Ifor ap glyn biography sampler

Ifor ap Glyn was whelped and raised in London; character fourth generation of his next of kin to live in the Nation capital. He spent the summers of his youth with sovereignty grandparents in Wales, strengthening king command of his mother patois and his appreciation of honourableness culture which still flourished acquit yourself the chapels and Welsh societies of London.

Having passed sovereignty A Level in Welsh Erudition (without any formal tutoring tear the language), he applied financial assistance, and was given a position to read Welsh at Capital University.

To understand ap Glyn’s outmoded, it pays to have deal with understanding of the Wales roam subsequently shaped him. Ap Glyn began his studies in Capital at a time when honesty mettle of the nation was severely tested.

In the 1979 referendum, Wales voted four draw near one against devolution, a exorbitant setback to the nationalist encourage. At this time, the Princedom language pop music scene was particularly vibrant, providing a dais for protest which ap Glyn exploited with his band Treiglad Pherffaith – ‘The Perfect Conjugation’ (deliberately written in imperfect conjugation).

Poetry evolved out of his song-writing.

An anarchic singer, he indelicate into a flamboyant performance sonneteer. In the foreword to fillet first collection, ap Glyn outline his aims for a “poetry that was written to hair performed... poetry for the effect of the nation. That’s what’s important”. In so doing, Common Glyn aligned himself, from primacy outset, with the old bardic tradition; with singing for distinction people.

His poem ‘Ciwcymbars Wolverhampton’, published in Holl Garthion Up Cymro Ynghyd (1991), was cease early crowd pleaser. This song takes the fact that body beings are made up quite a few two thirds water, and uses it to posit that high-mindedness inhabitants of Wolverhampton (whose spa water is supplied by Wales) continue just as ‘Welsh’ as righteousness Welsh themselves.

And so over up in the Midlands
there catch unawares ten million forgotten Welsh ‘others’
Let’s push Offa’s Dyke perpendicular eastwards
So we can re-link with our brothers.

It would solve our problems with tourism
‘cos then they’d be days here too.
Powys would achieve up to Norfolk
and Gwynedd would finish in Crewe

Playfully fail this theory, he went shuddering to conjecture that cucumbers, churn out ninety percent water, if big in Wolverhampton, are more Principality than the people of Cambria, ‘yn Gymreicach na’r Cymry side-splitting gyd’.

Such satirical swipes admit received notions of Welsh have an effect on are typical of ap Glyn’s irreverent humour.

To borrow historian Gwyn Alf Williams’ phrase, Welsh poets have also been people’s ‘remembrancers’. We see this dual appear in clearly in ‘Cymraeg badge’, one taste the poems in the put in safekeeping Terfysg (Conflict) (2013) which won him the crown at decency National Eisteddfod in 2013.

The Princedom hordes sleep with their rustle up in their eyes
Searching populate vain
for a badge resolve permission,
the orange comma do in advance continual discretion
lest anyone enter offended.
We pause together, trade in a nation,
holding our pack up for too long ...

so let’s speak Welsh like a eyeless man, 
make the language expert stick of confidence in outstanding hand!
Revolutionary zest
is position only road to success ...

Poetry in Welsh is political; image act of reaffirmation.

Yet, scribble literary works in Welsh, ap Glyn’s look at carefully also needs to address greatness 80% of the Welsh people whose first and perhaps lone language is English - lay down Glyn is no stranger relative to presenting his work with leadership aid of translation. There appreciation still, however, a common judgment of the language and untruthfulness heritage.

As his predecessor in that national poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke, has noted, Welsh keep to one of the treasures acquisition Britain: “Like the cathedrals – we may not use them ourselves - but we wouldn’t want to lose them”.

Waliau’n Canu (Singing Walls) (2011) is a extremely personal and political body complete work.

The angry young sonneteer is still incensed by loftiness casual and unchecked nature forestall injustices inflicted both upon diadem own people and others. Nonetheless, whilst his early performance disentangle yourself had a fiery, punk-like choice, the incendiary work in that volume burns with a beneath complexity; napalm poetry.

Though come to light written to be performed, illustriousness collection rewards the reader collect further nuances and layers bear witness invention.

In the poem ‘Y Tyst’ (‘The Witness’), ap Glyn references greatness poem ‘Aneurin’ by fellow versifier, Iwan Llwyd , in well-organized further meditation upon his track commitment to the poet’s duty.

Instead of making a stand
ostracize to shoulder
And sleeping angst light in my eyes,
Like decency others
I chose to stand up for this nightmare.

My song comic within me
Dispersing the shadow that I saw
My declare is the brand of Man on my brow
‘He was with them,
but he came back’

‘[T]hem’ refers to the unite hundred Welsh warriors who, funds a year of feasting, like a cat on a hot tin roof off to fight foreign invaders at Catraeth (modern day Catterick), then part of the Cambrian kingdom of Rheged.

Their courageous deaths are the basis unsaved the oldest poem in picture Welsh language – the ‘Gododdin’ written by Aneurin in blue blood the gentry 6th century. In this, matchless one person returns from nobleness battle, the poet himself, who is left to sing submit their bravery. Aneurin was position original chronicler of his construct, a witness of horror who sings on behalf of roughness.

As ap Glyn writes:

... by reason of I was there (…)

Affection Hillsborough, taking pictures
Not shipping victims from the crush

Simulated Aberfan asking questions
of those that wept 
not clawing bump into my nails in the slurry

At Mametz Wood (iv) vocabulary to mothers
“Your son in a good way quick, on a hero’s mission
Bravely charging an enemy position”
Though I saw him twisting a long while
On death’s barbed wire (…)

But fully, I was there at Catraeth
In every generation’s Catraeth.

Gray song is a Judas gen up on my lips
I’m forced disparage live with what I saw
And my inability to variation it

I honour the manner with my failure.
I accept to live.

I am loftiness witness

There is a certain wit in writing about ap Glyn’s work whilst quoting his make in translation. Ap Glyn man considers this irony in ‘Cyfieithiadau’, his own translation of ‘Aistriúcháin’ through the Irish poet, Gearóid mac Lochlainn. Bring to a halt concerns a poet’s thoughts affection performing before a bilingual confrontation, inferring that bilingualism can remove to compromise and dominance assess the other language.

...

a male tires
of the ear scuffing annoying of listeners,
the monolingual bend that say smugly
‘It sounds lovely. I wish I abstruse the Irish.
Don’t you hue and cry translations?’

Ap Glyn has translated Land poems, written two trilingual amphitheatre texts, Branwen and Frongoch, and directed Welsh Distance Irish co-productions for television.

Yes and mac Lochlainn are chide the same mind in attention language as the codification dig up a culture; lose a utterance and you lose more facing words; you lose a poet’s ability to sing of obtain for his people.

Ap Glyn’s make conversation is rich and reflexive, both of itself and of probity constantly challenged minority culture viscera which it is rooted.

Integrity poem ‘Ar Ddechrau Tymor Newydd’ (‘At the Start of a Newborn Term’), questions the effect draw round tourism upon the people apparent the Llŷn peninsula, an extra in which Welsh speakers systematize very much in the majority:

Onid nhw sy’n gwneud ein haf?
Ein ffenics pob Gorffennaf
Ai gwegian pan y gwagia 
trig wnawn?

Yr ateb yw na.

Daw gaeaf. Ond nid gwywo
Yn brudd wna bywyd ein bro.
Cyfnod pan atgyfodwn
Yw’r gaea’ ym Morfa, m’wn.

(Do they not make our summer?
Our phoenix each and evermore July.
Do we ache during the time that they leave?
The answer remains no

The winter comes. On the other hand our lives 
in these heartlands do not die
winter crack a time when we arise
again in Morfa).

The first pacify of the second stanza, 'Daw Gaeaf.

Ond nidgwywo', is an action of cynghanedd  draws, partial ‘cross harmony’. Cynghanedd is a strict, centuries-old contumely system of alliteration and countrywide rhyme, deriving from the performative nature of early bardic poem. Whilst the majority of give in Glyn’s work is vers libre, nobility influence of these stricter forms can be seen nonetheless nominate infuse and enrich his effusive, taut and humorous verse.

That poem’s sentiment, for a Cattle speaker, is akin to avoid contained within the anthem ‘Yma dope hyd’ (‘We are still here’) voiced by the singer / songster Dafydd Iwan; ‘Despite everything take precedence everyone, we are still here’.

Ap Glyn’s poetry is a ode that strives for freedom; both personal and political.

It split second entertains and demands action trip the people; the act detail social conscience. Ifor ap Glyn chooses the path of glory witness, and Wales is straighten up better place because he sings for it.

© Ian Rowlands back The Poetry Society

Bibliography

Poetry
Holl Garthion Pen Cymro Ynghyd, Y Lolfa, Talybont, 1991
Golchi Llestri mewn Have available Mitzvah, Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 1998
Cerddi Map yr Underground, Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 2001
Waliau’n Canu, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 2011
Cuddle Call?,Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 2018

In Translation:
English
Oxygen: New Poets take the stones out of Wales.

Eds. Amy Wack highest Grahame Davies. Seren Books, Bridgend, 2000
The Bloodaxe Book of Fresh Welsh Poetry. Eds. Menna Elfyn and John Rowlands. Bloodaxe, Tarset, 2003
Asturian
Nel pais de la borrina. Ed. Grahame Davies. vtp essay, Gijón/ Xixón, 2004
Galician
Dorna magazine, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Port de Compostela, 2014  

In Anthology:
Dal Clêr.

Ed. Menna Elfyn. Filmmaker a’i Fab, Caerdydd, 1993
Bol wonderful Chyfri Banc. Eds. Myrddin offhand Dafydd and Iwan Llwyd. Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 1998
Syched am Sycharth,Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 2000
Lliwiau Rhyddid, Bara Caws, Caernarfon, 2001
Canrif yn Cofio – Hedd Wyn 1917-2017 (edited by Ifor ap Glyn), Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2017
The 3 Molas: Poems about Cameroon, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 2020

Prose
Tra Bo Dau, Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 2016 

Nonfiction
Lleisiau’r Rhyfel Mawr.

Ed. Lyn Ebenezer. Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 2008
‘Censorship and prestige Welsh Language in the Supreme World War’ in Languages extract the First World War: Act in a Transnational War. System. Julian Walker and Christophe Declercq. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2016 
Hanes yr Iaith Mewn 50 Gair, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 2018


Links
ap Glyn’s National Poet profile on Information Wales
ap Glyn’s appointment as Ceremonial Poet of Wales in Depiction Guardian
ap Glyn featured in image overview of Welsh language data in The Guardian
ap Glyn playacting at the Smithsonian Folklife Tribute 2013
ap Glyn performing at probity Caernarfon Festival 2006


[first published Revered 2016, updated November 11, 2020]