Winning Poem in Disability Arts Cymru 2016 iBook

More than just... 'A Drop in the Ocean'

The staff at Disability Arts Cymru have produced an iBook of poems that rose to the top in their 2016 competition. Many of us selected a piece of artwork from the organisation's art contest as inspiration, though we were also offered the theme of austerity/extravagance.

My poem, 'A Drop in the Ocean', which was awarded First Prize, was inspired by 'Shoreline Symphonies' by Eileen Harrisson. You will see Eileen's picture if you download the pdf.

Matthew Stewart's Best U.K. Poetry Blogs of 2016

New Vistas (boardwalk to the bird hide, Tregaron, Wales)

It is the season of lists and annual reviews, and I am delighted and honoured to find that this blog has a mention in the Rogue Strands line-up of Best U.K. Poetry Blogs of 2016. Thank you so much to Matthew Stewart for this inclusion.

Thank you, Matthew, as well, for drawing my attention to the other blogs in the list. I have followed some of these with interest for a while, but the others will open up new vistas and provide fresh paths of poetic exploration in the days to come.

P.S. I cannot decide whether this is related or a bit 'off-topic', but I have just seen this list of favourite 2016 poetry book covers (I believe most, but not all, are North American) on C.A. LaRue's Bonespark blog. It may be of interest to you, as it was to me.  

Pushcart Nomination 2014

Sharmagne Leland-St. John and her team at Quill and Parchment (USA) have selected my poem, 'Elegy for Idris Davies', for a 2014 Pushcart Prize nomination.

The poem concerns the miner-turned-poet, Idris Davies, from the Rhymney Valley in South Wales.

A dram for transporting pieces of coal

Update from Romania ~ Orizont Literar Contemporan

Daniel Dragomirescu in the centre

Orizont Literar Contemporan continues to go from strength to strength. Daniel Dragomirescu, Romanian-based editor-in-chief of this international literary journal with the strapline, 'all the world in a magazine', has written an updated account of the story so far. You will find his account here.

The photo above shows me interviewing Donald Riggs, Teaching Professor of Creative Writing at Drexel University, when I was in Philadelphia in January 2012. The interview appeared shortly afterwards in Orizont Literar Contemporan.  

There was an excellent feature recently on a dozen Scottish poets, and more recently still, I have been delighted to find work by my publisher, Peter Thabit Jones (The Seventh Quarry Press, Swansea) in addition to poetry from Gillian Clarke, the National Poet of Wales, and Owen Sheers, Welsh poet, author and scriptwriter.

If you would like further information about the journal, please leave a comment here or contact Daniel via the website.

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

Conservation Corner (6): Biodiversity Week, Wales

"Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a songbird will come."

Chinese saying

Better late than never: I have just stumbled across the fact that this is Biodiversity Week in Wales. If you live in Wales, you can find out about your local Biodiversity Record Centre here. You may have heard about the iSpot website on BBC Springwatch, where you can share information (and images) about nature. You may care to look at the Springwatch Wild Day Out page.

I noticed that Kenfig Nature Reserve celebrates the week with its first sighting of a Cypress Carpet moth, Thera cupressata: what a great name!

There are other initiatives and websites, too:

• Coed Cadw | the Woodland Trust has an ancient tree trail through Bute Park, with packs and sticker books.
• Activities in the Trefechan and Merthyr area, including bat detecting, poetry and bushcraft skills
• Swansea and Gower events include a number of Seashore Safaris.
• What biodiversity means in Swansea

N.B. Please don't forget the RSPB Make Nature Count survey of garden birds and mammals ... the details are here.

Window on Wildlife (11): Dragonflies

These creatures begin life in the water and move out from it as they develop. We have about forty types of Dragonfly and Damselfly in the UK. More than twenty species can be seen at WWT Llanelli. I am wondering how many varieties I have spotted here and at Dinefwr near Llandeilo.

I am a total novice at Dragonfly identification; any help here would be appreciated!

WWT Llanelli

[i]

Above

? Aeshna juncea - Common Hawker

P.S. July 2010: For an update on this I.D. [i], please see comments below!

[ii]

Above

Sympetrum striolatum - Common Darter

[iii]

Above

Sympetrum striolatum - Common Darter

[iv]

Above

Sympetrum striolatum - Common Darter (female)

[v]

I have not been able - as yet - to identify this Dragonfly.
It had compact heavy features
and seemed to enjoy dive-bombing, 'helicopter-style', into the water.

Same as above

Same as above

Same as above

Same as above:
I think it may be a Chaser
(having looked at a Four-Spotted Chaser on the Kenfig blog here)

[vi]

Above

I think this is a Hawker of some description!

[vii]

Above
Common Darter, Sympetrum striolatum
Family Libellulidae - Chasers, Skimmers and Darters

N.B. I have attempted to give each individual Dragonfly a number e.g. [vi],
which will appear just above a its photograph.
It is possible that there may be more than one example of any species.

• British Dragonfly Society
  

I will focus on the Damselfly in my next post.

Magazine Moment (10): Quill and Parchment (USA) - Featured Photographer

I am grateful to editor, Sharmagne Leland-St. John, for inviting me to join her as her fellow 'Featured Photographer' for the June issue of the subscription online magazine, Quill and Parchment.

If you would like to see my photographs of Wales in the magazine, you are invited to follow the link here, and type the following Guest Passwords into the box that will appear when you click on Sharmagne's cover photograph of Tynemouth Castle (a site I know well from my years in Newcastle):

NAME: june
PASSWORD: lake

I hope you enjoy the issue!

Beautiful Birds (21): Gower Gyr-ations at Rhossili

Rhossili Down
is just behind the beach, off the photo to the right.
The visible wreck is the Helvetia.
Worm's Head is off the photo to the left.

There has been a further Gyr Falcon sighting in the Gower region. You can read about the Gyr here, with a great photograph, too.

• Earlier Gyr sighting, last Christmas in South Wales