Iconic Women of Welsh Culture | #IWD2022

Iconic Women of Welsh Culture | #IWD2022

International Women’s Day is an annual opportunity to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. This year, Wales Arts Review is marking IWD with an archive collection which celebrates Iconic Women of Welsh Culture; from creative writing and commemorative poetry to inspiring interviews and tributes to idols, we hope that this resource, which will grow over time, will empower and inspire the women of Wales.

 

Patti Flynn’s Soulful Resonance

Wales Arts Review presents an essay written in tribute to the life of singer, performer, presenter and local historian Patti Flynn: a lifelong advocate for the arts and Welsh BLM community.

 

Remembering the Work of Ethel Lina White

To commemorate the work of crime writer Ethel Lina White and to encourage interactive learning about her life and origins, a QR code was installed in the town of Abergavenny.

 

Kayleigh Llewellyn in Conversation

Caragh Medlicott caught up with Kayleigh Llewellyn, creator of the award-winning BBC3 series In My Skinto discuss the making of the show, class representation in the media, and Llewellyn’s experience working on the final series of Killing Eve.

 

When I Speak of Bravery

Taylor Edmonds shares her commemorative poem, ‘When I Speak of Bravery’, which tells of the life and legacy of Betty Campbell, the inspirational educator who has become the first named, non-fictionalised woman in Wales to be memorialised with a statue.

Iconic Women of Welsh Culture
Betty Campbell Statue Unveiled

 

Jan Morris | All News, Reviews and Articles

Jan Morris had an illustrious career as a historian, travel writer, and journalist. Here is a collection of news stories, reviews and articles which celebrate her legacy as not just a writer, but as an adventurer and a pioneer too.

 

Siân James: A Tribute

Following the death of novelist and short story writer Siân James at the age of 90, Emma Schofield takes a look back at a career which spanned over forty years and reflects on why James’ writing has made such a significant contribution to literature from Wales.

 

Shani Rhys James in Conversation

Shani Rhys James is one of the most admired artists of her generation, with a career that has marked her out as a striking single-minded individualist. Gary Raymond caught up with her from her home in mid-Wales via Zoom.

 

Katy Wix in Conversation

In just under two years, writer and actor Katy Wix lost her best friend and both her parents in a devastatingly short amount of time. This heartbreaking experience became formative in the writing of her acclaimed memoir, DelicacyCaragh Medlicott caught up with Katy over Zoom to discuss writing, grief and diet culture.

 

Manon Steffan Ros in Conversation

Manon Steffan Ros is arguably the most successful novelist writing in Welsh at the moment, with her stories being widely read and winning countless literary awards. Gary Raymond caught up with her in her home in Twyny via Zoom.

 

Dorothy Bonarjee: A Hindu Lady Chaired

Devika Karnad and Marine Furet take a look at the life of Dorothy ‘Dorf’ Bonarjee, who was awarded one of Wales’ most prestigious cultural prizes in February 1914, and consider the poet’s contribution to Wales’ multicultural heritage.

Iconic Women of Welsh Culture
Dorothy Bonarjee (Credit: Sheela Bonarjee)

 

‘Muzzle’ by Francesca Rhydderch

Wales Arts Review is proud to publish, in partnership with the British Council Wales in Germany Literary Seminar, an exclusive new short story from award-winning writer Francesca Rhydderch: ‘Muzzle’.

 

Alys Conran | News, Reviews and Interviews

Wales Arts Review presents a collection of news stories, reviews and interviews offering insight to the life and works of accomplished and innovative author, Alys Conran.

 

Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful: Foreword

Wales Arts Review brings to you Dr. Becky Munfords new foreword to Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful by Deborah Kay Davies. Davies’ collection of short stories won the Wales Book of the Year award in 2009 and was recently published in a new edition from Parthian.

 

Natalya Romaniw in Conversation

Welsh opera star Natalya Romaniw describes her COVID-year to Linda Christmas, from the excitement of receiving prestigious awards to the disappointment of having no audience.

Natalya Romaniw (Credit: Patrick Allen)

 

For Their Own Good (Fresh Apples)

Wales Arts Review presents ‘For Their Own Good’, Emma Schofields foreword to the new Parthian/Modern reissue of Rachel Trezise’s Fresh Apples, a collection of eleven short stories with which Trezise won the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2006.

 

Leonora Brito: An Account

Francesca Rhydderch takes a look at the life of Leonora Brito, author of Dat’s Love and Other Stories.

 

Sugar and Slate by Charlotte Williams

Dr. Lisa Sheppard looks at the importance of Charlotte Williams’ work to a multicultural understanding of Wales’ past, present and future, focussing on her 2003 Wales Book of the Year-winning autobiographical novel, Sugar and Slate.

 

Margiad Evans Writing on Illness: The Nightingale Silenced

The Nightingale Silenced, transcribed by her nephew Jim Pratt from three previously unpublished manuscripts, offers a unique account of the last years of the life of Margiad Evans, which was irreversibly changed by the onset of epilepsy at the age of 41.

 

Frances Richards: An Artist Apart

Charlotte Thomas explores the life and work of an under-appreciated twentieth-century artist, Frances Richards, whose work spans a dizzying array of styles and subjects, and was the focus of a brilliant retrospective at Swansea’s Glynn Vivian Gallery.

Iconic Women of Welsh Culture
Frances Richards

 

Rufus Mufasa: Motherhood, Mayhem and Magic

In the run up to the release of Rufus Mufasa’s second album, the artist writes about the power she draws from motherhood for her music.

 

Language Journeys and Versopolis

Poet Mererid Hopwood talks about Versopolis and her excitement at performing at the Ledbury Poetry Festival.

 

Charlotte Church’s Utopia

Poet and hip hop artist Rufus Mufasa takes us on a gonzo journey through an eclectic evening of music and performance, as Charlotte Church curates a vibrant night at Cardiff’s Festival of Voice.

 

How I Wrote… Gaslight by Eloise Williams

Eloise Williams leads us through the tortuous and joyful experience of creating her novel Gaslight, named as Young People’s Book of the Year in 2017 by Wales Arts Review.

 

Beddoe’s Women

Siobhan Denton draws on Dierdre Beddoe in her consideration of the Welsh National Dress and what national identity means for women of Wales.