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National Poet For Wales
The post of National Poet of Wales ( cy, Bardd Cenedlaethol Cymru) was established in May 2005 by Academi – the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society for Writers. The current holder of the position is Hanan Issa, who was appointed for a period of three years in July 2022. Background The National Poet of Wales acts as a cultural ambassador for the nation, creating works which promote the image of Wales; works are read at ceremonial and official occasions. The post alternates between poets who write in English, and poets who write mainly in Welsh, and is supported by the Arts Council of Wales’ Lottery fund. Iestyn Davies, Head of Communications at the Arts Council of Wales, said: "As a country renowned for its literary heritage it is fitting that Wales should have its own national poet, creating new works that celebrate our successes, comment on our failures and raise the profile of Wales through literature." To date the role has been held by five writers. In ...
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Gwyneth Lewis
Gwyneth Denver Davies (born 1959), known professionally as Gwyneth Lewis, is a Welsh poet, who was the inaugural National Poet of Wales in 2005. She wrote the text that appears over the Wales Millennium Centre. Biography Gwyneth Lewis was born into a Welsh-speaking family in Cardiff. Her father started teaching her English when her mother went into hospital to give birth to her sister. Lewis attended Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen, a bilingual school near Pontypridd, and then studied at Girton College, Cambridge, University of Cambridge, where she was a member of Cymdeithas Y Mabinogi. She was awarded a double first in English literature and the Laurie Hart Prize for outstanding intellectual work. Lewis then studied creative writing at Columbia and Harvard, before receiving a D. Phil in English from Balliol College, Oxford, for a thesis on 18th-century literary forgery featuring the work of Iolo Morganwg.
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Yr Academi Gymreig
Literature Wales is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language and English-language literature in Wales. It offers bursaries for writing projects, runs literary events and lectures, and provides financial assistance for creative mentoring and other literary-based ventures. The organisation also selects the National Poet for Wales, and manages competitions including Wales Book of the Year, the Cardiff International Poetry Competition, and the Rhys Davies Short Story Competition. History The Academi was initially formed as a Welsh language society in 1959, following a public discussion between Robert Maynard Jones and the poet Waldo Williams. The Academi attracted notable Welsh writers and academics into its society from the beginning, and while a Welsh language–only publication, had as its chairmen Iorwerth Peate (1959–1963), T. J. Morgan (1963–1966) and J. E. Caerwyn Williams (1966–1975). An English-lan ...
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Hanan Issa
Hanan Issa (born 1986/1987) is a Welsh- Iraqi poet, film-maker, scriptwriter and artist. She is the current National Poet of Wales. Biography Issa grew up in Cardiff, Wales. Her first solo publication was '' My Body Can House Two Hearts'', a pamphlet of poetry published by Burning Eye Books in 2019. The pamphlet was one of three to win Burning Eye's debut pamphlet competition. During her writing career, Issa has also worked a film-maker and scriptwriter. In 2017, her winning monologue 'With Her Back Straight' was performed at the Bush Theatre as part of the ''Hijabi Monologues'' project. In 2020, Issa was the recipient of a Ffilm Cymru/ BBC Wales commission, which resulted in her writing and directing the short film ''The Golden Apple'' (2022). She worked on the Channel 4 comedy series ''We Are Lady Parts'', working alongside the show's creator Nida Manzoor. Alongside Darren Chetty, Grug Muse and Iestyn Tyne, Issa acted as a contributing editor to the essay anthology ''Wels ...
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Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2021 of 3,107,500 and has a total area of . Wales has over of coastline and is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. The capital and largest city is Cardiff. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales was formed as a kingdom under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055. Wales is regarded as one of the Celtic nations. The conquest of Wales by Edward I of England was completed by 1283, though Owain Glyndŵr led the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, and briefly re-establis ...
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Welsh Language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales. Both the Welsh and English languages are ''de jure'' official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd. According to the 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 17.8% (538,300 people) and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 29.7% (899,500) of people aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in June 2022. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent Welsh speakers and 21 per cent are able to speak a fair amount of Welsh. The Wels ...
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Arts Council Of Wales
The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council ( cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru), its English name was changed to the Arts Council of Wales when it was independently established by royal charter on 30 March 1994 (the Welsh name remained the same), upon its merger with the three Welsh regional arts associations. It became accountable to the National Assembly for Wales on 1 July 1999, when responsibility was transferred from the Secretary of State for Wales. The Welsh Government provides ACW with money to fund the arts in Wales. ACW also distributes National Lottery funding for the arts in Wales, allocated by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The Arts Council of Wales is a registered charity under English law and has a board of trustees who meet six t ...
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Gwyn Thomas (poet)
Gwyn Thomas (2 September 1936 – 13 April 2016) was a Welsh poet and academic. He was the second National Poet of Wales, holding the role between 2006 and 2008. Early life and education Born in Tanygrisiau, Gwynedd, and brought up there and in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Thomas was educated at Ysgol Sir Ffestiniog, University of Wales, Bangor and Jesus College, Oxford; Prof Thomas was Emeritus Professor of Welsh at the University of Wales, Bangor. Career Thomas published 16 volumes of poetry, several volumes of work as a literary and cultural critic and also translated the Mabinogion into English. His first work as a poet ''Chwerwder yn y Ffynhonnau'' ("''Bitterness in the Fountains''") was published in 1962, while his last, ''Hen Englynion - Diweddariadau'', was published in 2015 by Barddas. As a literary and cultural critic, he published several volumes of essays, critiques, adaptations and translations, including the classic ''Y Traddodiad Barddol'' – a study of the classic ...
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Gillian Clarke
Gillian Clarke (born 8 June 1937) is a Welsh poet and playwright, who also edits, broadcasts, lectures and translates from Welsh into English. She co-founded Tŷ Newydd, a writers' centre in North Wales. Life Gillian Clarke was born on 8 June 1937 in Cardiff. She was brought up in Cardiff and Penarth, though for part of the Second World War she was in Pembrokeshire. She lived in Barry for a few years, at a house called Flatholme in The Parade. Although her parents were Welsh speakers, she was brought up to speak only English and learnt to speak Welsh as an adult – partly as a form of rebellion. She graduated in English from Cardiff University. Career After university Clarke spent a year working for the BBC in London. She then returned to Cardiff, where she gave birth to her daughter, Catrin, and two sons. About Catrin she wrote a poem under her name. Clarke worked as an English teacher, first at the Reardon-Smith Nautical College and later at Newport College of Art. I ...
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Ifor Ap Glyn
Ifor ap Glyn (born 1961) is a Welsh television presenter and Welsh-language poet.Wales Online, "Interview: Poet and presenter Ifor ap Glyn on his new TV series", 4 June 2011
Accessed 25 August 2013
From 2016 to 2022 he served as National Poet of Wales.


Early life and education

Ifor ap Glyn was born in into a Welsh-speaking family, but graduated from

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Poet Laureate
A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) of Arezzo were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age, respectively in 1315 and 1342. In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England. The royal office of Poet Laureate in England dates from the appointment of John Dryden in 1668. In modern times a poet laureate title may be conferred by an organization such as the Poetry Foundation, which designates a Young People's Poet Laureate, unconnected with the National Youth Poet Laureate and the United States Poet Laureate. The office is also popular with regional and community groups. Examples include the Pikes Peak Poet Laureate, which is designated by a "Presenting Partners" group from within the community, the Minnesota p ...
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Welsh Poetry
Welsh poetry refers to poetry of the Welsh people or nation. This includes poetry written in Welsh, poetry written in English by Welsh or Wales based poets, poetry written in Wales in other languages or poetry by Welsh poets around the world. History Wales has one of the earliest literary traditions in Northern Europe, stretching back to the days of Aneirin (fl. 550) and Taliesin (second half of the 6th century), and the haunting ''Stafell Cynddylan'', which is the oldest recorded literary work by a woman in northern Europe. The 9th century '' Canu Llywarch Hen'' and ''Canu Heledd'' are both associated with the earlier prince Llywarch Hen. Welsh poetry is connected directly to the bardic tradition, and is historically divided into four periods.Loesch, K. T. (1983). Welsh bardic poetry and performance in the middle ages. In D. W. Thompson (Ed.), ''Performance of Literature in Historical Perspectives'' (177–190). Lanham, MD: University Press of America. The first period, be ...
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