Ifor ap Glyn
National Poet of Wales
In office
March 2016 – August 2022
Preceded byGillian Clarke
Succeeded byHanan Issa
Personal details
Born1961 (age 62–63)
London, England
NationalityWelsh
OccupationWriter

Ifor ap Glyn (born 1961)[1] is a Welsh television presenter and Welsh-language poet.[2] From 2016 to 2022 he served as National Poet of Wales.

Early life and education

Ifor ap Glyn was born in London into a Welsh-speaking family, but graduated from Cardiff University.[3] He relocated as an adult to Denbighshire and later to Caernarfon.[4]

Career

As a poet Ifor ap Glyn primarily writes in Welsh, though he has also composed poems in English. In 2018 he published Cuddle Call?, his first collection with English translation in a parallel text.[5] In 1999 Ifor ap Glyn won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod of Wales (a feat he repeated in 2013),[6] and in the same year performed at the celebratory concert that marked the opening of the Welsh National Assembly. In 2008, Ifor ap Glyn was appointed Bardd Plant Cymru (Children's Poet Laureate for Wales), holding the role for a year. He has twice represented Wales at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in the USA.[7]

Before becoming a poet and dramatist, Ifor ap Glyn worked as a television producer and scriptwriter, and has worked extensively with the theatre company Cwmni Dda.[8][9] He also served as the executive producer of the documentary film Cysgod Rhyfel (The Shadow of War), a 2014 documentary film that explored the mental effects of conflict on former soldiers and their families.[10]

On 1 March 2016, Ifor ap Glyn was appointed National Poet of Wales, succeeding Gillian Clarke.[11] During his tenure, Ifor ap Glyn wrote in both Welsh and English, with his commissioned work including poems to mark the 20th anniversary of the Senedd, the centenary of the Armistice, Wales qualifying for the Euro 2016 football tournament, the 80th anniversary of Mynydd Epynt eviction, the reopening of the home of poet Hedd Wyn to the public, and the 2017 Champions League Final being held in Cardiff. He also composed poems for patients at Velindre Cancer Centre, to support DEC Cymru's Indonesia Tsunami appeal, and to welcome Syrian refugees to Wales.[3][12] His time as National Poet of Wales lasted for six years, coming to an end in 2022.[13] He was succeeded by Hanan Issa, who Ifor ap Glyn said was a poet that he admired and would "bring a fresh voice to the national conversation”.[14]

Books

  • Ifor ap Glyn (1991). Holl Garthion Pen Cymro Ynghyd. Y Lolfa. ISBN 978-0-86243-238-6.
  • Ifor ap Glyn (1998). Golchi Llestri Mewn Bar Mitzvah. Illustrated by Dewi Glyn Jones. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 978-0-86381-534-8.
  • Ifor ap Glyn (2001). Cerddi Map yr Underground. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 978-0-86381-754-0.
  • Ifor ap Glyn (2008). Lleisiau'r Rhyfel Mawr. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 978-1-84527-210-4.
  • Ifor ap Glyn (2011). Waliau'n Canu. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 978-1-84527-340-8.
  • Ifor ap Glyn (2016). Tra Bo Dau. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 978-1-84527-560-0.
  • Ifor ap Glyn (2018). Hanes yr Iaith Mewn 50 Gair. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 978-1-84527-652-2.
  • Ifor ap Glyn (2018). Cuddle Call?. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 978-1-84527-678-2.

Plays

  • Branwen
  • Frongoch

Television (as presenter)

  • Ar Lafar (2011)[2]
  • The Toilet: An Unspoken History (2012)
  • Pagans and Pilgrims: Britain's Holiest Places (2013)[15]

References

  1. ↑ Richard Lea (1 March 2016). "A new poet for St David's Day: Ifor ap Glyn appointed national poet of Wales". Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  2. 1 2 Wales Online, "Interview: Poet and presenter Ifor ap Glyn on his new TV series", 4 June 2011. Accessed 25 August 2013
  3. 1 2 "Ifor ap Glyn". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  4. ↑ Bardell-Hedley, Paula (5 March 2021). "A Poem by Ifor ap Glyn". Book Jotter. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Ifor Ap Glyn | Writers' Rooms". Wales Arts Review. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  6. ↑ Wales Online, "Poet Ifor ap Glyn awarded crown at National Eisteddfod", 5 August 2013. Accessed 25 August 2013
  7. ↑ Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2013 Archived 2013-07-19 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 25 August 2013
  8. ↑ Literature Wales: Writers of Wales - Ifor ap Glyn Archived 2013-04-09 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 25 August 2013
  9. ↑ Northwales.co.uk, Poet Laureate. Accessed 25 August 2013
  10. ↑ "Ifor ap Glyn". IMDb. (Retrieved 23 May 2014)
  11. ↑ "Ifor ap Glyn is appointed new national poet of Wales", BBC News, 1 March 2016, retrieved 2 March 2016
  12. ↑ "Ifor ap Glyn Commissioned Poems". Literature Wales. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  13. ↑ "Wales appoints Hanan Issa as its first Muslim national poet". the Guardian. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  14. ↑ "Hanan Issa named National Poet of Wales 2022-25". Literature Wales. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  15. ↑ The Telegraph: Review by Ben Lawrence, 11 April 2013. Accessed 25 August 2013
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