Today we learn of the death of a man described as " eicon ein llenyddiaeth "- "an icon of literature, " cawr cenedlaethol "- a national giant.The passing of T. Llew Jones at 93 brings sadness to many. It is hard to imagine there being a Welsh-speaker alive today who has not been captivated by the page-turning novels he wrote for children or the masterful poetry which earned him two National Eisteddfod Chairs (1958, 1959).Fewer perhaps realise that this polymath school teacher was also a chess impressario, and published with his son Iolo what must certainly be the best-written book on chess in the language!T. Llew will be remembered by generations of learners of the language, also; his nofelau i ddysgwyr set a standard both in terms of the language used and the quality of the stories set in his native Ceredigion.He described the pleasure he received from his more than 90 books: "Dw i di sgwennu llawer o lyfrau, 'dw i ddim wedi gwneud fy ffortiwn fel awdures Harry Potter, ond 'dw i wedi cael miloedd o lythyrau gan blant, a dyna'r cyfoeth dwi'n gyfri o ysgrifennu llyfrau." ["I've written lots of books; I haven't made my fortune like the author of Harry Potter , but I've had thousands of letters from children, and those are the riches which count for me in my writing."]Fellow poet and current Archdruid Dic Jones paid tribute on this mornings Post Cyntaf on Radio Cymru (and cited on BBC Cymrur Byd ): Bydd y genedl gyfan yn gweld ei eisiau, fel bardd, athro, beirniad, llenor a darlledwr llais unigryw oedd wedi ei greu ar gyfer meicroffon. Bydd llawer ohonom yn teimlo fel petawn yn edrych i gyfeiriad y silff ben tn ac yn gweld un o'r llestri gorau ar goll. Gorau cyfarwydd y byd oedd [The entire nation will feel his loss, as a poet, a teacher, a critic, prose-writer and broadcaster [] Many of us will feel as if we were looking towards the mantelpiece, noticing that one of the best pieces of china has been lost. Gorau cyfarwydd y byd oedd .]This last sentence is from the Mabinogi , said of the magical Gwydion who conjured Blodeuwedd of flowers: he was the best story-teller in the world .Link to a biography of T. Llew Jones in English here .Wicipedia entry (in Welsh) here .