Barddoniaeth Colled | Poetry of Loss - English

“The Poetry of Loss event is the first in a series of events to be held during 2017 marking the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele, during which the 38th (Welsh) Division suffered 3,000 casualties.

Among those lost was the renowned Welsh poet Hedd Wyn, killed during the Battle of Pilckem Ridge just a few weeks before he was posthumously awarded the Bardic chair at the National Eisteddfod.

The centenary of the loss of Hedd Wyn is central to the Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914-1918 commemorative programme in 2017, which includes the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) National Service of Remembrance on 31 July and the official reopening of Hedd Wyn’s ancestral home, Yr Ysgwrn, on 6 September following its redevelopment.

Barddoniaeth Colled | Poetry of Loss is delivered by Literature Wales, funded by the Welsh Government’s Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914-1918 First World War Centenary Programme, and in partnership with the Government of Flanders and Snowdonia National Park Authority.

The wider project includes commemorative

2017 will also see a number of cultural events held in Wales and overseas. I am grateful to Literature Wales for arranging the Poetry of Loss event, to Passa Porta for hosting it and to those who are taking part. I am particularly pleased that the event will focus on the work of Hedd Wyn, and Flemish authors of the period.

It forms part of a programme of activities arranged in collaboration with the General Representation of the Government of Flanders in the UK. I wish the organisers and participants of the Poetry of Loss event every success for an evening that will give a fascinating insight into the literature of the First World War period and of 1917 specifically.”

Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister of Wales

events in Flanders and Ireland; a writers’ residency exchange between Passa Porta in Brussels and Ty Newydd Writing Centre, north Wales; and the production of a new multi-media poetry performance by National Poet of Wales, Ifor ap Glyn, entitled Y Gadair Wag – to be toured in September 2017.

Barddoniaeth Colled | Poetry of Loss: Brussels

Passa Porta, Brussels Tuesday 23 May 2017 8.00 pm

Passa Porta, Bruxelles Mardi 23 Mai 2017 20h00

An evening of poetry, music and discussion exploring the life and work of Welsh poet Hedd Wyn and other poets of the First World War.

Une soirée pleine de poésie, de musique et de discussions en partant à la découverte de la vie et de l’œuvre de Hedd Wyn, ainsi que d’autres poètes de La Première Guerre Mondiale.

Featuring: Ifor ap Glyn, National Poet of Wales Geert Buelens Nerys Williams Patrick McGuinness Gwyneth Glyn

Avec des apparitions de: Ifor ap Glyn, poète national du Pays de Galles Geert Buelens Nerys Williams Patrick McGuinness Gwyneth Glyn

Hosted by Literature Wales and funded by Welsh Government as part of the wider Barddoniaeth Colled | Poetry of Loss project.

Organisé par Literature Wales et financé par le Gouvernement du Pays de Galles comme partie du projet plus global Barddoniaeth Colled | Poetry of Loss.

Performers

[Photo © Rhys Llwyd]

Ifor Ap Glyn is the current National Poet of Wales. Born in London to Welsh parents, he is a multi award-winning poet, presenter, director and producer. Ifor has won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod – one of the festival’s most prestigious prizes – on two occasions, first in 1999 and again in 2013. From 2008-2009 Ifor was Bardd Plant Cymru, the Welsh-language Children’s Poet Laureate.

He has represented Welsh poetry around the world in both the Welsh and English language, having performed at festivals such as the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington, DC. Poète national du Pays de Galles. Il a gagné plusieurs prix pour son travail à la télévision: comme présentateur, régisseur et producteur.

[Photo © Bob Bronshoff]

Geert Buelens is a poet, critic, essayist and professor of Contemporary Dutch Literature at the University of Utrecht, and a guest professor at Stellenbosch University. His first collection of poetry, Het is (It is), published in 2002 by Meulenhoff, was awarded the Lucy B. & C.W. van der Hoogt Prize in 2003. His poems have been translated into English, French, German, Polish and Czech. Europa Europa! (Ambo) his award-winning book on the European poets of the First World War, has been translated into German and English.

His next book, a cultural history of the sixties, is due later this year.

Poète, critique et essayiste primé.

Professeur de la Littérature Néerlandaise Contemporaine à l’Université d’Utrecht.

[Photo © Andy Morgan]

Gwyneth Glyn studied Philosophy and Theology at Jesus College, Oxford before returning to Wales to pursue a career as a writer and singer. She has performed at festivals across the world, including the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington, DC, and throughout India as part of Ghazalaw, a collaboration with ghazal singer Tauseef Akthar.

She was appointed Bardd Plant Cymru, the Welsh-language Children’s Poet Laureate for 2006-2007 and has written extensively for theatre and television.

Ecrivain, poète et chansonnier qui a joué aux festivals partout dans le monde.

[Photo © Barney Jones]

Patrick McGuinness is the author of The Last Hundred Days (Seren), which was longlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the 2011 Costa First Novel Award and won the 2012 Wales Book of the Year Award and the 2012 Writers’ Guild Prize for Fiction. He won the Wales Book of the Year Award once again in 2015 for his novel Other People’s Countries (Vintage).

Patrick is a Fellow of St. Anne’s College, Oxford, where he lectures in French. He lives in Caernarfon.

Romancier et écrivain très respecté, nominé pour le Man Booker Prize en 2011.

Literary Residencies

Passa Porta, Brussels In May, poet and academic Nerys Williams will begin a literary residency in Brussels, exploring the parallels between Hedd Wyn and Irish poet Francis Ledwidge, who both died in Ypres on 31 July 1917. During her time in Flanders, Nerys will visit the area surrounding Artillery Wood, where both poets are buried.

Originally from Carmarthenshire, Nerys is an Associate Professor in American Literature at University College Dublin and a Fulbright alumnus. She has written extensively on contemporary poetry and her collection, Sound Archive (Seren, 2011) has won several awards. She is the current holder of

the Poetry Ireland Ted McNulty single poem prize and lives in Kells Co. Meath, Ireland, with her husband and daughter.

Passa Porta (www.passaporta.be), the International House of Literature in Brussels, will be the main base for the residency.

Passa Porta is located in the heart of Brussels, and offers a unique working and meeting place for authors, readers, translators and literary mediators from across the world.

Residency Dates: Monday 8 – Sunday 28 May 2017

Ty Newydd, North Wales Ty Newydd is the national writing centre of Wales. The Centre hosts an annual programme of creative writing courses and retreats for writers of all ages and abilities, both in Welsh and English. Ty Newydd, which was the last home of former Prime Minister David Lloyd George, is located in Llanystumdwy, Gwynedd, and is run by

Literature Wales, the national company for the development of literature in Wales.

In November, a Flemish writer will undertake a literary residency at Ty Newydd as part of the Poetry of Loss project. www.tynewydd.wales

“Poetry of Loss, and the wider Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914-1918 programme, is an opportunity for Wales to reinforce its cultural links with Europe and to promote Wales’ literary heritage to new audiences. As well as Flanders, the wider programme’s partnerships include links with Ireland, drawing parallels with the centenary of poet Francis Ledwidge, who died in Ypres on the same day as Hedd Wyn. Using literature, history and other art forms we will explore contemporary themes of war and displacement, which are as significant today as they were a hundred years ago.”

To find out more about Barddoniaeth Colled | Poetry of Loss, visit: www.literaturewales.org For more information on the Cymru’n Cofio Wales Remembers 1914-1918 First World War Centenary Programme, visit: www.walesremembers.org

Lleucu Siencyn Chief Executive, Literature Wales

[Ty Newydd Writing Centre. Photo © Richard Outram]

Hedd Wyn Hedd Wyn was the shepherd poet who became the symbol of a generation lost during the First World War. Ellis Evans (1887-1917), better known by his bardic name Hedd Wyn, died during the Battle of Passchendaele.

Weeks after his death, his poem ‘Yr Arwr’ (The Hero) won the 1917 Eisteddfod Bardic Chair (the highest honour bestowed to Welsh language poets). When the tragedy was revealed during the ceremony, a black cloth was dramatically draped across the chair. Remarkably, the “Black Chair”, as it is now known was carved by Eugeen Vanfleteren, a war refugee from Flanders. The original chair will be on display in Hedd Wyn’s former home Yr Ysgwrn, now a centre run by Snowdonia National Park Authority.

To learn more about Yr Ysgwrn, visit: www.yrysgwrn.com Hedd Wyn – photo by kind permission of SNPA

WAR

LA GUERRE

Why must I live in this grim age When, to a far horizon, God Has ebbed away, and man, with rage Now wields the sceptre and the rod?

Malheureux suis-je de vivre en ces temps si sombres Où Dieu se retire sur l’horizon lointain, Laissant l’homme, l’esclave aussi bien que le maître, Brandir de son pouvoir le symbole assassin.

Man raised his sword, once God had gone, To slay his brother, and the roar Of battlefields now casts upon Our homes the shadow of the war.

Quand il sentit que Dieu n’était plus à la veille, Du glaive il se saisit pour massacrer son frère; Le bruit de la tuerie résonne à notre oreille, Et son ombre envahit du pauvre la chaumière.

The harps to which we sang are hung On willow boughs, and their refrain Drowned by the anguish of the young Whose blood is mingled with the rain.

Les harpes qui jadis accompagnaient nos chants Sont maintenant pendues aux branchages des saules, Et la bourrasque est lourde du cri des enfants Dont le sang vient grossir la pluie dans les rigoles.

HEDD WYN

HEDD WYN

Translation by Alan Llwyd © Alan Llwyd / Cyhoeddiadau Barddas

Traduit par / translated by Marie-Thérèse Castay Publié en / published in: Le Berger poète combattant (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2017)