Twm Morys (born 1961) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

Biography

Twm Morys was born in 1961 in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, a son to the writer

Jan Morris (Catharine) Jan MorrisJan Morris, Paul Clements, University of Wales Press, 2008, p. 7 (born James Humphry Morris; 2 October 192620 November 2020) was a Welsh historian, author and travel writer. She was known particularly for the ''Pax Brita ...

. He was brought up in

Llanystumdwy Llanystumdwy is a predominantly Welsh-speaking village, community and electoral ward on the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales. It lies in the traditional county of Caernarfonshire but is currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Gw ...

and attended Ysgol y Llan, before attending

Marshcourt Marshcourt, also spelled Marsh Court, is an Arts and Crafts style country house in Marsh Court, near Stockbridge, Hampshire, England. It is constructed from quarried chalk. Designed and built by architect Edwin Lutyens between 1901 and 1905 ...

boarding school at the age of seven, and then

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into th ...

. Morys returned to Wales to study 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 al ...

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

at Brecon Comprehensive School. Morys graduated from the

University of Wales, 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 = ...

with a degree in

Celtic Studies Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art histo ...

; he also won the inter-collegiate chair whilst at the university. He has worked for

BBC Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio network owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts on two stations across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and online. The main network broadcasts for hours a day from ...

as a researcher and later as a poet and singer. Morys later moved to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

, where he lived for ten years and worked as a lecturer at the

University of Rennes The University of Rennes is a public research university which will be officially reconstituted on 1 January 2023 and located in the city of Rennes, in Upper Brittany, France. The University of Rennes has been divided for almost 50 years, before ...

. In addition to two volumes of poetry, Twm Morys has written

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...

s for literary reviews. He has collaborated with his parent

on two volumes, ''Wales, the First Place'' (Random House, 1982), and ''A

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a pop ...

Triad/Triawd Machynlleth'' (Penguin, 1994). ''Ein Llyw Cyntaf'' (Gomer, 2001) is his Welsh adaptation of Jan Morris's novel ''Our First Leader''. He won the chair at the 2003

National Eisteddfod 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 ...

for his poem ''Drysau'' (Doors). He also writes for television and radio, as well as lyrics, which he sings with the folk-rock group, Bob Delyn a'r Ebillion. Twm Morys was the

Bardd Plant Cymru ; sometimes shortened to ('Children's poet (laureate)')) is the poet laureate of Welsh-language literature, Welsh-language children's literature. It is one of the two national children's literature roles in Wales, alongside the English-language Ch ...

(Welsh children's poet laureate) for 2009–2010, and since 2011, he has been editor of the Welsh poetry magazine ''Barddas''. He won the Chair of the National Eisteddfod in Meifod in 2003. He lives in Llanystumdwy, Wales.

Bibliography

Poetry

*''Ofn Fy Het'',

Barddas ''Barddas'' is a book of material compiled and written by the Welsh writer Iolo Morganwg. Dressed as an authentic compilation of ancient Welsh bardic and druidic theology and lore, its contents are largely Iolo's invention. It was posthumously p ...

(1995) *''Mymryn Bach o Hon'' (1998) *''2'',

(2002)

Prose

*''Grwyne Fawr'', cyfres 'Y Man a’r Lle',

Gwasg Gregynog The Gregynog Press, also known as Gwasg Gregynog, is a printing press and charity located at Gregynog Hall near Newtown in Powys, Wales. Early years Founded in 1922 by the sisters and art patrons Margaret and Gwendoline Davies, guided by Tho ...

(1998)

Work with Jan Morris

*''Wales, the First Place'',

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Ger ...

(1982) *''A Machynlleth Triad'',

Penguin Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...

(1994) *''Ein Llyw Cyntaf'',

Gomer Gomer ( he, ''Gōmer'', ; el, Γαμὲρ, translit=Gamér) was the eldest son of Japheth (and of the Japhetic line), and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah, according to the "Table of Nations" in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10). The ep ...

(2001)

References

1961 births Chaired bards Living people Welsh poets Welsh-language singers Welsh-language poets People from Oxford Welsh male singers Alumni of Aberystwyth University {{UK-poet-stub