Idris Davies in the Rhymney Valley Tour / Idris Davies yng Nghwm Rhymni

Saturday 11 June 2011, 7.25 am - 6.30 pm (approx)
Departure / Arrival Points: Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff
£24 (£21 Welsh Academy Members, £17 Students)


Literature Wales’ 2011 Literary Tourism Programme continues with a bus tour examining the life and works of the poet Idris Davies; the self-declared “voice of a generation”

Literature Wales continues its 2011 Literary Tourism Programme with a journey into the Rhymney Valley, exploring the world which inspired Idris Davies’ iconic political verse.

Idris Davies in the Rhymney Valley will take place on Saturday 11 June 2011. The tour will be led by Dr Daniel G. Williams, Senior Lecturer at the Department of English, University of Swansea. Readings and commentary will also be provided by the poet, broadcaster and travel writer Dr Nigel Jenkins, who also lectures at Swansea University.

Idris Davies (1905-1953) wrote poetry which reflected the idealism and protest of people in the Welsh valleys during the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Rhymney, he worked as a miner before losing his job during the strikes. Davies re-qualified as a teacher and found employment in London, returning to teach in the Rhymney Valley in 1947. ‘The Bells of Rhymney’ from his debut collection Gwalia Deserta (Dent, 1938) is well known after being set to music in 1957. T.S. Eliot described Davies’ poetry as “the best poetic document I know about a particular epoch in a particular place”, and it is this interconnectedness between verse and landscape which will be explored.

The day will include visits to places that permeated Davies’ life including the site of his childhood home, private meditation spots, his workplaces, final house and chapel. The introduction, lecture, visits, readings and commentary offer the opportunity to develop an understanding of the context through which Davies’ poetry was created.

All are welcome; the tour will cater for those with little or no knowledge of Davies whilst also appealing to those with considerably more experience.

The bus will depart from and return to Singleton Park, Swansea (7.25 am), with pick-up / drop-off points at Sarn Park Services, M4 (8.05 am), and National Museum of Wales, Cardiff (8.40 am). All walks will be fairly short and on tarmac. The tour will take a full day.

Tickets cost £24, or £21 for Members of The Welsh Academy. Due to the involvement of Swansea University staff and The Welsh Academy’s new Student Membership scheme, Literature Wales is offering reduced rate (£17) tickets to any student currently engaged in Further or Higher Education. Ticket prices do not include food or drink, although the tour will stop near a suitable venue for lunch to be purchased or packed lunches to be eaten.

For more information or to book your place by credit/debit card over the telephone, contact Literature Wales on: 029 2047 2266. Payment can also be made by cheque; contact Literature Wales for details.

To download a full 2011 Literary Tourism brochure click here.

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Taith Idris Davies yng Nghwm Rhymni


Dydd Sadwrn 11 Mehefin 2011, 7.25 am - 6.30 pm (oddeutu)
Man Cychwyn / Gorffen: Abertawe, Pen-y-Bont ar Ogwr, Caerdydd
Tocynnau: £24.00 / £21.00 Aelodau Yr Academi Gymreig / £17.00 Myfyrwyr

Dewch ar daith nesaf rhaglen Twristiaeth Lenyddol Llenyddiaeth Cymru. Y tro hwn byddwn ar daith fws yn edrych ar fywyd a gwaith y bardd Idris Davies.

Mi fydd y daith fws Saesneg ei hiaith: Idris Davies in the Rhymney Valley yn cael ei chynnal ddydd Sadwrn 11 Mehefin 2011. Arweinydd y daith fydd Dr Daniel G. Williams, Uwch Ddarlithydd yn Adran Saesneg Prifysgol Abertawe. Yn ogystal mi fydd Dr Nigel Jenkins, y bardd, yr awdur taith a’r gohebydd, sydd hefyd yn darlithio ym mhrifysgol Abertawe, yn ymuno â ni ar y daith gan gyfrannu gyda darlleniadau a sylwebaeth.

Mi fyddwn yn ymweld â mannau pwysig ym mywyd Davies gan gynnwys ei gartref, ei weithle, mannau preifat ble'r ai i fyfyrio, y tŷ olaf y bu’n byw ynddo a’r capel. Gyda chyflwyniad, darlith, ymweliadau, darlleniadau a sylwebaeth dyma gyfle unigryw i weld a ddeall y cyd-destun barddoniaeth Idris Davies.

Croeso cynnes i bawb; mi fydd y daith yn addas i rai sydd yn gyfarwydd â gwaith Idris Davies ac i’r rhai sydd ddim mor gyfarwydd â’i waith.

Mi fydd y bws yn gadael o Barc Singleton, Abertawe (7.25 am) ac yn codi pobl yng ngwasanaethau Sarn Park, M4 (8.05 am), ac Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru, Caerdydd (8.40 am) gan ollwng pobl yn y mannau yma ar y ffordd adra cyn gorffen y daith ym Mharc Singleton, Abertawe. Mi fydd pob rhan cerdded o’r daith yn eithaf byr ac ar darmac. Mi fydd y daith hon yn para trwy’r dydd.

I ddarllen y stori'n llawn cliciwch yma.

Am ragor o wybodaeth neu i archebu lle ar y daith
ffoniwch Llenyddiaeth Cymru: 029 2047 2266.