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To celebrate 'Mimosa' day we are offering a copy of 'Voyage To Patagonia' autographed by both Luis Orias Diz and Adam Khan. All you have to do is answer the three following questions and email your answers to :-
The deadline for entries is August 7th 2010 and the lucky winner will be announced on the site on August 8th. Please remember that we will only accept one entry per email address and duplicate submissions will be disqualified. Just go to the following url :- The Mimosa Lands in Patagonia this day in 1865 and answer the three questions below.
1. How much was the adult fare aboard the Mimosa from Liverpool to Patagonia?
2. On what date did the Mimosa sail from Liverpool?
3. What is the name of the town which grew near the spot where they landed?
Pob lwc/Best of luck
Comment or leave a message on the Argentine Welsh Duo's AmeriCymru page HERE.
The Welsh Argentine Guitar Duo are Luis Orias Diz and Adam Khan. Argentina and Wales have strong links and the duo is exploring the musical heritage of both countries as well as performing works from their respective folk traditions and pieces by living composers from Wales and Argentina. AmeriCymru spoke to the duo about their history, influences and their forthcoming Album and tour of Wales details here :-
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| Voyage To Patagonia |
If you can remember the 60s, you werent there! Yet in the 1960s, a singular and beautiful church was built in the unassuming town of Gorseinon. This church is the only one of its kind in Wales and one of only three in the UK. The church was built entirely from funds raised by the parish. The story of how a tiny Welsh parish of only 200 could raise the money to pull off such a remarkable feat and the meaning behind the rare design, is told in a new book called Fanfare for a Church . A book to rival Dan Browns except that this is a true story! Yeah Dai Dando, Up Close, The Schoolboy, Fugitive Three
| AmeriCymru was delighted recently, to be given the chance to review a range of titles from one of Wales smaller independent publishers - Cinnamon Press. The four titles reviewed below will be available along with many others from our booths at NAFOW , Left Coast Eisteddfod and Wordstock . We should also point out that there is still one week to go in our competition to win a copy of Harrison Solow's critically acclaimed 'Felicity And Barbara Pym' ( also published by Cinnamon Press. ) For a review and competition details please follow this link:- Felicity And Barbara Pym - Harrison Solow. Review & Competition. |
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Dai Dando hails from Pontypridd and works for a building society in Cardiff. Beer, rugby and a series of amorous adventures more than adequately occupy his leisure time. Until one night after offering his sofa to a late night drunk, who missed his last bus home, life starts to take a more reflective turn. Simultaneously his most recent affair degenerates into a Brian Rix farce, albeit without the polka dot boxer shorts. These events inspire the protagonist to a confused but none the less heartfelt and poignant reflection on the nature of life in modern Wales and upon the vexed question of Welsh identity. A hugely entertaining but surprisingly subtle and profound work from Welsh author and literary journalist, Meic Stephens .
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Shelagh Weeks' portrait of the collapse and rebuilding of a family very well captures the mutations of real human relationships: parent and child, husband and wife, brothers and sisters. Her characters' experience hum with recognizable authentic history and emotion. Here is the pang of loss as things change and pass away, the hope of new opportunity and future, bitter acceptance of disappointment, things we all know intimately in our own lives and our own families. Her characters are well drawn, their motivations sympathetic and her prose gently illustrates their story.
Up Close follows a family with three young children on holiday as the parents' marriage collapses. Years later, they are reunited at a family christmas get together, in South Wales and find resolution of some difficulties and new ways to confront others.
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Holly Howit t is a writer of microfictions, novellas and novels, as well as non-fiction and academic pieces. The Schoolboy has been selected for the Aur Pur/Pure Gold library promotion She recently read at the Hay Festival as part of an event based around coming of age novels. Also on the panel were Stephen May, author of Tag (Cinnamon Press), and Elaine Walker, author of The Horses (Cinnamon Press). All three titles will be available at the AmeriCymru booths at NAFOW, the Left Coast Eisteddfod and Wordstock. This is a challenging book. The central character is a 16 year old sociopath whose prurient obsessions and horrific acts of violence are conveniently masked by his rather tenuous grip on reality. Whilst he is certainly not a likeable character one cannot altogether avoid empathising with him . This fact is a tribute to the extraordinary quality of Holly Howitt's writing and the main , rather unsettling, appeal of this work. |
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Mike Jenkins is a bard of the South Wales working class. He is a former editor of Poetry Wales and a long-term coeditor of Red Poets' He taught English at Radyr Comprehensive School in Cardiff for nearly a decade. He lives in Merthyr Tydfil and has done for 30 years. AmeriCymru is especially grateful to him for his contribution to this site entitled 'The Journey of The Taf' which can be found here:- http://americymru.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-journey-of-the-taf
Impress Review : - "Sharp, funny, fast paced and precisely executed, The Fugitive Three is a dazzling display of dialect, plot and characters who, despite their flaws, are completely believable and eminently likeable." |
| | Cinnamon Press is a small, independent publisher based in Wales & publishing the best new poetry and fiction with occassional non fiction and cross-genre titles. Books come from Wales, the UK and the world. We run writing competitions twice a year to find new voices in poetry and fiction with three categories (novel/novella; poetry; short stories) - each category has a cash prize plus publication. You can find our excellent list of titles at www.cinnamonpress.com " |
Coming in October from Seren - 'The Dreams of Max and Ronnie' by Niall Griffiths in the 'New Stories From The Mabinogion Series'. Niall will be at this years Left Coast Eisteddod and appearing at Wordstock in Portland , Oregon in October this year.
The Dreams of Max and Ronnie: New Stories from the Mabinogion by Niall Griffiths - book cover, description, publication history.
6. Special Promotions
Members wishing to launch 'special promotions' for goods or services which they provide, or on behalf of third parties, must first clear this with the site creator and moderators. Such 'special promotions' will be allowed to proceed if they are deemed appropriate. Site decisions on 'special promotions' are final and no lengthy email correspondence will be entered into in the event of a rejection.
Individually messaging all members on this site and dropping links on their home pages will lead to suspension for spamming. We cannot allow this practice as it vastly degrades the effectiveness of the site. Many of our members have something that they wish to promote. If everyone dropped a link on everyone else's home page this would lead to a free for all and many members would elect to adjust their email preferences to ignore all emails from AmeriCymru. Such anti-social practices spoil things for others and adversely affect the integrity of the site.
If you have something you wish to promote via this site please contact us and we will be only too happy to assist. We are able to offer featured interviews/articles/events/giveaway competitions etc which will be syndicated via AmeriCymru and other social sites. Provided your promotion has Welsh relevance there is no charge for this service. We thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
For further clarification of any of the above please email americymru@gmail.com
Diolch
" AN EISTEDDFOD NEEDS MUCH NURTURE, SOME OF WHICH IS TEDIUM,
FUNDING TOO IS A FACT OF LIFE, SO LET TONGUE TIED BE YOUR MEDIUM."
"Hello. My name is Peter Griffiths and I've a message for members of Americymru and readers of Ceri's blog. Sadly, the Left Coast Eisteddfod's effort to win funding from Chase fell tantalisingly short; a mere 32 votes short on a base of 1449. Had there not been a glitch in the voting system on the final day, LCE's bid would almost certainly have succeeded. Those of you who voted must feel disappointed, and those who tried but failed, frustrated; above all, our cheerleaders, Ceri and Gabbi must feel gutted. But there's hope, a second chance beckons; these negative emotions may be eradicated at a stroke. I've donated 100 copies of my novel Tongue Tied, published 15 months ago by Y Lolfa, to the Eisteddfod. Copies are priced at $16, so should you collectively rise to the occasion and buy the lot, the Eisteddfod would gain $1600. Steve Dube wrote of Tongue Tied in the Western Mail in Cardiff, "As the author says, his book aims to entertain, but also to glorify Wales, its people, and its language. It does all of that." Similarly, Lise Hull wrote in Ninnau, "This tale of what it means to be Welsh should be on evereone's reading list, whether they've been to Wales or not, whether they are Welsh or not." These comments should reassure you that a purchase of Tongue Tied, as well as being an altruistic gesture in support of the Left Coast Eisteddfod,is also a guarantee of reading pleasure.. "
AmeriCymru is honoured, pleased, and excited to announce that author Peter Griffiths has very generously donated the proceeds of the sale of one hundred copies of his novel, Tongue Tied, to the Left Coast Eisteddfod. For each copy sold, the Eisteddfod will receive $16 and the buyer an autographed and dedicated copy of Tongue Tied. This is a wonderful way for you to support the Eisteddfod while at the same time enjoying a novel which Lise Hull describes in Ninnau as "a tale of what it means to be Welsh and which should be on everyone's reading list, whether they have been to Wales or not, whether they are Welsh or not.". ( http://www.ylolfa.com/henstraeon.php?first=249 )
Tongue Tied is set in the Tryweryn valley, in the shadow of Arenig Fawr, in North Wales, and in the Rhondda and around Llanelli in the South. The novel recognises the tension that has arisen at times between the majority of Welsh people who can't speak Welsh and the minority who can. It suggests, with respect to national identity, that "one is Welsh if one feels Welsh." As to style, Tongue Tied is strongly influenced by Cynghanedd, an old and very strict Welsh poetic form. As a result, the novel abounds with alliterations and poetry within prose.
Tongue Tied was published by Y Lolfa just over a year ago and is already closing in on its fourth printing.
To get your copy, please send $19.00USD (shipping is already included) to MLMEF P.O. Box 80293, Multnomah Village, 97280 * or use the PayPal 'Donate' button in the right hand column on this page. If you use the PayPal option please email us at americymru@gmail.com with your postal address. Please make checks payable to the 'Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation'. Diolch!
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 It is well known that Wales is primarily a rugby nation, but golf is becoming increasingly popular. A collection of anecdotes, jokes and humorous tales relating to the golfing world will be published this week. Golfing Jokes by Dilwyn Phillips, covers the subjects of Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden, Titters on the tee, Fourballs, Mixed Fours, Caddies, the 19th Hole and some general facts and fiction. Tiger Woods obviously gets a mention! Many of Waless rugby heroes play golf, and the sport is set to attract more interest with the Ryder Cup coming to the Celtic Manor Resort later on this year. Author Dilwyn Phillips has unearthed jokes covering all aspects of the game. He says, These DIY golf books usually cancel each other out. One book tells you to keep your eye on the ball, the next says not to bother. Personally, I have a much better idea: ditch the teach-yourself books and have a titter on the tee with this one. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did collecting the stories from my golfing pals. Dilwyn, who hails from Pontarddulais in south Wales, now lives in Los Montesinos, Spain and enjoys a round or two of golf and beer. He is the author of several best-selling joke books. Golfing Jokes (3.95) will be released by Y Lolfa on Monday the 5th of July and is available in book shops and on www.ylolfa.com . |
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The novel melds several common storylines that affected the lives of many men in the first half of the twentieth century. Thomas lived through desperate times but in the end he was one of the lucky ones Thomas T. Moynihan was born in 1947 and was raised in Ystalyfera in the upper Swansea Valley. He started work at 15 years of age at Ynyscedwyn Colliery before moving on to an engineering factory. He is married with two children, and is presently working with adults with special learning needs. This is his debut novel. To Win Against the Odds is published by Y Lolfa in June 2010. |
