Glyn Jones (Welsh Writer)
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Morgan Glyndwr Jones, generally known as Glyn Jones, (28 February 1905 – 10 April 1995) was a Welsh novelist, poet and literary historian, and an important figure in
Anglo-Welsh literature Welsh writing in English, (previously Anglo-Welsh literature) is a term used to describe works written in the English language by Welsh writers. The term 'Anglo-Welsh' replaced an earlier attempt to define this category of writing as 'Anglo- ...
. He served as both Chairman and President of the Welsh Academy's English-language section. His study ''The Dragon Has Two Tongues'' (1968) discusses ways in which the interwar period affected his generation of Welsh authors.


Early life

Glyn Jones was born in
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...
in 1905 into a Welsh-speaking household. His father was a post office clerk and his mother a teacher. Despite Welsh being his family language he was educated in English, as were all attending mainstream education in Wales in the first half of the 20th century. Jones gained a place at Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar School, and by the time he left secondary education, he had all but lost his ability to speak Welsh fluently. However, he re-taught himself Welsh in later life, although his literary work was always in English. After leaving Cyfarthfa Grammar, he gained a place at St Paul's College in Cheltenham. From an early age Jones was a devout Christian; his parents being Welsh Nonconformists. Jones attended Sunday School as a child and in his later life he was a member of Minny Street Congregational Chapel in Cardiff. His religious beliefs and his Welshness informed all his creative work, even when many of his contemporary authors rejected religion. On leaving full-time education Jones found work as a teacher, leaving Merthyr to take up a post in
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, where the poverty of his pupils profoundly disturbed him, and informed his political position as a socialist. Although a left-wing thinker, Jones was never a member of the Labour Party; in his later life he was sympathetic to the aims of
Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...
. In 1935, he married Phyllis Doreen Jones, to whom all his books were dedicated. His earliest poetry was published in 1933 in ''
The Dublin Magazine ''The Dublin Magazine'' was an Irish literary journal founded and edited by the poet Seumas O'Sullivan (real name James Sullivan Starkey) and published in ''Dublin'' by "Dublin Publishers, Ltd., 9 Commercial Buildings. ''London'': Elkin Mathe ...
'', and in 1935, on the suggestion of his friend
Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...
, he wrote a collection of short stories, entitled ''The Blue Bed''. The collection included tales located in undefined, almost mystical locations, and others retailing Welsh village life in a comic and highly visual way. He received a remarkable critical assessment from reviewers in London. One of the tales from ''The Blue Bed'', "I was Born in the Ystrad Valley", tells of an armed Communist insurrection and was born from his own experiences of life in the Cardiff slums. His initial writings were heavily influenced by the fellow Welsh author
Caradoc Evans David Caradoc Evans (31 December 1878 – 11 January 1945), was a Welsh story writer, novelist and playwright. Biography Evans was brought up in a Welsh language, Welsh-speaking community in Rhydlewis, Ceredigion, Cardiganshire, and although he ...
, although ''The Blue Bed'' did not carry the harsh tones of Evans's work. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Jones registered in 1940 as a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
. This decision saw him dismissed from his teaching post by Cardiff Education Committee, although he found another teaching job in
Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
soon afterwards.


Literary career

Jones continued writing, with a collection of poems being published in 1939. His first literary critique of poetry was of English Romantic poetry, of which he shared a style of striking imagery and sensuous language, being drawn to both
D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...
and
Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...
. Jones was particularly impressed by Hopkins, and wrote an essay on the latter's awareness of Welsh poetic metrics. The 1940s saw two more works published, a second collection of poetry, ''The Dream of Jake Hopkins'' (1944) and a second book of short stories ''The Water Music and other stories'' (1944). As in his earlier work, ''The Water Music'' saw his tales set in either the industrial Merthyr of his childhood, or the greener landscape of
Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...
. The 1950s and 1960s saw Jones concentrate on writing his three novels, ''The Valley, The City, The Village'' (1956), ''The Learning Lark'' (1960) and ''The Island of Apples'' (1965). His first novel, ''The Valley, The City, The Village'', a
bildungsroman In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...
centred on a young artist, is full of description and character, though it was criticised by some reviewers for its lack of formal unity and overly exotic language. However, some critics, such as
Meic Stephens Meic Stephens, FLSW (23 July 1938 – 2 July 2018) was a Welsh literary editor, journalist, translator, and poet. Birth and education Meic Stephens was born on 23 July 1938 in the village of Treforest, near Pontypridd, Glamorgan. He was edu ...
, believe that Jones's use of a variety of narrative and rhetorical techniques make the work a tour-de-force. His second novel, ''The Learning Lark'', is a
picaresque The picaresque novel (Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for ' rogue' or 'rascal') is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but appealing hero, usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrupt ...
send-up of the education system in a corrupt mining village. But despite reflecting ugly-natured teachers bribing their way to headships, there is no biting satire, and the book is full of comic tones, with Jones holding up a mirror to the flaws in human traits. His third novel, ''The Island of Apples'', set in a fictionalised Merthyr, uses the myth of
Ynys Afallon Glastonbury Tor is a hill near Glastonbury in the English county of Somerset, topped by the roofless tower of St Michael's Church, a Grade I Listed building (United Kingdom), listed building. The site is managed by the National Trust and has be ...
to explore the pain of the loss of childhood. It is again told through the eyes of a young narrator. During the 1960s, Jones was at the centre of a literary controversy, when Scottish poet
Hugh MacDiarmid Christopher Murray Grieve (11 August 1892 – 9 September 1978), best known by his pen name Hugh MacDiarmid ( , ), was a Scottish poet, journalist, essayist and political figure. He is considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish ...
lifted verbatim lines from one of Jones' short stories and published them as part of his poem ''Perfect''. Although Jones himself remained silent on the issue, supporters of both men filled columns in ''
The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'', arguing over the merits of the situation. MacDiarmid later stated that he had a
photographic memory Eidetic memory ( ), also known as photographic memory and total recall, is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only onceThe terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''photogr ...
, and that he must have used Jones's lines unconsciously. In later years neither poet showed much distress when they met, and were able to laugh off the controversy. The decade also saw Jones publish his most important work, ''The Dragon has Two Tongues'', a criticism of Anglo-Welsh literature; an autobiographical work examining the effect of education, religion and politics on a generation of Welsh writers between the two World Wars, and an important account of his friendship with several important Welsh writers including Caradoc Evans, Dylan Thomas, Gwyn Jones and
Keidrych Rhys William Ronald Rhys Jones (26 December 1915 – 22 May 1987), who used the name Keidrych Rhys, was a Welsh literary journalist and editor, and a poet. He was editor of the periodical, ''Wales'', published from 1937 to 1949 and from 1958 to 19 ...
. The 1970s saw Jones return to poetry and short stories, with two collections of stories published, ''Selected Short Stories'' (1971) and ''Welsh Heirs'' (1977). Between them came a poetic compilation, ''Selected Poems'' (1975). In the 1980s, Jones spent increasing time translating Welsh-language works into English. Although Jones was now a fluent Welsh speaker, he never wrote in his mother tongue, once stating that his Welsh was "...the language of adolescence, not the mother tongue,
hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
the artist will be likely to use for his creative purposes." Jones first translated Welsh texts in 1954, working with T. J. Morgan on ''The Saga of Llywarch the Old''. In 1981 he worked on his own translations with ''When the Rose Bush brings forth Apples'' followed by ''Honeydew on the Wormwood: a further selection of old Welsh verses'' in 1984.


Relations with Dylan Thomas

In 1934 Jones wrote to Dylan Thomas, after reading his poem ''The Woman Speaks'', which had been published in
The Adelphi ''The Adelphi'' or ''New Adelphi'' was an English literary journal founded by John Middleton Murry and published between 1923 and 1955. The first issue appeared in June 1923, with issues published monthly thereafter. Between August 1927 and Se ...
. Both men were relative unknown in that period, but the correspondence led to a long-lasting friendship between the two. They met at Whitsun 1934. Jones, who had a car, drove the two of them to
Laugharne Laugharne () is a town on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tâf. The Ancient borough#Charters, ancient borough of Laugharne Township () with its #Laugharne Corporation, Corporation and Charter is a ...
; and Thomas later described Jones to his girlfriend, Pamela Hansford Johnson, as "a nice, handsome young man with no vices". Later that year, the two men met again, this time to visit fellow poet Caradoc Evans. After the visit, while the men shared a hotel room, Jones recalled the tale of Welsh eccentric Dr. William Price, who cremated his young son without official permission after the child's death. Thomas later turned the tale into the story "The Burning Baby". The next year, Thomas invited Jones to London. Amongst the artists of London, Jones found that Thomas would change his viewpoint to suit the group of people he was talking to, a trait that made Jones uneasy. As Thomas grew in fame, he and Jones saw less of each other, but in December 1949, Jones was to interview his old friend for a BBC radio programme, ''How I Write''. Jones travelled to Laugharne to meet Thomas at his home, the Boathouse. Jones was shocked at how much his friend had changed, with his face bloated and pale, symptoms of years of heavy drinking. They discussed what they would say in the broadcast, but a few days before Christmas, the producers received a call from Thomas' wife, saying that he was ill with "broken ribs", and the interview never took place.


Awards and later life

Jones was seen as an important and influential writer in Welsh literary circles. He was elected President of the
Welsh Academy Literature Wales, formerly named the Academi, is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language literature, Welsh-language and Welsh literature in English, English-language literature i ...
and in 1985 became the Academy's first honorary member. This was proceeded in 1971 by an award from the
Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; ) 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 (), its English name w ...
for his contribution to the literature of Wales. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature by the University of Glamorgan in 1994 and an Honorary Fellowship by
Trinity College, Carmarthen Trinity University College () was a Church University College in Carmarthen, Wales. The institution was founded in 1848 as the South Wales and Monmouthshire Training College, a teacher-training college. It changed its name in 1931 to Trinity ...
. In 1988 he became an honorary member of the
Gorsedd of Bards Gorsedd Cymru (), or simply the Gorsedd (), is a society of Welsh-language poets, writers, musicians and others who have contributed to the Welsh language and to public life in Wales. Its aim is to honour such individuals and help develop and p ...
. In his final years, Jones's health suffered. He was forced to have his right arm amputated, but he continued to correspond with fellow writers, in what he saw as a vital link in the history of Welsh literature. He died in Cardiff on 10 April 1995.


Published works

Novels *The Valley, The City, The Village (1956) *The Learning Lark (1960) *The Island of Apples (1965) Poetry *Poems (1939) *The Dream of Jake Hopkins (1944) *Selected Poems (1975) *Selected Poems: fragments and fictions (1988) *The Collected Poems of Glyn Jones (edited by Meic Stephens) (1996) Short Stories *The Blue Bed (1937) *The Water Music and other stories (1944) *Selected Short Stories (1971) *Welsh Heirs (1977) *The Collected Stories of Glyn Jones (edited and introduction by Tony Brown) (1999) Translations *The Saga of Llywarch the Old: a reconstruction by Glyn Jones with the verse and interludes (with T. J. Morgan) (1955) *When the Rose Bush brings forth Apples (1981) *Honeydew on the Wormwood: a further selection of old Welsh verses (1984) *The Story of Heledd (with T. J. Morgan, edited by Jenny Morgan) (1994) *A People’s Poetry: hen benillion (1997) Criticism *The Dragon Has Two Tongues (1968. Reprinted 2001) *Profiles: a visitor’s guide to writing in twentieth century Wales (with John Rowlands) (1980)


Notes


External links


The Glyn Jones Centre


Biography

*Tony Brown, ed., ''Collected Stories of Glyn Jones'', University of Wales Press, 1999 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Glyn 1905 births 1995 deaths Welsh short story writers Welsh literary critics Anglo-Welsh novelists People from Merthyr Tydfil Welsh conscientious objectors Calvinist pacifists Welsh Christian pacifists Bards of the Gorsedd 20th-century Welsh novelists 20th-century Welsh poets 20th-century British short story writers