Welsh Verse (English and Welsh Edition)

The tradition of Welsh poetry stretches back to the sixth century, making it one of the oldest living literatures in Europe. In Welsh Verse Tony Conran translates a selection from fourteen centuries of poetry, from the epics of Taliesin and Aneurin to modern poets such as Gwyn Thomas and Nesta Wyn Jones. En route he takes in sagas and carols, hymn and strict metres, Romantics and Social Realists. Here are translations of Cyddelw, Dafydd ap Gwilym, Ann Griffiths, Pantycelyn, T Gwynn Jones, Williams Parry and Parry-Williams, Saunders Lewis, Gwenallt and Waldo Wlliams. The poetic movements of Welsh-language verse are charted in Conran’s influential Introduction, in which he outlines the importance of poetry in Welsh society and how it has responded to Welsh history. Welsh Verse also includes a guide to the intricacies of Welsh metre, the complex rules which make Welsh poetry unique, and a glossary and appendix on pronunciation.