James Kitchener Davies (16 June 1902 – 25 August 1952), also known as J. Kitchener Davies, was a Welsh poet and playwright who wrote mostly in the

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 ...

. Davies's work is highly influenced by the industrial landscape of his adopted village of

Trealaw Trealaw is a long village, also a community and electoral ward in the Rhondda Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It stretches over from the junction of Cemetery Road and Brithweunydd Road in the east, to the junction of Ynyscynon Road and Partri ...

in the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fa ...

Valley and his own nationalistic beliefs.

Biography

Born and brought up in

Llangeitho Llangeitho is a village and community on the upper River Aeron in Ceredigion, Wales, about four miles (6 km) west of Tregaron and north of Lampeter. Its population of 874 in 2001 fell to 819 at the 2011 census. Nonconformism The village is l ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...

, Davies spent his working life in the newly industrialised coalfields of the Rhondda Valley. The sometimes bleak conditions of his early life, especially as his early adulthood coincided with the economic despair of the depression, is reflected in his plays. Davies was part of the

Cadwgan Circle Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ('' ...

, a literary group of likeminded writers from Rhondda, that centred their image of Wales on the new industrialised society they were brought up in. Members of the Circle included Rhydwen Williams, Pennar Davies and

Gareth Alban Davies Gareth Alban Davies (30 July 1926 – 9 February 2009) was a Welsh poet, educator and Hispanist who was Cowdray Professor of Spanish at the University of Leeds. Davies translated many Spanish texts into English and Welsh, and was a noted expe ...

. His early play ''Cwm Glo'' (1934) was seen as controversial because it dealt with the social impact of the depression without the cultural romanticism which was stereotypical of Welsh literature. His verse play ''Meini Gwagedd'' (1944) is set in the Tregaron area and again looks at the harshness of the industrialised Wales and the self-destructive nature of people when drawn into a spiral of ill fortune. In 1945, Davies stood in the

United Kingdom general election This is a list of United Kingdom general elections (elections for the UK House of Commons) since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland ...

, standing in the Rhondda East constituency as the first member of

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

to contest the seat in the Rhondda Valleys. He came last out of three candidates, gaining 2,123 votes (6.1%). The next election, in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

he ran again, this time the Rhondda West constituency seat. He increased his vote to 6.6% and then improved this in the 1951 election when he polled slightly higher with 7.7% of the vote, again in the Rhondda West constituency.Williams (1996), pg. 164 James Kitchener Davies is buried at ''Trealaw Cemetery'' in

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, James Kitchener 1902 births 1952 deaths Welsh-language writers Plaid Cymru politicians 20th-century Welsh dramatists and playwrights