welsh language novels of Lloyd Jones - Y Dwr and Y Daith True, one of them will be published in English language translation later this year but thats not really the point is it.
N.B. It's still not too late to join the AmeriCymraeg 2014 online Welsh class on the site. Just click the text link or image below for instructions on how to enrol. We only covered basic pronunciation last week so it shouldn't be difficult to catch up. 
Click here or below to for the 'How To Enrol For AmeriCymraeg 'page
More Here - dysgwr2014
I'm looking forward to my second class in the AmeriCymraeg term on Wednesday night. I am also looking forward to ridding myself of one particularly stale and irritating habit that I picked up years ago.
At a lunchtime Welsh course I attended in Caerdydd back in the 90's we students were tasked to respond to the question "Y dych chi'n siarad Cymraeg? " ( Do you speak Welsh? ) with an original Welsh sentence of our own device.
I was horrified! This involved a combination of grammar and creativity. The former was beyond me and I was in no mood for the latter on a wet Wednesday afternoon. So ... I resorted to ellipsis .
I wrote my 'sentence' as follows and enunciated accordingly:-
"Dwi'n dysgu Cymraeg nawr...ond yn araf....mae'n waith caled." ("I am learning Welsh now....but slowly....it's hard work")
To my shame I have been answering the same question with the same phrase, or phrases, ever since. BUT I am determined that 2014 will be the year when I finally abandon the three dots and learn to speak ( and write ) Welsh in whole joined up sentences.
Sound file:- dysgucymraeg.wav
N.B. It's still not too late to join the AmeriCymraeg 2014 online Welsh class on the site. Just click the text link or image below for instructions on how to enrol. We only covered basic pronunciation last week so it shouldn't be difficult to catch up.
Click here or below to for the 'How To Enrol For AmeriCymraeg 'page
