Paintings and poems

 I had a very interesting afternoon on Saturday visiting the Ceridwen and Gwion Bach exhibition at Y Gaer in Brecon. The artist Tim Rossiter is exhibiting a series of his paintings there, completed over fifteen years, based on the Welsh myth that tells of the impregnation of the enchantress Ceridwen by Gwion Bach. If you don't know the story, do look it up - it's one of the oldest and the best known of all Welsh stories. The child that results from the bizarre union (and who, rather like Moses, is set to sea in a leather bag) is reputed to become Taliesin, the renowned sixth century bard. 

The paintings themselves were fascinating but I was particularly interested to hear the poetry that had been written in response to some of Taliesin's work. Two poets - Graham Harthill and Ric Hool - read; a third, Frank Olding, who was to have read in Welsh was unfortunately unwell. I enjoyed the readings very much but couldn't help thinking how masculine the poets' takes on the story perhaps were - indeed, Graham Harthill himself acknowledged them as such. I'm sure many women would find very different meanings in the myth - but then, what resonates in each of us when looking at any story will depend on many factors, not simply gender of course. A lot to ponder on there!

Appropriate timing!

On Sunday the Gloucestershire poet, my friend and ex-colleague Iris Anne Lewis shared a lovely afternoon with me as we launched our two new poetry collections. Coming in the same week as National Poetry Day - today, October 3rd - it could not have had more auspicious timing. We were fortunate to have the use of the Friend's Meeting House in Cirencester, a seventeenth century building with a beautiful panelled library that just lends itself to spoken word presentations. And we were lucky indeed to have Angela France, senior lecturer in poetry at the University of Gloucestershire, and Anna Saunders, the Director of the Cheltenham Poetry Festival, reading alongside us. Another Welsh poet, my friend and mentor Rona Laycock, very ably chaired the afternoon and we had a very attentive and appreciative audience. Many thanks to everyone who came and helped to make it such a memorable occasion.

So, after another lengthy gestation, The Photo I Didn't Take has finally made it out into the world. When I despair of the mishaps and the health problems of the last few months, I can now comfort myself with the knowledge that I have brought out both a prose and poetry publication this year! Time to move on now though and get stuck in again with the pilgrimage project that was relegated to the back burner with so many adverse things going on. 

If you happen to be in the lower Wye Valley area during October - do drop into the Wye Valley Craft Association centre at Abbey Mill in Tintern. Amongst the beautiful pottery, jewellery, woodwork and glassware you'll find a display of books by local authors - novelists, poets, children's writers, memoirists. So many great ideas for those Christmas presents you've promised yourself you'll get early this year! To say nothing of those you can treat yourself to ...

On a different note

Writing about things "heading in the right direction" must be tempting fate - so I'll take another tack! But despite the present writing project taking a very circuitous route, some minor surgery in the offing this week and one or two other unexpected diversions, there have been some interesting and positive features over the last month and my new poetry collection "The Photo I Didn't Take" is going to be launched on the 29th. It's going to be a joint launch with the poet Iris Anne Lewis (whose new collection, Amber, is also with Graffiti Books) at The Friends Meeting House in Cirencester - a beautiful setting for readings and afternoon tea.

And I'm very much enjoying facilitating a short series of sessions on Writing Our lives at Monmouth Library. Life writing is such a fascinating genre and people bring so much to these sessions - such varied life stories and so many hopes and plans for telling those stories in some very innovative ways. It was the Shakespearean actor, Sir Antony Sher, who said that "Nothing is more interesting than human lives" and I couldn't agree more with him. It's a real privilege to be party to them in a writing environment.

Heading in the right direction

2024 is turning into a bit of a roller-coaster of a year. The ups have been really good ups but the downs have certainly been fairly traumatic downs. For someone who is normally very fit and healthy, recent weeks have been a real trial but I'm hoping now that the apparent upward trajectory is going to be a sustained one. There's a lot of catching up to do! Writing projects have had to take back seat and are certainly not going to flourish in that position.

I was delighted last week though to find Once Upon A Time In Wales on sale amongst only a handful of English language books at the National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd. I spent a day there with my daughter and, despite the rather iffy weather, thoroughly enjoyed it. The Gorsedd Ceremony, with all its tradition and symbolism, was hugely impressive - and, despite the proceedings having quite a bit of archaic Welsh in them, I was very cheered by how much of the language I now understand! Unfortunately I wasn't able to go again on the Friday when Mike Parker, who taught me at Ty Newydd and whose books I so enjoy, was received into the Gorsedd. Many, many congratulations to him for this tremendous honour.

Are you sitting comfortably?
Then I'll begin ...

Another thoroughly enjoyable visit was yesterday's to Writers in the Library in Cirencester, where I was the guest speaker. It gave me the opportunity to meet up with old Gloucestershire writing friends but also to hear some new voices at the open mic session afterwards. Many thanks to Liz Carew and Frank McMahon, the organisers, for inviting me.

And now down to work. The proof copy of my forthcoming poetry collection landed on the mat this morning - very exciting!   

The best laid plans

                                                
An idyllic walk, part of a long-researched river pilgrimage ... and within minutes of taking this photo I was upside down in a ditch with a broken left elbow and a damaged right wrist and shoulder! The subsequent pilgrimage around three different hospitals (plus a very unpleasant dose of Covid) had certainly not featured in the planning and accounts for the radio silence over the last few weeks. The really annoying thing was that, having covered nearly seven miles on some quite challenging ground, I managed to fall off a tarmaced surface ...

Getting back on track is going to take a while as driving is currently an issue. But I've always liked to have a couple of writing projects on the go at once and that's my saving grace just now. The schedule for the next book may need some rearranging, but I have no excuse for not getting on with some articles and meeting a poetry deadline!

Away from the desk

 A busy and enjoyable couple of days out and about this week. On Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited along to a joint Creative Cardiff / Cardiff University day on the Creative Writing Industries. It was interesting to meet a number of new writers, just emerging from the MA programme at the university, and to hear from alumni of that programme about their very varied career paths since graduating. A panel discussion on Voices in Welsh Publishing showcased four publishing houses (Seren, Parthien Books, Broken Sleep Books and Lucent Dreaming) and another session addressed the thorny question of Getting Paid and the Practicalities of a Writing Career. But, as always, the great advantage of the day was the opportunity it provided for networking - or "finding your tribe" as several speakers expressed it. Wales is a small country - but it has a very vibrant writing community and some very supportive tribes.

Then yesterday evening I went to the Millenium Centre to see Michael Sheen in Nye. It was by far and away the best theatre production I have ever seen. Every detail was incredible - the script, the acting, the sets, the staging. Aneurin Bevan was played as the flawed, arrogant, argumentative, brilliant character that he was. The action was amusing and moving in equal measure and by the end the whole theatre was on its feet in a standing ovation. Should you have any chance of seeing ithe play during its short Cardiff run, it's not to be missed. And with things as they are in the NHS at present, it's an opportune moment to be reflecting on the immense value of this country's most precious institution.

Out into the world

I sometimes think that the aftermath of launching a book is a bit like the "empty-nester syndrome" parents speak of having launched offspring into the big, wide world! It's as if a constant companion has left for pastures new - especially when that companion has been around for a long time. But it was a great delight to see Once Upon A Time In Wales making its way into other people's hands last weekend, and to have had such positive responses since from those who came to the launch. And it's interesting now to move on with a new "companion", one who is already demanding a lot of time and energy!

This week is Mental Health Awareness week. Creative and reflective writing have been proved time and again to benefit mental health, and organisations such as Write Well (about which I've written on this blog before) can contribute greatly to people's sense of wellbeing. In September I'm starting to work with two community groups on life writing projects. Life writing has been a particular interest of mine for some years. Working with older people in residential care for three years after I retired, following up on their life stories, was so rewarding and so enjoyable all round, and I'm really looking forward to my autumn groups. "Nothing is more interesting than human lives" said the Shakespearean actor Antony Sher - and I couldn't agree more.