An Interview With Lorin Morgan-Richards

Lorin Morgan-Richards is a composer, author, illustrator and purveyor of finely crafted dark humor handmade books. He is a direct descendant of Welsh American poet Robert Dennison Morgan. Lorin will be appearing at our booth at Wordstock on October 9th- 10th. He will be presenting a limited edition print of 'The Goodbye Family in Wales' to the first 100 visitors to the AmeriCymru table on both days. Be sure to arrive early! The location of our booth can be found here ( booth 620 ) and samples of Lorin's work can be found in the slideshow at the bottom of this page.

AmeriCymru: Your latest book is titled 'A Boy Born From Mold'. Care to give our readers an idea of what they will find between its covers?

Lorin:  Diolch Ceri for allowing me the opportunity for this interview and giving me a chance to share my passion. 'A Boy Born from Mold and Other Delectable Morsels' is my second published book through my small press, A Raven Above Press, which encompasses dark humor short stories with pen and ink illustration. Readers often call my books 'Gothic Fairytales' because they are reminiscent of Victorian Era moral stories.

'A Boy Born from Mold', my title story, reveals a mysterious boy named 'Rune' who lives in a basement, after having been hatched from an old forgotten family quilt. His neighbor upstairs is a lost little girl who seeks knowledge about her family's heritage. The two intersect and the story unravels so to speak.

I find it interesting the symbolism and metaphors that readers pull from this story. Some have thought of it as giving insight into some sort of Pagan beliefs. One commented it was a metaphor for the Celtic Tree of Life. The little girl upstairs represents an above plane while 'Rune' resides in the below or Otherworld, and the remaining between provides the journey towards consciousness of spirit and self interconnected. I will not say if these are accurate or intentional in any way, but obviously, the story itself was meant to fascinate adults as well as children, and like one reviewer mentioned, this story is fundamentally about finding oneself. 'A Boy Born from Mold' is just one of seven delectable morsels in the book. 

AmeriCymru: You have an interesting, perhaps unique, method of publishing your work.Can you give us a brief idea of the process by which you individually handcraft each volume and the materials you use?

Lorin:  In making 'A Boy Born from Mold and Other Delectable Morsels', I begin by gathering tools and my materials. After this, I use an Epson printer to make two sided booksheets. Both the booksheets along with the endsheets are folded into fourths and are cut to size. I then measure out and paste down cotton cloth and hinges to the first and last signatures. One by one I sew the signatures together using Irish linen thread, and these are knotted and glued. After I glue the spine, I attach a ribbon and let it dry. I then begin constructing the hardcover case. Last steps are adding the title to the spine with my foil stamp machine, gluing the pages to the case and pressing each book for several hours. Each book is signed and limited in edition to 400 copies. The bookbinding process is hard to measure in time, but once the pages are printed it takes a little over an hour for each book. Interestingly, the sewing is both the most time consuming and therapeutic part of my bookbinding. 

AmeriCymru: Is there any significance in making them limited edition?

Lorin:  In the ancient tradition of making things by hand, each book is interconnected with the author and thus has its own life principles. To further emphasize this, I made each part of a limited edition of 400 copies. However I won’t delve into the significance of the number 400.

AmeriCymru: On your website we learn that you are of Welsh and Amish ancestry. How did you become aware of your Welsh ancestry? Does it influence your work in any way? 

Lorin:  I believe dreams connect us to our ancestors and it is through creativity that we can tap into this in the conscious state. Creativity is a sort of trance that we have as artists that erases time and space. My mother's side, the Morgan family, is originally from Wales. I began questioning my identity pretty early on, but didn't understand or learn about it until I was in college when records and books became more readily available. By this time, unfortunately, my grandparents had also all passed. From here, I became heavily involved in genealogy and found in the US Census reports my direct ancestor 'John Morgan' as being born in Wales. Last year, I visited Cardiff and did more research, but found that the commonality of the name 'John Morgan' was equivalent to 'John Smith'. So my research continues. But in the meantime, I've begun taking steps to reconnect by learning Welsh and will be incorporating even more of the culture into my writing and illustrating.

AmeriCymru: You are currently working on several written projects with a Welsh linguist in Swansea. Care to tell us more?

Lorin:  In the fall, I will be releasing an audiobook of 'A Boy Born from Mold' with narration by Welsh linguist Jason Shepherd. I met Jason through 'The Learn Welsh Podcast', an informative podcast that he created and hosts every week. I am very lucky to have his talents for this project. His voice is simply stellar and his readings add a lot of charismatic dimension to the stories.

AmeriCymru: Do you see yourself as primarily any particular type of artist - painter,musician or writer?~ Do you have a favorite medium to work in and if so, what is it about that medium?
 
Lorin:  I am most comfortable with writing and pen and ink illustrations. My filter tends to be cut ups of what is around me blurred into my own feelings and interests of the Victorian era. I don't try to categorize myself but I do recognize my influences are a bit more macabre than usual.

AmeriCymru: What is next for Lorin Morgan-Richards? Do you have any new works in the pipeline? 

Lorin:  On September 12th, just in time for Grandparents Day, A Raven Above Press will be releasing a book entitled '13 Disturbing Postcards to Send to Your Grandparents'. This book is a lighthearted take on the mushy postcards kids send to their grandparents. I personally had terrific grandparents, but I thought it might be funny to create a book that is polar opposite to the postcards available today. I will also be releasing a miniature illustrated alphabet book that I will have finished by Halloween entitled 'The Terribly Mini Monster Book’.

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Lorin:  Thanks for the appreciation and I hope that I am able to meet some of you at Wordstock in Portland! Hwyl fawr am nawr!

Find more photos like this on Americymru

An Interview with Beryl Richards

Beryl (Bee) Richards earned degrees in art, human resources and career guidance and retired from a career in human resources and education to pursue interests in writing and historical research. She is the author of Nantybar - A Vanished Village in the Afan Valley and is currently working on a novel on the South Sea Bubble. Bee was born in Port Talbot, on the South Welsh coast, and came back to live there after traveling extensively. She quotes a familiar saying, "You can take the girl out of Port Talbot, but not Port Talbot out of the girl. Bee will be appearing at the Left Coast Eisteddfod to give a presentation on Prince Madoc.

AmeriCymru: You will be giving a talk on the Madoc Legend at this years' Left Coast Eisteddfod. Care to tell us a little about that? How did you first become interested in the Madoc Legend?
 

Bee: Madoc is one of the fascinating stories, which is surrounded by circumstantial and anecdotal evidence. I think it ranks in mystery with stories such as the Turin Shroud, the ‘Mari Celeste’ and it has a parallel in the Scottish legend of Summerled. Such mysteries and legends circulate all over the world. Always unproveable, always fascinating. Sometimes I wonder do we really want to solve these enigmatic tales. A lot of the fascination is taken out of such romanticism when proven a reality by science....

I am constantly fascinated by riddles, mysteries and ‘enigmas’ such as Madoc. The further I delve into the story the deeper the mystery becomes. All sorts of phantoms are released. What were the political aspirations of the first voyage? How in the light of the Welsh Civil war was Madoc able to sail from Rhos with ships fully equipped for a journey to who knows where? Were there any Imperialist designs from the royal house of Gwynedd? My interest in the ‘enigma’ started with a friend of mine a historian by the name of Bill Isaac lending me a book by Richard Deacon entitled (of course) ‘Madoc and the Discovery of America’ I became hooked!

AmeriCymru: What do you think it will take to prove that the Welsh discovered America? What direction would you like to see further research take?

Bee: One of the possibilities would be to pursue the DNA trail. Another would be in finding definite proof that the saga ever took place. Any reported remains have mysteriously disappeared or have been burned. There is a huge body of anecdotal evidence and written evidence by many famous individuals but nothing left of the material remains of the said Welsh. It is unfortunate that academia dismisses the hypothesis. No one institution has – to my knowledge – ever conducted a multi disciplinary approach to the problem, either in Wales or in the US where I suspect more archaeological evidence could be found to support the Madoc claim.

AmeriCymru: Are there any books on the subject that you would particularly recommend?

Bee: There is quite a body of literature on the subject, one of my favourites is the book which a lady called Zella Armstrong wrote and published herself entitled “Who Discovered America; the Amazing Story of Madoc. Richard Deacon ‘Madoc and the discovery of America’ another highly recommended volume is entitled Madoc, the Making of a Myth, by Gwyn A Williams. One of the most entertaining fictional accounts encompasses three volumes written by a novelist called Pat Winter. William A. Traxel also wrote an account which takes the saga further called “In the footsteps of the Welsh Indians.’ There are many more.

AmeriCymru: What inspired your interest in history? Would you agree with R.S. Thomas that it is not possible to ".... live in the present, at least not in Wales?"

Bee: Inheritence and curiosity also have a bearing on my interest. My father was one of the great instigators of my interest in history. Politically he was one of the best informed individuals I have met; discussions with him through my teens led me to want to find out the motivation behind his convictions. I started to read and found I had a great interest in how the past has influenced the present and how it will influence the future. It is my belief that we can only start to know our humanity by recognising the humanity and the struggles and triumphs of the past. Wales is a place full of crazy contradictions from the Mabinogion, to the religion of Rugby to the huge contribution we have made to the world of culture and industry. We are a multi cultural society and yet manage to draw in and to meld many communities into what is a vibrant modern country. I certainly think we live in a modern society, melded out of the people who have gone before us.

AmeriCymru: What inspired you to write "Nantybar...A Vanished Village in the Afan Valley"?

Bee: The wish to find out in more detail about the history of the little known Welsh valley of Afan was the motivation in writing ‘Nantybar’. The Rhondda Valleys are the usual topic of the Welsh Industrial Revolution, but what happened in the Upper Afan Valley during the 1800’s was repeated all over the country when the rural population made a mass migration to industrial sites in all parts of the country. The North, Scotland, Wales. All these places played a huge part in the support of the ‘British Empire’ with little or no recognition.

AmeriCymru: Any other message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Bee: Congratulations to AmeriCymru in accomplishing what will be a unique occasion. I hope this year will be the first of many.

Madoc ap Owain Gwynedd Discussion Group

New Americymru discussion group created by Beryl Richards on Prince Madoc:

The Madoc Enigma - an Introduction by Beryl Richards

"The mysterious legend of Prince Madoc Ap Owain Gwynnedd exists on both sides of the Atlantic which has yet to be taken seriously. The following article is only a taster of the adventure. Zella Armstrong of the Daughters of the American Revolution has written a detailed history published during the 1950's, and the Plaque unveiled at Mobile Bay stating that Prince Madoc had landed there was removed, and became the result of an international internet campaign to reinstate it Janice Gattis of the Alabahma Welsh Association was instrumental in running the campaign which was well supported both by American and Welsh ex pats and natives of Wales.

There is so much to discover. I have been on a fascinating journey into both my own Welsh history and the story which continued from Mobile into the American interior. Does anyone wish to share my fascination with this mysterious enigma. Join us on the journey!"

For further information please read "The Madoc Enigma" by Bee Richards HERE.