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MEMOIR THEME FOR NEW WELSH READER
New Welsh Reader Autumn Edition (115)
Publication date: 1 September 2017
The autumn edition of New Welsh Reader includes exclusive extracts from entries to the New Welsh Writing Awards 2017: Aberystwyth University Prize for Memoir. First place winner Catherine Haines’ memoir gives an insight into a young woman’s experience of anorexia while at Oxford University. As the Cambridge Weight Plan spins out of control, a post-grad’s academic subject, ‘the mind-body problem’, goes through an existential phase to become ‘extraordinary morality’ rather than a mental health problem. Second-placed ‘The Case’ by MJ Oliver tells the story of Jim, an emigrant from England to Canada, as he awaits release from a progressive mental hospital and reconciliation with his baby daughter. He is in turns hopeful migrant, stowaway, farmer, thief, hobo, rough poet and ever-loving brother. Third-placed ‘People, Places and Things: A Life With the Cold War’ Adam Somerset paints a sweeping landscape of the Eastern Bloc as experienced through the eyes of a British backpacker. Beginning the Highly Commended entries, ‘The Red Circle’ by Maria Apichella is the story of daughter’s Pennsylvania road-trip with her Italian-American father. ‘On Shifting Sands’ by Liz Jones; a true tale of family rift and reconciliation, and finally ‘Boystown, SA’ by Robert and Amanda Oosthuizen, a story told by a husband to his writer-wife. Also included is an essay on spirituality and landscape in recent travel and poetry titles from Welsh publishers, covering Jim Perrin, Nathan Llywelyn Munday, Biddy Wells, David Lloyd Owen & the poetry of Ruth Bidgood.
POETRY FROM Rosie Garland, Charlie Bird, Ashleigh Davies, Ben Wilkinson, Meg Eden, Chris Emery, Manash Firaq Bhattacaejee and Michael Derrick Hudson.
An Interview With Jean Blundell, Friends Of Fort Belan Association - North Wales
By Ceri Shaw, 2017-08-22
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From the Wikipedia Fort Belan :- "The fort was built in 1775 for a reported cost of £30,000 (£3,451,642 as of 2015), by Thomas Wynn, then MP for Caernarfonshire and later to become Lord Newborough. He was worried about the vulnerability of Britain’s coastline to attack, particularly because of the ongoing American War of Independence. Fort Belan was the only purpose-built fort of the American Revolution on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean."...
The winners were as follows:
1 st Prize: Airlings by Rae Howells (Swansea)
2 nd Prize: Skimmers by Jane Burn (Consett)
3 rd Prize: On watching a lemon sail the sea by Maggie Harris (Llandysul)
Kathy also choose another seventeen poems for the ‘Highly commended’ section with another fifteen poems also given a ‘special mention’. As always winners came from all over the world. All winning poems and judges’ comments can be viewed on the competition web site – www.welshpoetry.co.uk
Judge Kathy Miles said: “It has been a real honour to judge this year's Welsh Poetry Competition. And, with over 500 entries, a somewhat daunting task, not least because of the quality of the work submitted. Subjects were wide ranging; love, loss, the failure of relationships, and – as one would expect in such dark political times – anger at the world we live in. Many poems dealt with heart-breaking scenarios: death, the decline of a loved one into dementia, homelessness, war, the refugee crisis. There were also many pieces that focussed on Wales, and I was reminded again of how much wonderful poetry is inspired by the history, culture and language of the landscape around us.
“Judging is necessarily a subjective process; but from the start I looked for something different. A quirky style, a new slant on an old subject, a strong narrative voice, or imagery that lifted the poem from mere description into something that truly excited the imagination. It was such a strong field that I read each entry many times before deciding on the final placings: every poet had something unique to say, and I wanted to give every poet the chance to shine. The Highly Commended poems in particular were very close, and all of an extremely high standard, so the choice was difficult.
“Inevitably, the poems which made it through were those that kept me awake at night. Poems which tugged at the edges of my dreams, or whose words huddled in little corners of my mind and leapt out when I least expected it. Well done to everyone who entered. It has been wonderful -and humbling- to see so much talent. A huge thank you to Dave Lewis for encouraging and fostering that talent and for inviting me to be the judge this year.”
Full list of winners:
WELSH POETRY COMPETITION 2017
Judged by Kathy Miles
1 st Prize: Airlings by Rae Howells (Swansea)
2 nd Prize: Skimmers by Jane Burn (Consett)
3 rd Prize: On watching a lemon sail the sea by Maggie Harris (Llandysul)
HIGHLY COMMENDED
4 th : Ten Minutes – Natalie Ann Holborow (Skewen)
5 th : Hare on the lane – Louise Wilford (Barnsley)
6 th : Sunflower Encolpion – Mara Adamitz Scrupe (USA)
7 th : Bergamask for the Neoplatonists – Mick Evans (Llangadog)
8 th : Bones, not human – Caroline Davies (Leighton Buzzard)
9 th : The art of moving a piano into an upstairs flat – Kittie Belltree (Cardigan)
10 th : lost poem – Mick Evans (Llangadog)
11 th : Otters – Gareth Writer-Davies (Brecon)
12 th : In the Bowes-Lyon Museum – Pat Borthwick (Kirby Underdale)
13 th : Running – Natalie Ann Holborow (Skewen)
14 th : Cawl – Mari Ellis Dunning (Swansea)
15 th : desert sculpture – Mick Evans (Llangadog)
16 th : Rough Magic – Noel Williams (Sheffield)
17 th : The Wren – John D Kelly (Newton Butler)
18 th : Top Corris – Zillah Bowes (Cardiff)
19 th : Grip – Mick Evans (Llangadog)
20 th : Bluebeard – Helen May Williams (Pendine)
Bryn Seion Welsh Church - 82nd annual Gymanfa Ganu
The Welsh Society of Oregon held its 82nd annual Gymanfa Ganu at Bryn Seion Welsh church in Beavercreek on June 25th 2017. It was part of a wider Welsh celebration which included a lively Noson Lawen at the Lucky Labrador pub on Saturday night. The event was well attended with around 200 participants showing up for the afternoon and evening sessions.
Musical director Nerys Jones and organist Geneva Cook were joined by Harpist Bronn Journey in the afternoon, and The Picton Singers in the evening, for a lively and uplifting program of group singing and performances.
During the afternoon session Tad Davis outlined future plans for Welsh events in the Spring and Fall to supplement the already scheduled Portland Gymanfa Ganu and Christmas celebrations. The Society has also recently established the 'Gwaddol Group' which will seek to raise funds for "individuals conducting Welsh research, or support for development of music or art with a Welsh connection." ( for more details go here )
Noson Lawen - Portland 2017
The Welsh Society of Oregon’s annual Noson Lawen was hosted by the Welsh Society Festival Chorus who presented a handful of enchanting Welsh tunes. MCs Andrea Wild and Hugo Glanville led the crowd in pub singing and their band Three Pound Note also joined them on the stage for some Welsh, Cornish and English folk songs. Throughout the night there were contributions from the floor and one of the evenings highlights was a reading of Dylan Thomas's 'August Bank Holiday' given by Jonathan Nicholas.
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Bryn Seion Welsh Church, Beavercreek, Oregon
Bryn Seion (Mt Zion) was built in 1884, and is the last active Welsh church on the Pacific Coast. Visit the church website here: Bryn Seion Welsh Church
What Is A Gymanfa Ganu?
From the Welsh Society of Oregon website:- "Gymanfa Ganu (guh-mahn-vah GAH-nee) is a magnificent Welsh hymn-singing festival and more! Literally meaning “sing gathering,” it is a tradition of song and worship that has been practiced in Wales for centuries. The songs are sung in English and Welsh in four-part harmonies. Bryn Seion Welsh Church, Beavercreek, Oregon, has carried on the Gymanfa Ganu tradition since 1935. You don’t need to know Welsh to make a joyful noise, so please join us."..... Read More
The Welsh In The Northwest
Many Welsh moved into Oregon and Washington Territory in the 1880's. When train travel opened up the west. They found that land was cheap and abundant. Compared with the Great Plains, the land was much morelike that of Wales.
HMS Morris are a Welsh Art-Pop group that delve into the wonky, odd-ball side of psychedelia, finding the balance between bold experimentalism without giving up accessibility. ‘Morbid Mind’ and ‘Arth’ showcase the range of the band’s songwriting, sailing from a White Denim –esque fluster to melodies reminiscent of traditional Welsh folk music. ‘Morbid Mind’ explores the morbid curiosity that resides within all of us, that drives the popularity of ‘murderabilia’ and lies behind the rubbernecking instinct. The lure of the morbid can be explained as a noble desire to empathise with the unfortunate, but can also lead to obsession, insanity, even death...
‘Arth’ (Welsh for ‘Bear’), is a tribute to an animal associated in cultures around the world with spiritual strength, courage, and harmony with the cycles of the Earth. Today, as the fight intensifies to overcome the forces destroying our global communities and habitats, it seems more important than ever for us to channel the spirit of Arth. Following the success of their debut album ‘Interior Design’ the band are excited to showcase new material alongside old favourites and will be hitting the road from April.
Live Dates
June 23rd - Chester Live, Chester
July 1st - Gwyl Tafwyl Festival, Llandaff Fields, Cardiff.
Biography
HMS Morris are a Welsh Art-Pop group that delve into the wonky, odd-ball side of psychedelia, finding the balance between bold experimentalism without giving up accessibility. 'With an undercurrent of post-punk edginess, the group toy with colliding synthesisers and cooing vocals and still manage to create something cohesive and alluring' (Clunk).
Released in November 2016, the band's debut album 'Interior Design' is 'a real trip, a multi- dimensional sound that traipses across hitherto unexplored regions of sound' (Clash), and with an as yet untitled follow-up already in production, it seems the voyage is just getting started.
Photo credit: Rhodri Brooks
