Wales Archives - Page 4 of 15

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Simon appleby

Legend of the Month: Owen Sheers

Each month we are celebrating one fantastic Seren author in honour of Wales’ Year of Legends. This month the spotlight has fallen on Owen Sheers, whose stunning poetry and fiction are regular Seren bestsellers.

Owen Sheers is an author, poet and playwright from Wales. His first poetry collection, The Blue Book (Seren, 2000), was shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize Best First Collection and ACW Book of the Year 2001. Skirrid Hill (Seren, 2006), his second collection, won a Somerset Maugham Prize and was longlisted for Welsh Book of the Year. Sheers’ debut prose work The Dust Diaries (Faber & Faber), won the Welsh Book of the Year 2005. His first novel, Resistance (Faber & Faber), has been translated into eleven languages.

In 2009 Owen contributed to Seren’s ‘New Stories from the Mabinogion’ series with White Ravens, a contemporary response to the myth of Branwen, Daughter of Llyr. He published The Gospel of Us in 2012 – a novel based on his dramatisation of The Passion for the National Theatre of Wales, set in the streets and clubs of Port Talbot and starring Michael Sheen. Sheers’ latest novel, I Saw A Man (Faber & Faber), was published in June 2015.

We hope you enjoy Owen’s poem ‘Intermission’, from Skirrid Hill, which featured as our Poem of the Month in the Seren Newsletter.

Find Owen Sheers’ books on the Seren website.

Discover a great selection of books by our other legendary writers on the Year of Legends page.

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Posted on September 18, 2017 by Simon appleby

September Book Giveaway: win a copy of Welsh Verse

This month we are giving away a copy of Tony Conran’s milestone of translation, Welsh Verse.

To enter, simply sign up to the Seren newsletter before 1st October:
https://www.serenbooks.com/newsletter/signup

About Welsh Verse:
Welsh Verse has made a triumphant return to print. Tony Conran’s unrivalled volume of Welsh poetry through the ages contains lively yet meticulous translations stretching from the sixth century to the late twentieth century. Virtually every significant poet (or poem: there are several Anonymous entries over the centuries) is present, and every poetic form: the epics of Taliesin and Aneurin, the poets of the medieval princes, Tudor poets, Non-conformist poets, hymn-writers, Romantics, Social Realists and political Nationalists.
Welsh Verse also includes an influential Introduction full of insight into the history of poetry in the Welsh language, and into the challenges of translating it, particularly over so many centuries and styles.

We will pick a winner at random from all our email subscribers on 1st October. Make sure you have signed up to Seren News before then to be in with a chance of winning!

Why not give your friends a chance to win too, by recommending that they sign up to our newsletter before the end of the month using this link?
www.serenbooks.com/newsletter/signup

Congratulations to last month’s winner, Norma Curtis, who is now enjoying her copy of Black Shiver Moss by Graham Mort.

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Posted on August 25, 2017 by Simon appleby

Friday Poem – ‘The Battle of Gwen Strad’, Taliesin, translated by Tony Conran

Tony Conran’s unrivalled anthology of Welsh poetry through the ages, Welsh Verse, has just returned to print. This week our Friday Poem is Conran’s translation of ‘The Battle of Gwen Strad’, by sixth century poet, Taliesin.

Welsh Verse is a milestone of translation, containing poetry from the sixth century to the late twentieth century. Virtually every significant poet (or poem: there are several Anonymous entries over the centuries) is present, and every poetic form: the epics of Taliesin and Aneurin, the poets of the medieval princes, Tudor poets, Non-conformist poets, hymn-writers, Romantics, Social Realists and political Nationalists. Welsh Verse also includes an Introduction full of insight into the history of poetry in the Welsh language, and into the challenges of translating it, particularly over so many centuries and styles.
Taliesin is often referred to, in legend and in medieval Welsh poetry, as ‘Taliesin Ben Beirdd’ (‘Taliesin, Chief of Bards’). ‘The Battle of Gwen Strad’, along with several of his other poems, sings the praises of King Urien.

*Presumably before the Anglo-Saxons took Catraeth (Catterick) – see under Aneirin. Urien was Taliesin’s patron, king of Rheged in Cumbria and S.W. Scotland. The Eden is a river in Cumbria.

Welsh Verse is available from the Seren website: £12.99.

Join our free Book Club for 20% off every book you buy from us.

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Simon appleby

Legend of the Month: Alun Lewis

Each month we are celebrating one fantastic Seren author in honour of Wales’ Year of Legends. This month the spotlight falls on Alun Lewis.

Alun Lewis, the remarkable Second World War writer, died aged twenty-eight in Burma during the Second World War, but produced a vast number of poems and short fiction in the years previously.

Born and brought up near Aberdare in south Wales, Lewis read history at Aberystwyth and Manchester. After a brief period teaching and despite pacifist inclinations, he enlisted in the Royal Engineers. He later joined the South Wales Borderers and was posted to India.

Becoming a soldier had a stimulating effect on Lewis’s writing: Raiders’ Dawn, a collection of forty-seven poems, appeared in 1942 and early in 1943, The Last Inspection, a book of short stories, was published, both to considerable critical acclaim. Lewis died in an accident on active service in Burma in 1944. His second volume of poems, Ha! Ha! Among the Trumpets, was published in 1945 and his Indian short stories, together with some letters, in In The Green Tree (1948). Morlais, Lewis’ previously unpublished novel from the 1930s, was published by Seren in July 2015 to mark the centenary of his birth.

Find out more about Alun Lewis’ life and writing in John Pikoulis’ latest biography, Alun, Gweno & Freda, an illuminating account through the particular prism of Lewis’ relationships with his wife Gweno and Freda Aykroyd, an expatriate in India. If you’d like to read Alun Lewis’ poetry, we recommend Alun Lewis: Collected Poems, a body of work which has endured and which transcends the label ‘war poetry’.

Find a great selection of books by our other legendary writers on the Year of Legends page.

And don’t forget to sign up to our free, no-purchase-necessary Book Club for 20% off every book you buy from us.

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Posted on June 29, 2017 by Simon appleby

Announcing the Myths & Legends Astronomy Tour of Wales

Myths and Legends Astronomy Tour Wales Martin Griffiths

With it being Wales’ Year of Legends, what better time could there be to discover the rich mythological history of our land? Martin Griffiths’ new astronomy book, Dark Land, Dark Skies, does just that – and now Martin is getting ready to tour Wales with his fascinating Celtic interpretation of the stars.

The tour kicks off with the Dark Land, Dark Skies book launch, tomorrow, at the Brecon Beacons National Park Visitors Centre, Libanus. Martin will introduce the legendary Welsh heroes, plotting a map of our mythology in the stars above. If the weather allows, we’ll step outside and gaze at the dark sky, the author’s expertise guiding us away from Greek and Roman to instead see mythical Celtic figures far above.
Free places are still available – book now.

Meet us in Pembrokeshire, Snowdonia, Elan Valley and Newtown as the tour continues: at each stop, Martin will reveal more about Welsh mythology and how it can be seen in the stars. These unmissable events will connect you to our culture and change the way you see the night sky.

Find all the most up-to-date information on these events, including how to purchase tickets, on the Seren Events page.

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Simon appleby

Book giveaway: win a copy of Mr Vogel by Lloyd Jones

This month we are giving away a copy of Lloyd Jones’ stunning novel, Mr Vogel, which is newly back in print.

To enter, simply sign up to the Seren newsletter before 1st June:
https://www.serenbooks.com/newsletter/signup

About Mr Vogel:
Following a bout of alcoholism which almost killed him, Lloyd Jones decided to recuperate by walking around Wales. It was this epic walk which inspired Jones to write Mr Vogel – one of the most original and engaging novels to appear from – and about – Wales in recent years.
The novel begins with the discovery, in the attic of a second-hand bookshop, of an account of a lame man’s mysterious quest – the so-called ’Vogel Papers’. Our guide, a Welshman, becomes obsessed with the Vogel Papers: his investigations take him across three continents and around his homeland – from Anglesey to Pembrokeshire, from Bangor to the Black Mountains – in search of a strange man known only as Mr Vogel.

We will pick a winner at random from all our email subscribers on 1st June. Make sure you have signed up to Seren News before then to be in with a chance of winning!

Why not give your friends a chance to win too, by recommending that they sign up to our newsletter before the end of the month using this link?
www.serenbooks.com/newsletter/signup

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Simon appleby

Legend of the Month: Robert Graves

Each month we are celebrating one fantastic Seren author in honour of Wales’ Year of Legends. This month the spotlight falls on Robert Graves.

Robert Graves began publishing poetry after the outbreak of the First World War, for which he enlisted in 1914 as a junior officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He was one of the first to write realistic poems about the experience of fighting on the frontline. His first volume, Over the Brazier, was published in 1916, and by 1917 he had produced two further collections of war poetry whilst still on active service. Over the Brazier and Fairies and Fusiliers earned for Graves the reputation of an accomplished war poet.
You can find all Graves’ war poetry in recently published Robert Graves: War Poems (Seren, 2016).

During his lifetime Graves published more than 140 books, including fifty-five collections of poetry (he reworked his Collected Poems repeatedly during his career), fifteen novels, ten translations, and forty works of non-fiction, autobiography, and literary essays. His best known works are his memoir of World War One, Goodbye to All That, The White Goddess, and the novels I, Claudius and Claudius the Great.

Here is Graves’ poem, ‘Hate Not, Fear Not’, from his previously unpublished collection The Patchwork Flag (1918) which, almost a century after composition, has now been brought into print as part of Robert Graves: War Poems.

Robert Graves Hate Not, Fear Not

Robert Graves: War Poems is available from our website: £19.99

Find a great selection of books by our other legendary writers on the Year of Legends page.

And don’t forget to sign up to our free, no-purchase-necessary Book Club for 20% off every book you buy from us.

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Posted on March 2, 2017 by Simon appleby

Find a free Seren book this World Book Day

Today we are celebrating all things literary for World Book Day, now in its 20th year. We want the world to discover our fantastic authors, and to help a few of you do just that, we’ve left a selection of our books all over Cardiff for lucky people to find and keep.

If you’re out in Cardiff today, stop for a coffee in one of the lovely independent cafés and you might well find a Seren book hiding somewhere near you! Take it, enjoy it, and pass it on to someone new to enjoy afterwards to spread the World Book Day love.

Can you guess which books we’ve hidden? Poetry, fiction, non-fiction – there’s a real mix out there, just waiting to be found.

Happy World Book Day, and happy book hunting…

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Simon appleby

Get your books in time for Christmas: last recommended posting date

5 days ‘til Christmas – where has the time gone? If you’re still sorting out your presents then never fear, you can still order our books and receive them before Christmas day.

Today is the last recommended posting date for our postage service on www.serenbooks.com. If you’re searching for last-minute literary gifts then don’t delay – orders placed any later than 5pm today can’t be guaranteed for Christmas.

Top gift ideas:

An un-put-downable novel
RRP £9.99
£4.99 (today only!)
Helen Blackhurst’s tense and atmospheric debut novel, Swimming on Dry Land, is half price today (20/12/16) as our featured Advent Calendar offer. Set in outback Australia, the book follows the Harvey family’s search for a dream life, and the dark turn it takes after daughter Georgie disappears.

A glimpse at stunning history and craft
£12.99
Jen Jones’ authoritative guide to the history of quilting in Wales is visually stunning, and a truly fascinating insight into traditional Welsh quilting methods and styles. Welsh Quilts is the ideal gift for the quilter, crafter, or heritage lover in your life.

A glorious wildlife and nature eye-opener
£19.99
Iolo Williams’ new guide book, Wild Places, will take you and your loved ones off the beaten track for your Christmas walks, with 40 wildlife sites across Wales to choose from. Make the most of the great outdoors with this informative and lavishly illustrated guide that, if used properly, will be crumpled from much use in the years to come.

See our full literary list – everything from fiction, to biography, poetry, art and more – on the Seren website, and have a lovely literary Christmas.

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Simon appleby

Friday Poem – ‘The Infants’ Christmas Concert’, Tony Curtis

Christmas is fast approaching, so our Friday Poem this week is a festive one from Tony Curtis, originally published in Letting Go (1983) and again, just recently, in Tony’s new From the Fortunate Isles: New & Selected Poems.

From the Fortunate Isles features poems from ten of Tony’s published collections, as well as a substantial number of new poems. This is a poet whose themes and variations remain consistent: a deep affection for his roots in West Wales, tender attachments to family, a profound interest in the wars of the last century, and an abiding fascination for all art forms, particularly painting and poetry.

The Infants’ Christmas Concert

A moment of hush, held breath –
the fairies and robbers, the soldiers
and dancers are in position
– then the piano begins.
This sounds otherworldly,
each note a drop of water falling distantly.

Angels swallow trumpets,
a robot trips and turtles in his cardboard shell;
the ballerina crumples and cries.
They may not know why, but still
perform for us the pattern of sentiment,
superstition and love: we sigh,
smile, laugh and applaud.

“The Rich Man gave them a bag of gold
and everyone cheered on the day
the church had a new bell.”
The couple are starched in best white –
as the singing swells, they marry
and claim their gold.
It is intensely sad and fleetingly
realises the ghosts of our innocence.

Flashlights – the year’s frozen
for this instant.
Keep that – don’t move – stay there,
stay somewhere like that for ever.

It all builds to The Nativity:
Joseph, Mary and the three glittering Kings
change without age, time after time.
Only the baby Jesus doll remains,

a scarred and worn wooden face held magically
fresh each year in the laundered swaddling.
The audience – parents and children in arms,
grandparents and neighbours, point and giggle,
there’s a glow and, finally, we all sing.

This has worked some sort of renewal,
some sort of an ending.

From the Fortunate Isles: New & Selected Poems is available from our website: £9.99
Join our free, no-purchase necessary Book Club and receive 20% off every time you shop with us.

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