Ed Holden - Nutjob Club

AmeriCymru member Ed Holden is a beatboxer / rapper / producer / dj from the North Wales area, he has a small business that specialises in hiphop workshops. He kindly sent us a preview track from his latest album 'Mr Phormula Feat Mudmowth' (download here:- nutjobclub.mp3 XXX Parental advisory for 'salty saesneg'. Do not listen if easily offended by bad language) Mr Phormula on MySpace:- http://myspace.com/mrphormula

Left Coast Eisteddfod Short Story Competition Will be Judged by Lloyd Jones!

We are immensely proud and pleased to announce that author Lloyd Jones will judge the entries in the Left Coast Eisteddfod Short Story competition. First prize in this competition wiil be $100 (65GBP approx ). Second and third place prizes to be announced soon. The final submission date for entries is July 31st 2009. To submit your entry please go to this page and read the rules carefully before entering:- Left Coast Eisteddfod Short Story Competition Submission Group. The competition is open to non-Americymru members but the submission procedure is slightly different.

Lloyd will need no introduction to most of our readers but just in case here are a few links:-

Interview With Lloyd Jones on Americymru

Review of "My First Colouring Book" on Americymru

Mr Vogel

Mr Cassini

Lloyd Jones on Wikipedia

My First Colouring Book

Mr. Vogel

Mr Cassini

"My First Colouring Book" - A Review

My First Colouring
Book

Read our interview with Lloyd Jones HERE.

Speaking as a hard-core short story fanatic, I can honestly say that Lloyd Jones' "My First Colouring Book" has been the high point of my literary year so far. It's great to see a Welsh author who has so far mastered this genre as to be worthy of mention alongside Carver, Cheever, Maupassant, Mansfield and, dare one even suggest it, Chekhov himself.

Lloyd Jones is fond of referring to his writing as "scribblings". In this collection he has elected to "scribble" in a dazzling variety of colors, all of which are intensely evocative.

There are many fine things in this anthology. There is "Blood," which warns of the potentially cataclysmic dangers of "exotic blood transfusions". There is "Post Office Red," which asserts the critical importance of preserving a sense of mystery and wonder. The closing sentence of this story reveals the "moral" of the tale with the same blinding clarity achieved by Mansfield in "The Doll's House". In "Black," an intellectual atheist meets a lady friend at a lake near the oldest church in Wales. It is close to the festive season and they are invited to join the Christmas service. The protagonist spends his time in the church indulging sexual fantasies about old girlfriends and the female occupant of the burial plot in the pew beneath his feet. On the drive back home they pass a dark and sinister stranger on the road and he has perhaps the closest thing to a religious experience that he will ever know. "Wine" is a heart-warming "feelgood" tale about a devout christian who performs a charitable act in order to fill a gap in the "O" section of his address book. It contains elements of high farce and compares favorably with the best of O Henry.

Also not to be missed are the four short essays at the end of the book which describe walks in North, South, East and West Wales. As a South-Walian and a keen hill-walker back in the day, I deeply appreciated his account of a sojourn in the Black Mountains and his visits to Cwmyoy and Partrishow churches. Both are magical places and evoked masterfully.

Lest anything I have so far said gives the impression that this is a light-hearted collection, please allow me to observe that these stories contain some of the most profound and poignant meditations on life, love and death in 21st century literature. In a recent interview with Americymru, Lloyd Jones was asked about his future literary plans. He replied, "Maybe some more short stories?". We sincerely hope so.

In short, this book is a treat for short-story fans, lovers of literature and lovers of Wales. If you fall into all three categories, then it is simply a "must read". If you are buying a gift for Christmas, either as a gift to yourself or for someone else, you couldn't do better than "My First Colouring Book."

CS

"My First Colouring Book" - Lloyd Jones

Prize-winning Welsh author Lloyd Jones celebrates the launch of his first collection of short stories next week. The work entitled "My First Colouring Book" will be available from Nov 5th. Lloyd Jones is the award winning author of "Mr Vogel" and "Mr Cassini", two of the most refreshing and challenging novels to come out of Wales in recent decades. His new book will be reviewed on this site in due course, meanwhile you can pre-order a copy from Amazon.com here:- My First Colouring Book

Read reviews HERE.