Grahame Davies
Encyclopedia
Grahame Davies is a poet, editor and literary critic. He was brought up in the former coal mining village of Coedpoeth
near Wrexham
in north east Wales
.
at Anglia Ruskin University
, Cambridge, he qualified as a journalist with the Thomson Organisation at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 1997, he was awarded a doctorate by the University of Wales
for his study, written in Welsh
, of the work of R.S.Thomas, Saunders Lewis
, T.S. Eliot and Simone Weil
, whom he identified as part of an anti-modern trend in Western culture in the 20th Century.
In 1997, his first volume of poetry, Adennill Tir, (Barddas,) a book arising from the 10 years he spent in Merthyr Tydfil
in the south Wales Valleys, won the Harri Webb
Memorial Prize.
In 1999, his study of Wales
and the anti-modern movement, Sefyll yn y Bwlch (University of Wales Press
, 1999), the product of his doctoral research, was published. It went "straight to the front rank of criticism of our day," according to the critic Dr Dafydd Glyn Jones (Barn), and was described as “a signal book” by the critic Dr Angharad Price (New Welsh Review). In 2000, he co-edited Oxygen, (Seren) a bilingual anthology of Welsh poets aged under 45.
In 2001, his second volume of poetry, Cadwyni Rhyddid (Barddas), appeared. It went to a second edition within a few months of publication, won the Wales Arts Council
’s 2002 Book of the Year award at the Hay on Wye Festival of Literature, together with a prize of £3,000. In 2002, Seren
press published his literary anthology, The Chosen People, which details the relationship of the Welsh and the Jewish people as reflected in literature.
Also in 2002, he edited a 160-page edition of the Bulgaria
n literary magazine Plamak (“Flame”) dedicated to Welsh literature, the first such anthology of Welsh writing in the Balkans. In 2002 Ffiniau/Borders appeared from Gomer press, a bilingual volume of poetry jointly with Elin ap Hywel.
In 2003, he chaired the panel of judges for the Welsh Book of the Year Awards. The first prize of £5,000 went to Jerry Hunter’s Llwch Cenhedloedd. In 2004 his first novel Rhaid i Bopeth Newid was published by Gomer
. It was longlisted for the £10,000 Book of the Year prize, 2005, and was described by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas
in the Welsh poetry periodical Taliesin as ’the first post-national novel.’ Also in 2004, his selection of Welsh poetry in Asturian
translation appeared in Spain
from Kêr ar Mor press under the title Nel país del borrina (The Country of the Clouds). In 2005, his selection of Welsh poetry in Galician
translation appeared under the title of No país de la brétema from VTP Editorial.
He is a Board member of the Welsh Academi
and was the Welsh language
editor of Poetry Wales magazine for several years until 2002. He won the vers libre prize in the National Eisteddfod in 1994, the sonnet prize in 2004 and the Welsh Academi’s Stomp competition in 2001. His work has been translated into several languages, including English
, German
, Latvian
, Maltese
, Bulgarian
, Polish
, Asturian
and Galician
, and is widely anthologised, appearing in publications as diverse as The Times
, The Times Literary Supplement
, Poetry London
, the Literary Review
in America, and the Yearbook of Welsh Writing in English.
He is a frequent contributor of articles and reviews to journals such as Poetry Wales, Barn, Taliesin, Planet and New Welsh Review, and his poetry is on the syllabus for school pupils in Wales. He is a regular columnist with Barddas. He reads regularly at festivals and venues, including the Berlin Poesiefestival, the National Eisteddfod, the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, several times at the Hay on Wye Festival of Literature and at the Royal Festival Hall
in London. He has represented Wales
at literary events in Europe
, United States
and Canada
, and frequently appears on television and radio. As a literary critic he has chaired the panel of judges for the £10,000 2004 Book of the Year Award, and has also adjudicated other major competitions such as the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry and the National Eisteddfod’s 2006 Literary Medal Competition. He is a Fellow of Goodenough College
in London and an Honorary Research Fellow in Cardiff University.
Meddwl a’r Dychymyg Cymreig, Y: Sefyll yn y Bwlch: Cymru a’r Mudiad Gwrth-Fodern - Astudiaeth o Waith T.S. Eliot, Simone Weil
, Saunders Lewis
ac R.S. Thomas (University of Wales Press
, 1999)
Cadwyni Rhyddid (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 2002)
Rhaid i Bopeth Newid (Gwasg Gomer, 2004)
Achos (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 2005)
Everything Must Change (Seren Press
, 2007)
Real Wrexham (Seren Press
, 2007)
Contributed to:
Oxygen - Beirdd Newydd o Gymru / New Poets from Wales (editor with Amy Wack) (Seren Press
, 2000)
Trosiadau / Translations: Ffiniau / Borders (with Elin ap Hywel) (Gwasg Gomer, 2002)
The Chosen People- Wales and the Jews (editor) (Seren Press
, 2002)
The Big Book of Cardiff (edited with Peter Finch
) (Seren Press
, 2005)
Gwyl Y Blaidd: The Festival of the Wolf (co-editor) (Parthian, 2006)
Poems of Love and Longing (contributor) (Pont, 2008)
Coedpoeth
Coedpoeth is a village and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.-History:...
near Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
in north east Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Education
After gaining a degree in English LiteratureEnglish literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University is one of the largest universities in Eastern England, United Kingdom, with a total student population of around 30,000.-History:...
, Cambridge, he qualified as a journalist with the Thomson Organisation at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 1997, he was awarded a doctorate by the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
for his study, written in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, of the work of R.S.Thomas, Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic, and political activist. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and a founder of the Welsh National Party...
, T.S. Eliot and Simone Weil
Simone Weil
Simone Weil , was a French philosopher, Christian mystic, and social activist.-Biography:Weil was born in Paris to Alsatian agnostic Jewish parents who fled the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. She grew up in comfortable circumstances, and her father was a doctor. Her only sibling was...
, whom he identified as part of an anti-modern trend in Western culture in the 20th Century.
Work
His career as a journalist and producer has brought him a number of Welsh and UK industry awards.In 1997, his first volume of poetry, Adennill Tir, (Barddas,) a book arising from the 10 years he spent in Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...
in the south Wales Valleys, won the Harri Webb
Harri Webb
Harri Webb was an Anglo-Welsh poet, journalist and Welsh nationalist.Harri Webb was born on 7 September 1920 at 45 Ty Coch Road on the outskirts of Swansea, but before he was two the family moved to Catherine Street, much nearer the city centre...
Memorial Prize.
In 1999, his study of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and the anti-modern movement, Sefyll yn y Bwlch (University of Wales Press
University of Wales Press
The University of Wales Press was founded in 1922 as a central service of the University of Wales. It publishes academic journals and around sixty books a year in the English and Welsh languages, based around a core of six subjects: History; Political Philosophy and Religious Studies;Welsh and...
, 1999), the product of his doctoral research, was published. It went "straight to the front rank of criticism of our day," according to the critic Dr Dafydd Glyn Jones (Barn), and was described as “a signal book” by the critic Dr Angharad Price (New Welsh Review). In 2000, he co-edited Oxygen, (Seren) a bilingual anthology of Welsh poets aged under 45.
In 2001, his second volume of poetry, Cadwyni Rhyddid (Barddas), appeared. It went to a second edition within a few months of publication, won the Wales Arts Council
Arts Council of Wales
The Arts Council of Wales is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.Established by Royal Charter in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council , when it merged with the three Welsh regional arts associations...
’s 2002 Book of the Year award at the Hay on Wye Festival of Literature, together with a prize of £3,000. In 2002, Seren
Seren
Seren may refer to:* Seren , an Israeli firm* Seren , a Welsh personal name* Seren Press, a Welsh publishing house* Seren, a lord of the Biblical Philistines* Seren, an Israel Defense Forces rank, equivalent to captain...
press published his literary anthology, The Chosen People, which details the relationship of the Welsh and the Jewish people as reflected in literature.
Also in 2002, he edited a 160-page edition of the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n literary magazine Plamak (“Flame”) dedicated to Welsh literature, the first such anthology of Welsh writing in the Balkans. In 2002 Ffiniau/Borders appeared from Gomer press, a bilingual volume of poetry jointly with Elin ap Hywel.
In 2003, he chaired the panel of judges for the Welsh Book of the Year Awards. The first prize of £5,000 went to Jerry Hunter’s Llwch Cenhedloedd. In 2004 his first novel Rhaid i Bopeth Newid was published by Gomer
Gomer
Gomer was the son of Japheth in the Hebrew Bible.Gomer may also refer to:*Gomer *GOMER , in medical slang, an undesirable patient*Gomer Press, a printing and publishing company in Wales...
. It was longlisted for the £10,000 Book of the Year prize, 2005, and was described by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas
Dafydd Elis-Thomas
Dafydd Elis Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas, PC, AM, is a Welsh politician and was the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales until 2011...
in the Welsh poetry periodical Taliesin as ’the first post-national novel.’ Also in 2004, his selection of Welsh poetry in Asturian
Asturian language
Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish Region of Asturias by the Asturian people...
translation appeared in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
from Kêr ar Mor press under the title Nel país del borrina (The Country of the Clouds). In 2005, his selection of Welsh poetry in Galician
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
translation appeared under the title of No país de la brétema from VTP Editorial.
He is a Board member of the Welsh Academi
Academi
Literature Wales Literature Wales Literature Wales (formerly the Academi is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language and English-language literature in Wales. Literature Wales publishes a literary magazine called Taliesin and a...
and was the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
editor of Poetry Wales magazine for several years until 2002. He won the vers libre prize in the National Eisteddfod in 1994, the sonnet prize in 2004 and the Welsh Academi’s Stomp competition in 2001. His work has been translated into several languages, including English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Latvian
Latvian language
Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
, Maltese
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
, Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Asturian
Asturian language
Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish Region of Asturias by the Asturian people...
and Galician
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
, and is widely anthologised, appearing in publications as diverse as The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
, Poetry London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the Literary Review
Literary Review
Literary Review is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at Edinburgh University. Its offices are currently on Lexington Street in Soho, London, and it has a circulation of 44,750. Britain's principal literary monthly, the magazine was...
in America, and the Yearbook of Welsh Writing in English.
He is a frequent contributor of articles and reviews to journals such as Poetry Wales, Barn, Taliesin, Planet and New Welsh Review, and his poetry is on the syllabus for school pupils in Wales. He is a regular columnist with Barddas. He reads regularly at festivals and venues, including the Berlin Poesiefestival, the National Eisteddfod, the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, several times at the Hay on Wye Festival of Literature and at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
in London. He has represented Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
at literary events in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and frequently appears on television and radio. As a literary critic he has chaired the panel of judges for the £10,000 2004 Book of the Year Award, and has also adjudicated other major competitions such as the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry and the National Eisteddfod’s 2006 Literary Medal Competition. He is a Fellow of Goodenough College
Goodenough College
Goodenough College is a postgraduate residence and educational trust on Mecklenburgh Square in Bloomsbury, central London, England. Other names under which the College has been known are London House, William Goodenough House, and the London Goodenough Trust.-Profile:The College is an international...
in London and an Honorary Research Fellow in Cardiff University.
Selected publications
Adennill Tir (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 1997)Meddwl a’r Dychymyg Cymreig, Y: Sefyll yn y Bwlch: Cymru a’r Mudiad Gwrth-Fodern - Astudiaeth o Waith T.S. Eliot, Simone Weil
Simone Weil
Simone Weil , was a French philosopher, Christian mystic, and social activist.-Biography:Weil was born in Paris to Alsatian agnostic Jewish parents who fled the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. She grew up in comfortable circumstances, and her father was a doctor. Her only sibling was...
, Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic, and political activist. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and a founder of the Welsh National Party...
ac R.S. Thomas (University of Wales Press
University of Wales Press
The University of Wales Press was founded in 1922 as a central service of the University of Wales. It publishes academic journals and around sixty books a year in the English and Welsh languages, based around a core of six subjects: History; Political Philosophy and Religious Studies;Welsh and...
, 1999)
Cadwyni Rhyddid (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 2002)
Rhaid i Bopeth Newid (Gwasg Gomer, 2004)
Achos (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas, 2005)
Everything Must Change (Seren Press
Seren Press
Seren Books is a small independent publisher of English language books by authors living in Wales. Seren's aim is to bring Welsh literature to a wider audience. The press takes its name from the Welsh word for 'star'....
, 2007)
Real Wrexham (Seren Press
Seren Press
Seren Books is a small independent publisher of English language books by authors living in Wales. Seren's aim is to bring Welsh literature to a wider audience. The press takes its name from the Welsh word for 'star'....
, 2007)
Contributed to:
Oxygen - Beirdd Newydd o Gymru / New Poets from Wales (editor with Amy Wack) (Seren Press
Seren Press
Seren Books is a small independent publisher of English language books by authors living in Wales. Seren's aim is to bring Welsh literature to a wider audience. The press takes its name from the Welsh word for 'star'....
, 2000)
Trosiadau / Translations: Ffiniau / Borders (with Elin ap Hywel) (Gwasg Gomer, 2002)
The Chosen People- Wales and the Jews (editor) (Seren Press
Seren Press
Seren Books is a small independent publisher of English language books by authors living in Wales. Seren's aim is to bring Welsh literature to a wider audience. The press takes its name from the Welsh word for 'star'....
, 2002)
The Big Book of Cardiff (edited with Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
) (Seren Press
Seren Press
Seren Books is a small independent publisher of English language books by authors living in Wales. Seren's aim is to bring Welsh literature to a wider audience. The press takes its name from the Welsh word for 'star'....
, 2005)
Gwyl Y Blaidd: The Festival of the Wolf (co-editor) (Parthian, 2006)
Poems of Love and Longing (contributor) (Pont, 2008)