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To his friends in the 14 th century Dafydd ap Gwilym was paun cerdd, eos Dyfed, and penceirddwalch ‘the peacock of poetry’, ‘the nightingale of Dyfed’, and ‘the hawk of chief poets’. More than 650 years later he is still considered by many to be the finest Welsh poet ever. He is a delightful, at times hilarious, poet who explores the emotional complexities of love, especially unrequited love, with a self-mocking style that teaches us more than he seems, at first, to be saying. To say he loved nature is an understatement. He loved the world in all kinds of weather, which he...
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE FOR AMERICYMRU READERS AmeriCymru is pleased to announce the availability of a small number of first edition hardback copies of 'John Jenkins: The Reluctant Revolutionary?' by Dr Wyn Thomas. The hardback first edition is now out of print. Originally priced at $34.00 this important & historic biography can be yours for only $23.99 including shipping and handling (offer applies in U.S. only). New, unread and unmarked but slightly damaged with bumped corners. "The mastermind of a Welsh bombing campaign in the 1960s claims that the terrorist group he led could have...
Read MoreThe author of an unusual new handy pocket-sized phrasebook is hoping to use humour to inspire people to learn a few basic bits of Japanese in readiness for the Rugby World Cup, which will be held in Japan in September 2019. Unlike many traditional phrasebooks, Teach your Dog Japanese Rugby World Cup 2019 Travel Edition (Y Lolfa) shows that learning useful expressions doesn’t have to be boring or daunting, and makes picking up a few basics accessible to everyone. Every phrase is shown in both romaji (Japanese words spelt out using our alphabet) and English, accompanied...
Read MoreThis week sees the publication of In Passing: A Welshman’s bizarre adventures from Merthyr to Mecca by distinguished Welsh academic, Professor Randall Baker. The unusual collection of offbeat anecdotes are a collection of just some of the strange incidents which have happened to him over a period of 65 years, and over several continents: “ I am lucky to have done an awful lot of travelling, including with the Spanish Foreign Legion in the colony of Spanish Sahara, being surprised by several nasty earthquakes, and being in East Germany as they built the wall, but my...
Read MoreA new novel by Welsh author Sam Adams was inspired by a family Bible. The novel called In the Vale , published by Y Lolfa, is a family saga that takes the reader from London to the Vale of Glamorgan and outwards into the social ferment and bloody turmoil of the Napoleonic era. It was inspired by the Williams family, who lived in the Vale of Glamorgan. George Williams, Rector of Llantrithyd was the Bible’s original owner, and used it to record the births and deaths of his and his wife Sarah’s children. Sam Adams received the Bible, which has been passed down from father to son since...
Read MoreThis week sees the publication of a book of delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes from the hugely successful catering company No Bones Jones. No Bones Jones: Festival Cookbook shines a spotlight on the authentic, wholesome vegetarian and vegan food that the company supplies to festivalgoers across the UK. No Bones Jones started after Hugh Jones returned from a long period driving an overland tourist bus around India, Nepal and Turkey in the 1980s. “When he left, he knew little about food or catering, and cared even less. When he came back, he was a man transformed! He...
Read MoreLLYFR NEWYDD I DDATHLU COFIWCH DR YWERYN! Rydyn ni angen eich lluniau a’ch straeon! Mae Gwasg Y Lolfa’n paratoi cyfrol ddwyieithog i drafod a dathlu’r ffenomenon ddiweddaraf o furluniau Cofiwch Dryweryn, i’w chyhoeddi yn Hydref 2019. Bydd y gyfrol yn cynnwys detholiad o’r murluniau newydd sydd wedi eu creu o gwmpas Cymru mewn ymateb i’r trosedd casineb yn erbyn y murlun eiconig gwreiddiol. Meddai golygydd y gyfrol Mari Emlyn: “Cyfyngir y dewis o luniau i furluniau yn bennaf. Ni fydd yn bosib cynnwys pob murlun a llun yn y gyfrol, ond rydym yn chwilio am...
Read MoreThis week sees the publication of Mostly Welsh , a collection of poems by Chris Armstrong. The collection blends the historic with mythological and personal themes and deals with love, loss and his relationship with Wales and Ceredigion. The process of writing the collection began over 15 years ago: “After losing my wife, nearly all of the poems I wrote were focussed on her and losing her – things I wished I had expressed while she was still alive, or at least said better, said more or more often. Poetry – both reading and writing – developed into some sort of catharsis or...
Read MoreIn the summer of 2012 musician Delyth Jenkins walked the 186 miles of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path over a period of 17 days. With her she carried her Welsh harp and hoped to give a series of impromptu path-side concerts. That Would Be Telyn (Y Lolfa) is an inspiring account of her adventures and the people she met and played for along the way. Delyth set out to challenge herself both physically and creatively and combined three things that she loved: walking, playing the harp and the Pembrokeshire coast. “The walk itself was a creative process. I had no idea when I started...
Read MoreThe crisis of plastic in our oceans has been exposed on television in recent months. Now a Welsh author is introducing the importance of marine life and its conservation to children in a new wonderfully illustrated book. The book is called The Grimpots , about a family of fun-loving umbrella octopuses and has a strong ecological message is published by Y Lolfa. Author Gilly John is fascinated by the natural world and its lesser-known inhabitants, and takes a keen interest in conservation. “Encouraging children to be curious about the world around them can only be...
Read MorePacked with lively double-page illustrations, a new book starring a small dragon has been hailed as the Welsh Where’s Wally? However, Find the Dragon! has an obvious Welsh slant, with every double page showing an iconic Welsh location, including Mount Snowdon, Caerphilly Castle and Portmeirion. Other scenes include the Red Wall at a Wales football match, a Gower beach and a farm full of disobedient sheep. As well as searching for the little dragon, the pictures can also be used to search for many other bizarre objects and characters listed at the back of the book....
Read MoreREVIEW Teach Your Dog Welsh may be the cutest book I have ever seen in my life. Illustrator Anne Cakebread has done a fantastic, small volume of useful and everyday Welsh phrases for dogs, many of which are also useful when speaking to your fellow humans. I’m supposed to be reviewing it and then giving it back, but I’m afraid that’s not going to happen. I’m keeping this copy and everyone else will just have to buy their own. Teach Your Dog Welsh is published by Y Llofa because who else would do this book but “the fun place”? Each of the more than fifty nifty...
Read MoreThis week sees the publication of Absolutely Huge (Y Lolfa), the hilarious memoirs of Gethin 'Huge' Hughes, Welsh rugby's most famous imaginary player. Affectionately sending up Welsh rugby and the media hype surrounding it, Absolutely Huge spoofs the standard tell-all sports autobiography format, charting the highs and lows of Huge’s remarkable and meteoric rise from youth player to worldwide star, and revealing the truth behind his often controversial career both on and off the pitch. The book has already received great reviews, with The Guardian describing it as “an...
Read MoreMeic Stephens’ last book, More Welsh Lives , was published only a few days before the author himself died. Eirian Jones, English-language editor at Y Lolfa, said: “It is sad and ironic that Wales’ best known obituarist has himself died but knowing Meic was unwell, we made a special effort to ensure he was happy with the proofs and was able to receive a copy of the book -- his final one of so many.” More Welsh Lives is his third collection of obituary notices published originally in The Independent and profiles a wide variety of prominent Welshmen and women...
Read MoreThe final instalment of a trilogy which tells the tantalising story of the final years of Glyndŵr's rebellion is published this week. Glyndŵr: Dragon Breathes Fire by the late Moelwyn Jones is an imaginary novel based on the real life battles of Owain Glyndŵr, and follows Glyndŵr: Son of Prophecy published in 2016 and Glyndŵr: To Arms! published in 2017. Moelwyn Jones started his career as a Welsh and History teacher, and was particularly interested in the life of his hero Owain Glyndŵr, which he researched thoroughly for the trilogy. Sadly,...
Read MoreThe timeless story of the search for a better life is the inspiration behind and message of Rob Gittins’ new novel, Hear the Echo , which is set around an Italian café in a vividly portrayed South Wales Valleys community. The critically acclaimed novelist has also won awards for his screenwriting, and has written for numerous top-rated television drama series, including EastEnders, Casualty, The Bill, Heartbeat, Vera and Stella as well as many original plays for Radio 4. In 2015 he received an Outstanding Achievement Award in recognition of his work as EastEnders’...
Read MoreIn a new book titled Finding Wales , author Peter Daniels writes in praise of the Welsh and what drives Welsh exiles such as himself to return to Wales. Mark Easton, BBC News’s Home Editor, has recently enlightened us with the results of his study into English identity, The English Question Project, in which he claims that ‘interlaced English and British identities remain an important part of how the people of England see themselves. For many it seems the two are almost interchangeable’. ‘Britishness’ means Shakespeare, the House of Commons, idyllic English country villages, the...
Read MoreIolo Morganwg is an enigmatic historical figure in the Vale of Glamorgan and beyond. Gareth Thomas' novel I, Iolo , published this week by Y Lolfa, uses research and evidence recorded by his contemporaries and academics to recount his prodigious and astounding story. Iolo Morganwg had many faces: stonemason, self-taught scholar, poet, hymnist, politician, patriot, revolutionary, druid, failed businessman, drug addict, campaigner for human rights and perpetrator of the greatest act of literary forgery in European history. The closing years of the 18th century were, in Iolo...
Read MoreOne woman walked around Wales in a bid to visit and celebrate some of the country’s holiest sites. In 2015 Anne Hayward spent three months as a pilgrim, travelling on foot to visit some of Wales’ holiest sites and carrying everything she needed to camp along the route. Her main objectives were four ancient places of pilgrimage – Holywell, Bardsey Island, St David’s and Llantwit Major – but she also visited numerous churches and other places of interest along the way. Her reflections, insights and experiences will be published this week by Y Lolfa. In A Pilgrimage Around...
Read MoreA decade after the death of one of the world’s best journalist photographers, the Welshman Philip Jones Griffiths, the first ever biography detailing his life and work has been published in Welsh. The volume Philip Jones Griffiths – Ei Fywyd a’i Luniau (His Life and Photography) by Ioan Roberts, is published this week by Y Lolfa and contains fifty impressive photographs by Philip himself, from Wales to Vietnam and many other countries. Philip Jones Griffiths is remembered mainly for his photographs of the Vietnam war – photographs that contributed to changing the attitude of...
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