Alan Llwyd has won the Llŷn and Eifionydd National Eisteddfod Chair.
One of our most prominent poets for generations, he managed to win the 'double', namely the Chair and the Crown in the same year - twice - in 1973 and 1976. He is the first poet since the relaxation of the ‘twice only’ rule to win the Chair for the third time
The Chair is presented for a poem or collection of poems in cynghanedd, of no more than 250 lines, entitled ‘Llif’ (Flow). The judges are Karen Owen, Cathryn Charnell-White and Rhys Iorwerth.
Delivering the adjudication on behalf of the judges, Karen Owen said, "The work of adjudicating this year's Chair competition was relatively easy, because there were only six entries vying for the Boduan Chair. To tell the truth, it was a surprise to us judges that so few applied, especially as the pandemic had delayed the competition for almost three years.
"Regardless, six poets sent in their work, and although the technical standard of the poets bodes well for the future, there is still room for them to think about other elements - such as structure, voice, and message - in order to create an elaborate and multi-layered piece.
"We’ve got five minutes to discuss how the three of us found the experience of adjudicating the poems. We had an ode about the influx that threatens our communities; an ode following an alcoholic narrator's journey through the city of Cardiff; an ode unravelling a mystery involving bad blood; and a sequence of poems about the never-ending flow of social media.
"It was clear from the beginning that Llanw a Thrai is the best cynganeddwr of the competition. Personally, this work grew on me with each reading. This work is a very familiar story for Welsh-speaking Wales of our time, that of leaving a place before returning decades later full of guilty nostalgia.
"This poet, more than anyone else, had the clearest vision for his subject. This is also the poet who best succeeded in turning that vision into understandable, readable poetry that gives enjoyment. The structure of his ode is simple: a relatively old man returns to his childhood home. The tide of the sea and all the associated images then give him the opportunity to reflect on his lineage and his family, on succession, on what has been and what will be.
"The three of us are in complete agreement that Llanw a Thrai is the winning poet, and that he is fully worthy of the Chair and all the privileges and honours that belong to it."
Alan Llwyd was born in Dolgellau in 1948. He lived in the village of Llan Ffestiniog in Meirionnydd until 1953, and from the age of five he grew up on a farm in Llŷn. He spent the rest of his childhood as well as his adolescence in Llŷn. He was a pupil at Ysgol Botwnnog until 1967, when he went to the University in Bangor to study Welsh as his main subject.
He graduated in Welsh in 1970, after which he worked in the Awen Meirion bookshop in Bala for two years, before moving to Swansea in 1976, to work as an editor for Gwasg Christopher Davies. Between 1980 and 1982 he worked for the Welsh Joint Education Committee in Cardiff, and from 1982, he worked full-time for Cymdeithas Barddas.
He worked for Barddas for almost thirty years, promoting poetry, and editing the Society's magazine and publications. He published over 300 books during his periods as publisher and editor for various organisations. Alan Llwyd, together with the late Penri Jones, founded Llanw Llŷn, Pen Llŷn's local paper.
As a poet and writer, he has published over 80 books, including three complete collections of poems. It won the Nonfiction-Creative Book of the Year category in 2013 and 2020, and the Poetry Book of the Year category in 2019. In 2018, it won the Cwlwm Cyhoeddwyr Cymru Award for a special contribution to the publishing world. He has won over 50 literary awards so far. In 1993, he won the BAFTA Cymru award for Best Film Script in Welsh, namely the script of the film Hedd Wyn.
His latest collection of poems, Cyfnos, was published in February this year.
He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Literature in 2012, and was appointed Professor in the Department of Welsh, University of Wales, Swansea, in 2013, for his service to Welsh literature.
He has been married to Janice since 1976. They have two sons, Ioan and Dafydd, and now Janice and he are grandparents to Ffion and Tristan. The five, who have not been named, are part of this year's winning ode. Alan Llwyd lives in Morriston on the edge of the Tawe Valley.
Craftsman Stephen Faherty is responsible for creating the Chair, sponsored by the family of the late Dafydd Orwig, educator, pioneer, and former chair of Gwynedd County Council.
The Chair was made from a large piece of oak tree planted on the edge of Y Lôn Goed over 200 years ago. The six-mile-long route was immortalised in the poem Eifionydd by R Williams Parry.
The strong winds of Storm Darwin blew the whole tree down in February 2014, and a piece was presented to the Eisteddfod by Eifion Williams, Tyddyn Heilyn, when he heard the festival was coming to the area.
Stephen, a craftsman who specialises in sculpture, carved the chair from one piece of wood. He said, “It’s such a special piece of wood, and it lent itself to being carved into a chair. I used a saw to cut the stump into the shape of a chair, but it’s created out of a single piece of oak. From the start, I wanted the stump to speak for itself; the grain is so beautiful, and I wanted that to shine. I think the Chair will draw the eye.”
The Cyfansoddiadau a Beirniadaethau, which includes the full adjudication for this competition and the winners of all the other composition winners at this year’s Eisteddfod will be published at the end of the ceremony.
The Llŷn and Eifionydd National Eisteddfod runs until 12 August. For more information go online.