Anthology Alert ~ Orizont Literar Contemporan Antologia from Romania

Editor-in-chief Daniel Dragomirecu

My copy of the Antologia for Orizont Literar Contemporan | Contemporary Literary Horizon arrived today from Romania. This publication opens with a sequence of poems by Peter Thabit Jones, editor of The Seventh Quarry, from Wales. It also features my interview with Martin Locock, editor of the new anthology, Poetry from Strata Florida, produced by Carreg Ffylfan Press (2014). 

I am grateful to Iulia Andreea Anghel at the University of Bucharest for her translation, '1 Mai: Zmeu Roşu în Strata Florida', of my poem, '1st May: Red Kite at Strata Florida'. 

Anthology Alert ~ Book Launch and Reading at Ystrad Fflur aka the Abbey of Strata Florida

We are just back from Strata Florida, where we attended a  Beirdd a Thywysogion / Poets and Princes Day,  laid on by CADW in conjunction with the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies.

David peeping through the arch

The ruined abbey nestles in the Cambrian mountains, and is one of our favourite corners of Wales. We were treated to bilingual talks on the 'manuscripts and princes' (Ann Parry Owen) and 'food in medieval Welsh poetry' (Alaw Mai Edwards). Martin Locock led tours of the site, and I was surprised to learn that Bath stone had been used in this remote location for part of the entrance. 

Preparing for action ...

Medieval fayre was available at lunch time, thanks to the Cegin Cartref chefs. A potter and printer were on hand to help with the production of pots and decorative printed pages. I was fascinated by the 'smelting' work of a 'Medieval' metal-worker and by the weaving and cording techniques of the costumed textile artisans. 

Martin Locock launched his new anthology, Poetry from Strata Florida, an Anthology inspired by the Ystrad Fllur Landscape, 1350-2013 (Carreg Ffylfan Press 2013). The anthology includes my poem, '1st May: Red Kite at Strata Florida'. The illustrations in the volume are by Linden Fletcher, with photographs by Scott Waby. 

Martin Locock, editor of 'Poetry from Strata Florida'

Martin writes, 

"This volume brings together medieval and contemporary poetry inspired by Strata Florida Abbey and the supposed grave of Dafydd ap Gwilym. The landscape of the area has provoked a powerful response in writers, whether from the natural and architectural beauty, sympathy with nature, meditations about the Welsh nation and language, sombre thoughts about mortality, or closeness to God. 

The volume is mainly English language, with those poems originally written in Welsh presented as parallel texts with a translation.  It contains poems by Dafydd ap Gwilym, Hedd Wyn, Harri Webb, Ruth Bidgood, R S Thomas, Gillian Clarke, Gwyneth Lewis and members of Red Heron: Lampeter Writers' Workshop, with an introduction summarising the landscape's heritage.  The volume is illustrated with historical prints and new linocuts and photographs."

Martin introduced the book, before handing over to Professor Dafydd Johnston, Director of the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Aberystwyth. Dafydd gave an introduction to the Medieval poems about the Abbey. 

Professor Dafydd Johnston introduces the Welsh poets in the anthology

Time for the launch. Anthology illustrator, Linden Fletcher, in light blue rain jacket.

 

Martin reading his poems

I read my Strata Florida poem from the new anthology, and appropriately we spotted a number of Red Kites gracing the higher slopes of the Cambrian hillside behind the Abbey arch. 

Yours truly ...

I stuck with the theme of poets and their resting places, reading two of my chapbook poems, 'Monte Testaccio: Mound of Potsherds' (about the feral cats who live near the grave of Keats in Rome) and 'Elegy for Idris Davies', the colllier poet from Rhymney. As it happens, Professor Dafydd Johnston is the editor of The Complete Poems of Idris Davies (University of Wales Press, 1994).

Readings from Kathy Miles and Josie Smith followed. In one of her poems, University of Wales Trinity St David Librarian and poet, Kathy Miles, homed in on the exquisite work of illuminated manuscript preparation in the Scriptorium. 

Kathy Miles

Josie Smith's piece, 'A Last Farewell' (from the Lampeter Writers' Workshop anthology, A Star fell from Orion), was inspired by Keats' final journey, and resonated with my Monte Testaccio poem. 

Josie Smith (left)

Martin brought the poetry proceedings to a close with samples of his own work. His poem 'Scribe and Scripture' evokes so much of what this place means to me ... a sunlit cloister and a poised quill. 

The Taliesin Stone (words by Gwyneth Lewis, stone art by Rob Turner) ...

... and a Medieval tile, showing person with mirror

Do consider buying a copy of this anthology. It covers almost all known poetry works about the site, with perhaps the notable exception of 'Lament for a Leg' by John Ormond. Ormond's Strata Florida poem pays tribute to the inscription on a grave containing 'The left leg and part of the thigh of Henry Hughes, Cooper', which 'was cut off and interr'd here, June 18, 1756.' Henry Hughes subsequently crossed the Atlantic, leaving the severed limb behind him . . .




Thank you, Martin and the Strata Florida 'team', for organising a truly inspirational day!

Anthology Alert ~ Launch of 'Poetry from Strata Florida' at Poets and Princes Day

If you are within reach of Strata Florida / Ystrad Fflur in mid-Wales, do come and enjoy the 'Poets and Princes' day, laid on by CADW and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies on 14 September.

A number of us will be reading our poems at 2pm, during the launch event for the new anthology (cover below, editor Martin Locock of Carreg Ffylfan Press). As you can see from the poster, there will also be sessions on princes, poets, pottery, printing and food! Martin will be leading guided tours around this special site ... and you may even see a Red Kite or two.

Anthology Alert: 'Poetry from Strata Florida', edited by Martin Locock

I would like to mention this new book of poems, edited by Martin Locock of Carreg Ffylfan Press, about a very special place in Wales, namely the area around the ruined Cistercian abbey of Strata Florida, also known as Ystrad Fflur. Strata Florida lies between Pontrhydfendigaid and the wonderful Red Bog of Tregaron in Ceredigion.

The abbey was founded in 1164. The Abbey Church, in the care of Cadw, is adjacent to the graveyard, which is still used for burials. According to tradition, it is the resting place of the 14th century Welsh language poet, Dafydd ap Gwilym, and a memorial to him can be viewed under a yew tree. This ancient yew shades the bodies of eleven princes of the Welsh Royal house of Deheubarth, who were also buried here during the 12th and 13th centuries. A stone marker in the Chapter House commemorates these princes. 

It is always a thrill to arrive at the site and wander up the Great West Door to the Abbey Church. The carving around the archway frames the mountainous scenes beyond. The new anthology includes work inspired by this Ystrad Fflur landscape from 1350-2013. It includes illustrations by Linden Fletcher and photographs from Scott Waby.

I feel privileged to have a poem, 'Ist May: Red Kite at Strata Florida', included alongside works by - among others from past and present - Gwyneth Lewis (National Poet of Wales, 2005-2006), Gillian Clarke (National Poet of Wales, current), R.S. Thomas, Harri Webb and Byron Beynon. 

The new book is available for purchase via the Carreg Ffylfan Press website. The cost per copy, inclusive of p&p, is £10.

The Arch

Memorial Tablet to the poet, Dafydd ap Gwilym

Beneath the yew tree

Red Kite ... overhead

David Gill taking photographs of a small grave in the churchyard

The yew tree