Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Literature
Wales has an incredibly rich literary history, with storytelling firmly embedded in the na-
tional psyche. The Welsh language is also a defining characteristic, its lyrical nature and
descriptive quality heavily influencing the style of Welsh writers. Caradoc Evans'
(1883-1945) controversial collection of short stories,
My People,
was one of the first works
of fiction to bring Welsh literature to a worldwide audience. Its publication in 1915 saw a
move away from established nostalgic themes and instead exposed a darker side of Welsh
life.
In an international sense, however, it was the bad-boy genius of Welsh literature, Dylan
Thomas (1914-53), who was Wales' most notable export. He is probably best known for
his comic play for voices,
Under Milk Wood,
describing a day in the life of an insular
Welsh community. You can visit his boathouse home in Laugharne.
Welsh literature also matured with home-grown heroes taking on the clichés of valley
life and developing more realistic, socially rooted works. Among the leading figures, poet
and painter David Jones (1895-1974) began the trend with his epic of war,
In Parenthesis,
published in 1937. Kate Roberts (1891-1985) explored the experiences of working men
and women in rural Wales, often evoking qualities of a time since past with
Feet in Chains
. The elegant
On the Black Hill,
by Bruce Chatwin (1940-89), also evokes the joys and
hardships of small-town life, exploring Welsh spirit and cross-border antipathy through the
lives of torpid twin-brother farmers.
Dylan Thomas' reputation for hard drinking almost over- shadows the impact of his literary works, but he
is acclaimed for writing half a dozen of the greatest poems in the English language, including such time-
less works as
Fern Hill
and
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
.
Poetry
In terms of poetry, the loss of the referendum for devolution in March 1979 was a catharsis
for modern Welsh literature. It heralded a flood of political and engaged writing and poetry,
most notably the left-wing historian Gwyn Alf Williams' re-evaluation of Welsh history in
his master- piece
When Was Wales?
This renaissance of Welsh poetry among a younger generation of poets, such as Menna
Elfyn, Myrddin ap Dafydd, Ifor ap Glyn and Iwan Llwyd, took poetry out of the chapel,
study and lecture room to be performed in pubs, clubs and cloisters. This led to a series of
