Wildlife

1996, Sam Adams’s ‘Letter from Wales’ column has been appearing in PN Review , one of the most highly regarded UK poetry magazines, offering insight and appreciation of Welsh writing, culture and history. Now out in paperback, Letters from Wales: Memories and Encounters in Literature and Life collects a quarter century of work and offers one of the most unique, independent and passionate critical voices on the writing and cultural output of Wales during this period. Turning 90 last week, Adams offers his reflections on a life in letters…

‘A good anthology is a fine buffet. A good anthology of poetry in translation is a buffet of dishes that are probably new to you. A good anthology of contemporary poetry in translation is a buffet of dishes that are new to everyone at the party. And Tempo: Excursions in 21st-Century Italian Poetry , published in 2023 by Parthian and edited by Luca Paci, offers a delectable overview of a specific literary scene that can’t be easily sampled elsewhere, at least not in one place. ‘Paci, a translingual poet and translator who teaches Italian Studies at Cardiff University, has an in-depth knowledge of the poetry world in both languages, making him a perfect guide and mediator. His selection of poets currently working in Italian is highly representative—these are well-established figures, most of them mid-career—yet covers a range of very different styles and subject matter. We find poems that are experimental, lyrical, written for performance, in prose form, in rhymed quatrains; about politi...

This Saturday - Writing for Wellbeing workshop for adults with poet and playwright Patrick Jones We have a couple of spare spaces for our next writing workshop - Saturday 7th December, 11am-1pm Cynon Valley Museum, Aberdare £2 or Pay as you feel Please phone 01685 886729 to book

It’s a bright, sunny morning in North Gower, and we’ve been invited down to a pulsing, tidal place: the daily walking route of poet Natalie Ann Holborow. On the salt marshes flanking the Loughor Estuary, while cockle-pickers clatter out on quad bikes, we discuss the importance of creative exploration: of getting out in nature, and out of comfort zones. We also talk about the safe places we come back to, full of familiar rhythms and memories, where we can breathe - and return to ourselves. Listen to This Place of Salt and Inspiration With Welsh poet Natalie Ann Holborow