Swansea University at the National Eisteddfod of Wales
A wonderful week was had at the National Eisteddfod held in Wrexham this August. It was a fabulous Eisteddfod, and Swansea University once again hosted events in the Literary Tent, Y Babell Lên, offering a varied and entertaining programme.
The highlight of the week, however, was seeing Emeritus Professor Tudur Hallam from the Department of Welsh winning the Wrexham National Eisteddfod chair with his collection of extremely personal poems composed on the subject of Dinas or City. It is fifteen years since Tudur won his first chair, at the Blaenau Gwent and Blaenau'r Cymoedd National Eisteddfod in 2010. In an emotional ceremony on Friday 8 July, the audience rose to their feet to applaud the married father of three as the Archdruid greeted him.
Also on Friday, we welcomed our largest audience to Y Babell Lên as we paid tribute in memory of Professor Geraint H Jenkins. John Meredith, Dr Marion Loeffler and Emeritus Professor Prys Morgan shared many memories and stories about Geraint, painting a complete picture of him as a tremendous Academic, man and nationalist. Chaired by Robat Powell, the session celebrated Geraint's contribution to the Welsh language and culture and shared stories of this gentle, brilliant, genius man who was an Honorary Fellow and alumnus of Swansea University.
The Hywel Teifi Memorial Lecture is an annual highlight and this year the audience had the pleasure of listening to Dr Carol Bell. Carol, who grew up in Velindre, is an Honorary Fellow of Swansea University and a global expert in the energy and finance industries and a trustee of various charities. Her topic was Communicating Welshness to the World and she drew on personal experiences from the world of business, culture and football, emphasising the impact the women's and men's teams have had over the past few years in raising the profile of Wales around the world and encouraging pride in Welshness and the Welsh language.
Richard Burton's centenary was marked with Professor Daniel G Williams guiding us through a very entertaining session with insightful contributions from the actors Sharon Morgan and Steffan Rhodri. They discussed the origins and career of the global star, his Welshness, his presence and his unique voice. There was a contribution on the screen by Matthew Rhys who talked about Burton's influence on him as an actor, and the creation of a Welsh identity in the United States.
Earlier in the week, a panel of Welsh poets came together to mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, chaired by the Archdruid herself, Mererid Hopwood. The audience heard the creative responses of the poets to the tragedy, namely Robat Powell, Jo Heyde and Hywel Griffiths, with a special contribution from Jim Parc Nest on screen.
There was also an event including a panel of exceptional women discussing their experiences of living in larger bodies, based on the book published by Sebra, Fel yr Wyt (As You Are). The chair of the panel was Dr Miriam Elin Jones from the Department of Welsh, with emotional and honest contributions from Dr Rhian Meara from the Department of Geography, Gwennan Evans alumna and now editor at Sebra, Mari Gwenllian and Bethan Antur.
In addition to the offering in Y Babell Lên, many of our staff took part in other events across the field and celebrated various successes during the week. Dr Hannah Sams, Department of Welsh, won the Gwerddon prize, an award given by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the Learned Society of Wales for the best article published in Gwerddon over a period of two years. Also from the Welsh Department, Professor Alan Llwyd won two further literary awards.
Congratulations must also be given to Lowri Lane, who is studying Paramedic Science at Swansea University and won the Dr Llyr Roberts Bursary given by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. This bursary is for undergraduate students who study through the medium of Welsh in any subject and sponsors a trip related to their studies and which has relevance to the Welsh language or Welsh studies.
A special evening was held to remember a close friend of Academi Hywel Teifi and Honorary Fellow of Swansea University, Dewi Pws Morris. At the beginning of the Eisteddfod week, several artists performed in a concert as a tribute to Dewi.
Professor Gwenno Ffrancon, Deputy Assistant Vice-Chancellor for the Welsh Language, its Heritage and Culture, and Director of Hywel Teifi Academy, said:
"It was a wonderful week in Wrexham for Swansea University. Discussions, lectures and extremely entertaining conversations were held by our staff in various pavilions on the Maes and there was a fantastic response to our offering in Y Babell Lên. It was such a pleasure to see the enjoyment our audiences had listening to some of the most prominent scholars, authors, poets and benefactors of Wales and the Welsh language on the main literary stage of the Eisteddfod. We now look forward eagerly to next year's Eisteddfod in Cardigan."
