The good people form Wales Arts Review asked me for five key influences on the writing of REPUBLIC- so I went with first thought best thought. I believe these to be true (at least for a prose volume reflecting on language, music and community… ) FIVE ART WORKS- WALES ARTS REVIEW
Y bardd gafodd ei sbarduno gan y Sîn Roc Gymraeg “Roedd e’n creu ymwybyddiaeth bod sawl math o Gymreictod, a bod dim rhaid i chi fod yn hollol bur, bod dim rhaid i chi fod yn berchen ar garafán” NON TUDUR. Linc GOLWG fyma- here
Republic Nerys Williams here 9781781726969 • Poetry • Paperback • £9.99 “Republic is the explosive new poetry collection from Nerys Williams. In it she opens a window on life in rural west Wales during the 1980s and 90s when arts and culture boomed. English and Welsh-language post-punk bands, politics, feminism and family life are thrown together on the page as she questions what constitutes a republic?” Praise for Republic “Nerys Williams has written a ‘gold rush’ of a book, at times explosive and at other times meditative and soulful. Her vignettes, richly poetic, zing and thrill, delight and haunt. You will want to slow down your reading… Read More →
DYDD GWYL DEWI HAPUS DIOLCH CYNGOR LLYFRAU CYMRU / THANKS WELSH BOOKS COUNCIL
Listening to Republic Writing Republic I found that post punk music of the 80s and 90s became key in an attempt to articulate a relationship between community, language and culture. Given the current preponderance of School Disco compilations, initially it might seem that retreating to the music of the 80s and 90s is another variant in communal nostalgia. This is not the intention of Republic. I believe that music carries an energy for future action and desire for change. What you learn over the years changes how you listen to those important early albums. Context shifts meaning. Republic is an anti-memoir, it came from a need to transcribe the voices of a community… Read More →
BBC RADIO WALES: THE REVIEW SHOW 17TH FEBRUARY, 2022 Reviewing The Review Show: Delighted with the review on BBC Radio Wales – the reviewers engaged with Republic‘s key issues: politics, music, subjectivity and the represenation of Welsh language. Many of the issues raised – where the book might fit in terms of it being an experiement in prose, how it might be seen as a cross genre work were particulalry thoughtful My aim in Republic was to reach a broader readership than my earlier work Sound Archive to address the complexities of bilingualism and the thinking through of Welsh identity (without reverting to tropes). In the past I have… Read More →
Issue 25 Blackbox Manifold dedicated to Welsh Innovative Poetry curated by John Goodby Goodby writes: “This is a selection of recent work by eighteen poets who were born and / or brought up in Wales, or who are from elsewhere but work and write in Wales, or who have other meaningful ties to the country. Most of it was written in the last twelve months or so and therefore dates from the fraught countdown to Brexit, and a good deal of it was written during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, directly or indirectly, it often reflects a strange and changeful period. Some of the poetry has been published before, but… Read More →
