Award-winning poet and playwright Menna Elfyn of Wales will read from her work Wednesday, March 1 at 7 p.m. in Room 215 of the Union College Arts Building.
This event is free and open to the public.
A self-described Christian-anarchist, Elfyn is the author of eight volumes of poetry, which include three bilingual volumes: Eucalyptus / Selected Poems from Gomer, and two later collections from Bloodaxe, Cell Angel (1996) and Cusan Dyn Dall/Blind Man's Kiss (2001).
Her talk coincides with St. David's Day, a Welsh holiday celebrating the patron saint of Wales. St. David was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, from the sixth century. He became the archbishop of Wales, and was one of many early saints who helped to spread Christianity among the pagan Celtic tribes of western Britain.
Critic Tony Conran has described Elfyn as “the first Welsh poet in 1,500 years to make a serious attempt to have her work known outside Wales.”
Hilary Tann, professor of music at Union has worked with Elfyn. “It was my pleasure to meet Menna Elfyn in Minneapolis in 1999 where we were both involved with the North American Welsh Choir,” said Tann. “I had admired her work for a long time (even though I read it in translation). When I was commissioned to write a piece for the Pan-American Games in Canada, Elfyn was the obvious choice. As a librettist, she is wonderfully sensitive to the needs of the composer.”
In 2007, Bloodaxe will publish a new collection, Perfect Sins, from Elfyn's recent volume in Welsh, Perffaith Nam. In 2003 she co-edited and published, with John Rowlands, The Bloodaxe Book of Modern Welsh poetry of the 20th century, a comprehensive anthology of Welsh poets in translation. Her work has been translated into 18 languages.
She's also written a number of books for children including two novels for teenagers and was Poet Laureate for the Children of Wales in 2002. Since 1995, she has been a regular columnist with the national newspaper of Wales, The Western Mail.
Elfyn travels the world for readings at festivals and on behalf of the British Council. She has worked with many composers, including Karl Jenkins, Hilary Tann and Victor Davies. In 1998, she co-wrote the libretto “Garden of Light,” a choral symphony for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, which received its premiere at the Lincoln Center in 1999. She is writing director of the master's program in creative writing at Trinity College and a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund at Aberystwyth University since 2002.
For more information visit: http://www.mennaelfyn.co.uk/
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