An Interview With Fflur Dafydd - Welsh Novelist, Singer-Songwriter

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Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas? - A Summary

One of the Americymru Book Club's selections for November is "Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas?" See the full list here. David Thomas has kindly pointed out that a summary of the main points in the book is available on the books website here:-

Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas?

This article, which is a fascinating read, originally appeared in the Western Mail. Buy the book here:-

Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas? - David Thomas

Americymru Welsh Books Club - November Selections

My First Colouring Book - Lloyd Jones	Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas? - David Thomas .	The Mourning Vessels - Peter Luther

This month the Americymru Welsh Books of the Month Club has three selections. Further details can be found in the blogposts listed below. Full reviews will hopefully follow soon.


“Welsh Dan Brown” sets thriller in West Wales

Fatal Neglect: Who Killed Dylan Thomas?

"My First Colouring Book" - Lloyd Jones

“Welsh Dan Brown” sets thriller in West Wales

Cardiff author Peter Luther has just launched his second novel, The Mourning Vessels. It is loosely located in his favourite town of Tenby. The fast paced supernatural thriller is based on the machinations of a Satanic coven –The Divine Sentiment and the story follows the main character Ellen’s quest to unriddle their sinister operations and free the souls of her dead parents.

Peter Luther’s first novel Dark Covenant has already been reprinted twice by Ceredigion based publishers Y Lolfa, and earned him the tag of the “Welsh Dan Brown”. It was described as a “word of mouth sensation” in the Times and other reviewers have described his work as “macabre and compelling”, “a real page turner with a twist of Oscar Wild”, “genre hopping rollercoaster ride” with many tipping him for bigger things.

Although he is a new face, he has built a loyal band of underground followers, as testified by the response to his first book on his website www.peterluther.co.uk. His fans will be pleased to hear that Peter revealed at the launch of Mourning Vessels, in Waterstone’s Cardiff , that he has already written his third novel Precious Cargo and hopes to see it published next year.

Peter Luther, a successful solicitor and an accomplished musician, admits that his fictional work is influenced by his personal experiences, his latest born from the tragic loss of both his parents and his next relates to his wife’s experiences of receiving IVF treatment. He will be touring bookshops throughout Britain in November and December.

The Mourning Vessels in available in bookshops and www.ylolfa.com priced at £7.95.

Peter Luther will be signing copies of Mourning Vessels at the following shops in November

November 1 November
Waterstones, 9-11 Regent Street Wrexham at 11:00am – 1:00pm
Waterstones, 14 Eastgate Row, Chester at 2:30pm – 4:30pm
8 November
Waterstones Nottingham, 1-5 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham at 11:00am – 1:00pm
15 November
Waterstones, 4a High Street, Abergavenny at 11:00am – 1:00pm
Borders, New Park Shopping Centre, Llantrisant at 2:30pm – 4:30pm
22 November
Borders, 14 The Hayes, Cardiff at 1:30pm – 3:30pm
29 November
Waterstones Chiswick, 220-226 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick at 11:30am – 1:30pm



December and January dates to be confirmed

"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.

Seren Books, Bridgend, Wales

Seren Books, described by one myspace admirer as a, "tidy lil publisher," is an independent publisher specializing in Welsh writers in English. Following a string of nominations and awards to its writers, Seren is currently enjoying what is hopefully only the beginning of great success: Sea Holly, by Robert Minhinnick, was shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize; poet John Haynes won the 2007 Costa Poetry prize; a translation of an Albanian novel – The Loser by Fatos Kongoli – was shortlisted for the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression award 2008; To Babel and Back, by Robert Minhinnick won the Welsh Book of the Year in 2006, Mr Cassini by Lloyd Jones in 2007 and Blue Sky July by Nia Wyn is on this year's long list.

Founded in 1981 by Mick Felton, its current editor, Seren titles itself "Wales' leading literary publisher," and is described on its website as: "... an independent literary publisher, specialising in English-language writing from Wales. Our diverse and eclectic list has something to offer anyone with an interest in excellent writing. Our aim is not simply to reflect what is going on in the culture in which we publish, but to drive that culture forward, to engage with the world, and to bring Welsh literature, art and politics before a wider audience."

In addition to being able to sign up for membership, read articles and profiles of Seren's very impressive stable of writers on its website, you can experience live poetry readings from Seren authors on their youtube page and learn more about Seren on its myspace profile.

Seren offers an amazing list of works and writers, including literature, poetry, photography and art, including:

LLOYD JONES, Mr Cassini, Mr. Vogel. "Former farm-worker, newspaper editor, chamber-of-horrors employee and lecturer, Lloyd Jones lives in Llanfairfechan, on the north Wales coast. Following a bout of alcoholism which nearly killed him, he set off on an epic walk around Wales, the inspiration for his novel, Mr Vogel."


ROBERT MINHINNICK, Sea Holly, Badlands, (many more titles). Robert Minhinnick is a prolific multi-award winning poet and author, former editor of Poetry Wales and co-founder of Sustainable Wales


NIA WYN, Blue Sky July. Journalist Nia Wyn's autobiographical memoir of the first seven years of her son, Joe's, life with cerebral palsy.

Gee Williams wins 'Pure Gold'

Anglo Welsh literature has produced a number of exciting new talents in recent years. Prominent amongst these is Gee Williams whose debut novel 'Salvage' recently won one of the Aur Pur/Pure Gold prizes for 2008. The novel is a 'literary thriller' set in Wales and Chester and though there is a body ( and body parts ) this is not a work of crime fiction. Indeed the crime is almost incidental to the plot. What we are offered instead is a haunting and realistic drama, narrated skilfully from five different perspectives, in which themes of timeless significance are explored. This novel has a great deal to say about human relationships in the 21st century; emotional constancy, marital infidelity and the consequences of each. It also treats of ambition, betrayal and lust. Couple that with a first rate plot and a keen sense of pace and you have all the ingredients necessary for a stunning debut novel.

Fans of Gee Williams do not have to wait long for her next offering. Indeed a collection of short stories entitled 'Blood' has recently been published and can be purchased HERE

Aur Pur/Pure Gold 2008

Readers in libraries across north Wales have voted for books by two local authors to win the Aur Pur/Pure Gold prizes for 2008. The winning books are Hogan Horni by Menna Medi and Salvage by Gee Williams. Both fought off competition from books which have won, or been shortlisted for, major literary prizes.

Two lucky readers who cast their votes have also won hampers of books from Wales. Miss G Edwards, a member of Llangollen Library, said that “The books are relevant to today – and it was also almost impossible to put them down once I’d started!”. Ms S Dummler, a member of Llangefni Library said her choice of books “have a strong sense of place, and reflect unique aspects of Welsh culture”.

Libraries across North Wales ran the reading promotion called Aur Pur/Pure Gold to introduce readers to the good reads available at local libraries. Librarians from Estyn Allan y Gogledd, the reader development network, chose twelve books, all set in Wales but which take the reader to many different places, and readers were invited to read the books, then vote for their three favourites. Reading groups in libraries across North Wales also read and discussed the books.


The 12 books in the Aur Pur/Pure Gold promotion were:

Don’t Cry for Me Aberystwyth Malcom Pryce

Salvage Gee Williams

Resistance Owen Sheers

Dial M for Merthyr Rachel Trezise

The Master Bedroom Tessa Hadley

The Welsh Girl Peter Ho Davies

Fy Mrawd a Minnau Alun Jones

Hogan Horni Menna Medi

Sibrydion o Andromeda Emyr Wyn Roberts

Y Gemydd Caryl Lewis

Pryfeta Tony Bianchi

Gwylliaid Glyndwr Daniel Davies

What is Anglo-Welsh Literature and why Should Anyone Care?

( This article was originally contributed to Manuel Marino's Arts Weblog. Reviews of some of the authors and works mentioned in the article can be found on the Americymru Book Reviews pages.)

As a Welsh ex-pat currently residing in the USA I have noticed a profound disparity between the notion of Wales that many Americans of Welsh descent entertain and the reality that I left behind seven years ago. Nowhere is this more evident than in the literary field. The triumphs of yesteryear are rightly held in high regard but modern literary trends and authors are sadly neglected. The legacy of Dylan and R.S. Thomas is , of course, sacred to us all, but Wales has moved on and a new genertaion of writers reflect that fact.In recent decades we have witnessed a flowering of literary culture in Wales and stereotypical Welsh writing so famously satirized by Harri Webb in his poem "Synopsis of the Great Welsh Novel" has been left far behind. We have seen the emergence of Welsh noir ( Niall Griffiths, Malcolm Pryce, John Williams ) which continues to be popular and other major talents such as Lloyd jones, Rachel Trezise, Trezza Azzopardi, Rhys Hughes, Gee Williams and Owen Sheers have made their presence felt.

But what is Anglo-Welsh literature and why should anyone care? I would argue that at its best it provides a unique perspective (in the English speaking world at least) on modern ideas of national, cultural and personal identity. As Gwyn Williams once famously said:- "The Welsh as a people have lived by making and remaking themselves in generation after generation, usually against the odds, usually within a British context." Both Welsh-language and Anglo-Welsh literature have played a prominent role in that process. It is not a literature of rage. At the risk of offending a portion of my audience I will say that English colonial rule has for the most part been far too benign to produce a majority violent reaction but it is a literature of self-assertion and defiance, albeit sometimes confused and unfocused.

These themes are explored in a number of fascinating works by contemporary Welsh writers. Owen Sheers' magnificent debut novel 'Resistance' is set in an alternate universe in which the Nazis invade and conquer Britain during World war II. It focuses in large part on the struggle to reinvent oneself, adapt and survive in the face of extreme adversity. The book ends with both protagonists facing a stark choice which is really no choice at all. In order to survive they must turn their backs on everything they have known and attempt to find personal salvation in a future that is as uncertain as it is dangerous.The novel hints at the special relationship which the Welsh people have with their landscape. The hills of Wales are indeed magnificent but they pale into insignificance, at least in topographical terms, when compared with the European Alps or the North American Cascades. Their special gravity and power lies in the fact that every nook and cranny, every fold and crevice, is invested with some human significance. The sum of history and legend which the landscape reveals is almost an externalization of Welsh identity itself. It is against this backdrop that Sarah, the heroine of this novel, must strive to uproot herself and accept the evolutionary challenge.

A far more extreme adaptation and 'remaking' (or failure to adapt) can be found in the pages of 'Niall Griffiths' stark and brutal novel.."Sheepshagger". Here we see what happens when ancient tribal resentments, personal greivance and drug-addled inarticulacy combine to prevent 'personal growth'. The desperate and bestial acts of violence committed by the novels anti-hero are the products of a sense of loss and a seething resentment directed against those who have deprived him. He is unable to articulate his impotent rage by any other means. He asserts himself as a serial-killer. It should be pointed out that this exploration of the darker side of the Welsh 'psyche', whilst magnificent, also contains passages of graphic violence which would make Brett Easton Ellis blush.

The fact that the Welsh are a naturally restless people and constantly searching for a lost identity or fashioning a new one is perhaps more happily exemplified in Lloyd Jones extraordinary "Mr Vogel". This novel which is by turns baffling and inspiring recounts an epic journey around Wales made by a delusional alcoholic. To say that the narrative is not straightforward would be an understatement but what this novel lacks in simplicity it makes up for in many other ways. We are never quite sure what the nature of the quest is but the journey is perhaps its own justification. Toward the end of the book, when his epic perambulation is almost complete, Mr. Vogel finds himself in a mental hospital where he offers the following observation to one of his fellow patients:-

"When was Wales? Wales has never been, it has always been." he rambled on to his next victim, Myrddin the schizophrenic, who fortunately) was asleep. "I'll tell you something for nothing." he said, "true Wales is never more than a field away, and true Wales is always a field away, like Rhiannons horse in the Mabinogi. Got it?"

Jones' work is a tribute to the transformative and redemptive power of the imagination and its ability to refashion national, cultural and personal identity.

None of the above should be taken to suggest that Anglo-Welsh literature concerns itself solely with these themes or that other literary traditions neglect them. I would contend however that owing to Wales unique history,a history in which its cultural identity has constantly been threatened with absorption by that of its much more powerful neighbour,they are much more acutely focused in the Anglo-Welsh literary tradition.

Books Referenced in the Text:-

“When Was Wales” Gwyn Williams Penguin Books 1985

“Resistance” Owen Sheers Faber and Faber 2007

“Sheepshagger” Niall Griffiths Vintage 2002

“Mr. Vogel” Lloyd Jones Seren 2004