
Catrin Dafydd (born c. 1982)
is a Welsh author, scriptwriter and poet, who was awarded the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
at the 2018
National Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...
.
Background
Dafydd is of a
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 ...
family from
Gwaelod y Garth
Gwaelod-y-garth (Welsh for ''Foot of the Garth'') is a village in the community of Pentyrch, Cardiff in Wales.
Location
Gwaelod-y-garth is located in Taff Valley at the foot of Garth Hill, north of central Cardiff and south of Pontypridd. ...
, near
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
and attended her local Welsh-medium school Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Rhydfelen (now
Ysgol Garth Olwg
Ysgol Garth Olwg (previously named Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen and Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg), English Garth Olwg School is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in the village of Church Village near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon T ...
) in the
Pontypridd
() ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.
Geography
comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest () ...
area.
She graduated with a degree in Welsh from the
University of Aberystwyth
, mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all
, established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'')
, former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth
, type = Public
, endowment ...
.
Work
Dafydd's first Welsh-language novel, ''Pili Pala'', was published in 2006 and her first English-language novel, ''Random Deaths and Custard'', in 2007.
She co-wrote the television drama ''Ar y Tracs'' in 2009.
She later became one of the writers for the
S4C soap opera, ''
Pobol y Cwm
''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC One Wales an ...
''.
In August 2018, Dafydd won
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...
at the
National Eisteddfod of Wales, in Cardiff Bay, for a poetry collection on the theme of ''Olion'' (Traces), exploring Welshness in the
Grangetown area of Cardiff.
Archdruid
Geraint Llifon caused argument at the award ceremony by claiming that Dafydd could not have achieved her win without men. He later apologised.
Politics
Dafydd is an supporter of
Welsh independence
Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
Conquest of Wales by Edward I, Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward ...
and has ratified her position in print:
"Someone close to me asked me recently what my obsession with Independence was. I was unequivocally clear. I'm not obsessed with the idea of being independent, but I am obsessed with what being independent would do to our people. All across Wales, from Pembroke Dock to Pontypridd, people are being failed. Paying the price that massive decisions that affect the way we live our lives are being made in London. In the imperialist capital! We are the people best able to make decisions about ourselves. Independence would give us agency, would give our communities sovereignty – would give us the freedom to choose how we want to live our short lives!"
See also
*
Elinor Gwynn
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dafydd, Catrin
1980s births
Living people
Crowned bards
Welsh-language writers
Writers from Cardiff