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Adjudication from Peter Thabit Jones
Americymru 2018 Poetry Competition results
It was a real pleasure to read such a variety of poetic voices among the submitted poems. Most of the entries pulled me into their worlds and kept me there for the duration of their unfolding. Many fine lines settled into ‘the larder of my heart’, to quote my dear American friend Vince Clemente, an emeritus professor and poet. As always, I was looking for a poet whose work revealed an individual and an original voice, something fresh in their offering of a compact and crafted use of language, a poet whose observations and feelings are brought together in a seamless way.
I was truly impressed by the poems of Peter Lewis, Peter Lautz, K. S. Moore, Paul Steffan Jones, and Michael Madden. They are all poets with a controlled array of strong writing skills and with very engaging approaches to their subject matter. It was a tough decision, but the somewhat delicate and yet deep poems of Peter Lewis are my choice for the winner of the 2018 Americymru Poetry Competition.
The winner of the 2018 competition is Peter Lewis.
Peter Thabit Jones
Poet, dramatist, and publisher
Read the winning entries here:- Poems by Peter Lewis
Congratulations/Llongyfarchiadau to this year's winner Peter Lewis
2019 West Coast Eisteddfod Online Short Story Competition Winner's Announcement
By Ceri Shaw, 2019-03-05
Adjudication from Mike Jenkins
''It was a tricky choice, but in the end I went for 'Flapper Girl' by Anisha Johnson, which really caught a moment in time very well. I really liked the humour of 'Nativity' as well."
The winner of the 2017 competition is Anisha Johnson.
Mike Jenkins
Read the winning entries here:- Flapper Girl by Anisha Johnson
Congratulations/Llongyfarchiadau to this year's winner Anisha Johnson
St David's Day 2019 - A Message From Gwenno Dafydd 'St David's Day Ambassador To The World'
By Ceri Shaw, 2019-03-01
ENGLISH/SAESNEG
CYMRAEG/WELSH
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Gwenno Dafydd - St David's Day Ambassador To The World
Gwenno Dafydd is the instigator of the Saint David's Day Anthem (Lyrics: Gwenno Dafydd Music: Heulwen Thomas) which was launched by The Presiding Officer of the Welsh Assembly Government, Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas in 2008. She has been promoting and developing Saint David's Day activities worldwide since 2006 when the Saint David's Day Anthem 'Cenwch y Clychau i Dewi' (Ring out the bells for Saint David) was performed in public for the very first time in the National Saint David's Day Parade in Cardiff. She has instigated the tradition of 'County Banners' throughout Wales to celebrate Saint David's Day. This year, the first County Banner, The Pembrokeshire Banner, which is kept on permanent display in the East Cloister in Saint David's Cathedral, will be joined by two new County Banners, those of Montgomeryshire and Carmartheshire.
The Saint David's Day Anthem, which will this year be sold from the very prestigious Ty Cerdd website, patron Karl Jenkins, alongside the music of Welsh composers such as Grace Williams, William Mathias, Morfydd Llwyn Owen and Gareth Glyn. The Saint David's Day Anthem has been performed not only in Wales but also numerous times in Canada, Los Angeles, Patagonia, Disneyland Paris and the Houses of Parliament. Every year the Pembrokeshire Banner is paraded around Saint David's Cathedral whilst local school children sing the Saint David's Day Anthem.
She has created an Iphone App to learn the Welsh National Anthem and is the author of 'Stand Up & Sock it to them Sister. Funny Feisty Females' which had been described by Funny Women, the UK's leading female comedy community as 'the ultimate canon of female stand-up comics'. She is a Leadership and Public Speaking Coach and works extensively via Skype and even has some clients in Los Angeles.
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Beca a Catrin is now available on Amazon.
(The Welsh version of Reba and Katherine/Messy Hair Game)
Softcover * 36 pages * 8.5 x 8.5
There is also a corresponding coloring book.
Ages 3-7
ISBN: 9781945669385
Available on Amazon: Beca A Catrin
About the book:
Reba and Katherine are two sisters who learn a lesson about patience and forgiveness as their choice create more work for Grandma. The story provides opportunity for interesting discussion about consequences and decision-making. You can listen to a free English audio version on the website. The book contains both English and Welsh text.
Author Gail Gritts
Gail grew up deep in the heart of the Ozarks in Missouri, USA. Life led her to England where she and her husband Tom raised their own family of five. Today, while she still lives in England, she relishes the opportunity to keep the family tradition of storytelling, including the mishaps and adventures of Reba and Katherine, with her thirteen grandchildren. Gail has been a freelance writer for many years writing magazine articles and devotional materials. Messy Hair Game is the first in her series about Reba and Katherine.
Illustrator Javier Duarte
Javier is a Uruguayan illustrator. He specializes in profession illustrations, portraits, cartoons, comics and children’s books and is currently working as a freelance artist locally and internationally.
Translator Emily Stirrup
My name is Emily. I am eight years old and I love Messy Hair Game! I live in North Wales in a town called Colwyn Bay. My mom and dad are both Welsh and I go to a Welsh school. I had a great time translating the story for my friends. I hope you enjoy the story, too.
Website: www.truestorykeepsake.com Email: truestorykeepsake@gmail.com
AmeriCymru Top Twenty
This playlist includes the tracks which have been most popular on the AmeriCymru site over the last ten years. Each of these tracks has been posted , liked and commented upon more than any others. They are not arranged in any particular order and no online vote was taken (we may do that next year). The list has been published to coincide with Dydd Miwsig Cymru 2019. If you don't know what Dydd Miwsig Cymru is, please visit their website here:- Dydd Miwsig Cymru
Track Listing
But what makes this competition so special? Some would say the judges, others the sheer quality of the winning entries but one thing is for sure the competition is here to stay.
Famous Welsh writer, filmmaker and environmental activist John Evans has played a big part. He judged the first two years and has returned on four other occasions choosing poems with subjects as diverse as 'the brutality of war', ‘the plight of captive killer whales’, ‘Munch’s The Scream’ and ‘vegetarianism’.
Other judges have included Sally Spedding, twice winner herself and a respected crime novelist. Celebrated children's writer Eloise Williams and Cardigan-based Bridport Prize winner Kathy Miles can also be counted amongst the competition’s excellent judges. This year, one of Wales' best poets, Cardiff City fan Mike Jenkins, returns for his second time at the helm.
But maybe there is another reason why writers from all over the world love this humble contest that began life as a drunken conversation between Dave Lewis and John Evans in a Clwb Y Bont backroom at one o’clock in the morning, and that is its honesty and integrity. Unlike many competitions your poems are judged anonymously and no filter judges are used. This means a complete beginner can compete against a seasoned veteran. A successful, traditionally published author can fight it out with a newly self-published blogger.
“We offer true equality,” says organizer Dave Lewis. “In a time when corporate greed and influence seem to infect every aspect of our lives and ruin the opportunity for the little guy to succeed the Welsh Poetry Competition is a rare beacon of hope,” he continues.
“Both myself and John love the underdog and coming from a no-nonsense town like Pontypridd you know you’re not going to get given anything for nothing, especially by the establishment that control the purse strings in Wales, so it’s best you just strike out on your own and go for it.”
The competition organizer, Dave Lewis, shuns the limelight however. A well-respected poet himself he continues to self-publish his often avant-garde work rather than seek acceptance from the mainstream just so he can continue to push the boundaries of his art. He also runs a small self-publishing company, called Publish & Print, where he helps other writers get into book form and realize their own ambitions.
This year’s judge, Mike Jenkins, needs no introduction of course being one of Wales’ top poets, famous for his lively performances and writing workshops. He has performed at the Hay Festival, won an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors and has co-edited Red Poets for 25 years, an annual magazine of left-wing poetry from Wales and beyond. His latest book is ‘ From Aberfan t Grenfell ’ (Culture Matters) with artist Alan Perry.
With entrants from over 40 countries having taken part in the past this year promises to be no different and with £500 on offer to the winner, plus many other prizes for the chosen runners-up, the International Welsh Poetry Competition will once again punch above its weight in the literary calendar. If you want to enter just check out this year's contest on the official website - www.welshpoetry.co.uk
International Welsh Poetry Competition 2019
1st Prize - £500, 2nd Prize - £250, 3rd Prize - £100, plus 17 runners up published on our website and in a future anthology.
Judge - Mike Jenkins
Starts - 1st Feb 2019
Closing date - 26th May 2019
Poems in English, 50 lines maximum
Entry fee - £5 (£6 PayPal)
Entry forms, rules and details on our website:
Competition Web site - www.welshpoetry.co.uk
Competition Judge – www.mikejenkins.net
Organiser Web site – www.david-lewis.co.uk
Twitter - @welshpoetrycomp
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/
Link above to BBC Radio 4 Web Site Programme
Melvin Bragg did a radio programme. The link is above on the BBC Radio 4 Web Site
It's about Owain Glyndwr who proclaimed himself Prince of Wales and who is buried secretly in Herefordshire - the position of his grave is passed on to the next generation on the death bed. It's somewhere over in the Golden Valley that leads to Hay on Wye. They mention how the Mortimer Marcher Lord of Hereford and Mid Wales sided with him and how the Welsh were finally recognised through his decedents the Tudors. How Owain used the historian Geoffrey of Monmouths Books to try to unite others - who refers to the British being the decedents of the people of Troy.
Owain Glyndwr tried basically to unseat the Norman Marcher rulers in Wales and thus the Norman King Henry of England wanting himself the rule Wales & the West Midlands with Mortimer ruling the South East England.
Many thanks to AmeriCymru reader Owen Evans for the above message and heads up.
Dydd Miwsig Cymru Playlist - Cyn Mynd Mas - Prinks, Welsh Playlist Cymraeg
Check back tomorrow for a new playlist. You will need a Spotify account to play this content.
Dydd Miwsig Cymru is on February 8th this year. Here on AmeriCymru we are not waiting for the big day. As part of our campaign to support this event and make it the biggest online musical happening of 2019 we will be posting a new playlist every day between now and the 8th. Listen to our today's playlist above. Feel free to re post and share.
Above all...spread the word!!!
Lets give these artists and musicians the recognition they deserve. Show your friends (and the world) what a wealth of extraordinary musical talent we have in Wales. There are ideas, suggestions and playlists on the official Dydd Miwsig Cymru site to help you out.
Prefer to make your own YouTube playlist? It's easy! There are full instructions here:- Make Playlist
Want to embed your playlist on your site or blog? Again....no problem! Go here for full instructions:- Embed Playlist
Whatever you decide to do between now and the 8th; whether you participate or simply sample the wealth of musical delights on offer....enjoy/mwynhewch! 
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