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Compact Wales: Shepherd War Poet, The
A century after his death as a young man on a blood-soaked battlefield far from his mountain farm, Hedd Wyn's name remains seared on an entire nation's memory. His home has become a place of pilgrimage, and his story continues to sadden, anger and inspire us. This volume comprises a collection of Hedd Wyn's poems in English translation by Howard Huws with 54 striking images.He was a shepherd, not a soldier. He was also a promising young poet from the heartland of Meirionnydd. He had learned the craft of Welsh poetry and was killed only a few weeks before the National Eisteddfod in Birkenhead in 1917, the Eisteddfod in which his ode had been deemed worthy of its Chair. His story has a cruel twist in its tail and the loss of Hedd Wyn came to embody all the losses of the First World War in Wales. Hedd Wyn was lost far too early but some of his poems are, without a shadow of doubt, among the most famous and most significant Welsh poems of the 20th century. The translated selection in this volume will reach a wider audience who will feel empathy with the grief, but will also appreciate the values embossed in the poems the love of country, people, friendship and peace. These are the values that we uphold earnestly when we remember and try to understand what happened a century ago.
96 pages, Paperback
Published May 10, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 30, 2016
As the Eistedffod is currently being held in Abergavenny, this is an opportune time to check out the history of WW1 bard, Hedd Wyn, who posthumously elevated to the coveted chair, in 1917 . It is the bitter-sweet story of Ellis Humphrey Evans, who chose Hedd Wyn, blessed peace, as his bardic name only to be cruelly chopped down with so many others, in bloody war not blessed peace, on the fields of Flanders.
The Chair was empty, draped in black, the Eisteddfod in tears and the Poet in his grave, said the Archdruid Dyfed, Hedd Wynn now laid in Flanders Fields. The chair was hand crafted by Flemish craftsman, Eugeen Vanfleteren (1880–1950), a carpenter born in Mechelen, Belgium, who had fled to England on the outbreak of war and had settled in Birkenhead.
Gwae fi fy myw mewn oes mor ddreng,
A Duw ar drai ar orwel pell;
O'i ôl mae dyn, yn deyrn a gwreng,
Yn codi ei awdurdod hell.
Pan deimlodd fyned ymaith Dduw
Cyfododd gledd i ladd ei frawd;
Mae sŵn yr ymladd ar ein clyw,
A'i gysgod ar fythynnod tlawd.
Mae'r hen delynau genid gynt,
Ynghrog ar gangau'r helyg draw,
A gwaedd y bechgyn lond y gwynt,
A'u gwaed yn gymysg efo'r glaw
Why must I live in this grim age,
When, to a far horizon, God
Has ebbed away, and man, with rage,
Now wields the sceptre and the rod?
Man raised his sword, once God had gone,
To slay his brother, and the roar
Of battlefields now casts upon
Our homes the shadow of the war.
The harps to which we sang are hung,
On willow boughs, and their refrain
Drowned by the anguish of the young
Whose blood is mingled with the rain.The memorial to Hedd Wyn at Trawsfynydd
Hedd Wyn's famous 'black chair' recreated using 3D printing technology to mark the war poet's sacrifice: the new memorial to the Welsh born soldiers who served in WW1 was unveiled in August 2014, in the village of Langemark which was completely destroyed during WWI
Watch here
August 20, 2017
The Shepherd War Poet, Hedd Wyn. Hedd Wyn died one hundred years ago in the Great War. He won the Eisteddfod in 1917 and until this month his poetry was only available in Welsh. A translation has now been made. Publication coincides with the Eisteddfod and poetry books need to sell to break even. The poetry was very lyrical. When I first read it, I wasn't very keen. I thought it twee, almost as Wyn's true words were lost in translation. Is this at all likely? I had also been told that Wyn was a superior poet to Wilfred Owen. Here I was disappointed and still am. The tragedy is that Wynn had so much more to give us, and that can be seen in these verses. 'To Die Far From Home' is desperately moving. A question or two, why were extracts only published? And, can we expect a more complete collection of Hedd Wyn's poetry? If there is anyone left on this thread who hasn't bought it, buy now. You will not be disappointed, true beauty and feeling from a young man taken from us with so much still to give.
April 5, 2021
This small book is a brief life of Hedd Wyn aka Ellis H Evans, a collection of some of his poetry and a guide to Yr Ysgwrn, his home and now a Museum.
Hedd Wyn was a Welsh poet, killed in World War One. His death happened shortly before his poem, 'Yr Arwr' was the winning poem at the Birkenhead Eisteddfod. They called his name out three times, before draping the chair in black cloth. This black chair and Hedd Wyn took on a symbolic quality representing all the Welsh dead of World War One. You might almost say that instead of an unknown soldier Wales has Hedd Wyn.
I read this because there doesn't seem to be much of Hedd Wyn's work available in English and in print, which seems a shame. The selection of poetry here - either short poems or extracts from the longer ones - is good. But I'd like to read more. Surely, there is a publisher out there that can put together a dual language edition of his poetry?
So, it is hard to give this book more than three stars. It's the briefest of introductions to the life and work of a man who died a long way from his beloved land - which is the theme of much of the poetry contained here - aged just 30. There's a film, Hedd Wyn, that tells much of his story. Watch that.
And let's see if we can get someone to publish his poetry again.
Hedd Wyn was a Welsh poet, killed in World War One. His death happened shortly before his poem, 'Yr Arwr' was the winning poem at the Birkenhead Eisteddfod. They called his name out three times, before draping the chair in black cloth. This black chair and Hedd Wyn took on a symbolic quality representing all the Welsh dead of World War One. You might almost say that instead of an unknown soldier Wales has Hedd Wyn.
I read this because there doesn't seem to be much of Hedd Wyn's work available in English and in print, which seems a shame. The selection of poetry here - either short poems or extracts from the longer ones - is good. But I'd like to read more. Surely, there is a publisher out there that can put together a dual language edition of his poetry?
So, it is hard to give this book more than three stars. It's the briefest of introductions to the life and work of a man who died a long way from his beloved land - which is the theme of much of the poetry contained here - aged just 30. There's a film, Hedd Wyn, that tells much of his story. Watch that.
And let's see if we can get someone to publish his poetry again.
October 24, 2019
This is a great little introductory book about the life and poetry of Hedd Wyn, a relatively unknown Welsh Poet who was awarded the bardic chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod. He had sadly been killed in the third battle of Ypres, so when the news was announced at the Eisteddfod, they draped his chair in black cloth, as a mark of honour and respect, and the chair has been known as ‘Y Gadair Ddu’ ever since.
One of the great things about this book is that not only does it give you the life of Hedd Wyn, the poems that have been selected are presented both in Welsh and in English. As Hedd Wyn would have written the poems in Welsh, the English translations are always interesting to see, but it helps give a sense of the way that Welsh language poetry was formed.
The only thing I would have liked to have seen would have been his winning poem “Y Arwr” in full, instead of just an excerpt. Even though it an ode so it is quite long, I think that’s one of his most important poems so it should be displayed in full.
One of the great things about this book is that not only does it give you the life of Hedd Wyn, the poems that have been selected are presented both in Welsh and in English. As Hedd Wyn would have written the poems in Welsh, the English translations are always interesting to see, but it helps give a sense of the way that Welsh language poetry was formed.
The only thing I would have liked to have seen would have been his winning poem “Y Arwr” in full, instead of just an excerpt. Even though it an ode so it is quite long, I think that’s one of his most important poems so it should be displayed in full.
January 24, 2025
Llyfrau Cymraeg am ysgol 😤
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews