Dewi Emrys was the pen-name of the west Wales poet David Emrys James (28 May 1881 – 20 September 1952), who wrote in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

. He was born at Majorca House in

New Quay New Quay ( cy, Cei Newydd) is a seaside town (and electoral ward) in Ceredigion, Wales, with a resident population of around 1,200 people, reducing to 1,082 at the 2011 census. Located south-west of Aberystwyth on Cardigan Bay with a harbour a ...

, Cardiganshire. His father, Thomas Emrys James, was a minister of the Congregational denomination at Llandudno, and Dewi's mother Mary Ellen (née Jones), was the daughter of a sea captain. The family moved to

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two pa ...

, where the Reverend James took on another church, and Dewi Emrys went to the local county school. He became apprenticed to a local newspaper, the ''County Echo'', and was able to continue his training at ''The Carmarthen Journal'' when his family moved there in 1896; he soon became editor of its Welsh-language content. In 1903, he moved on to study at the Presbyterian College in Carmarthen, and duly followed his father into the ministry. For a time he was minister at the Welsh Free Church, Liverpool, then moved to take over churches in

Dowlais Dowlais () is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The population of the Community being 4,270 at the 2011 census having excluded Pant. Dowlai ...

Buckley Buckley may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Buckley's, a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation * Buckley Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer * Buckley Broadcasting, an American broadcasting company * Buckley School (California), ...

, and

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

. In July 1908 he married Cissie Jenkins, and they subsequently had two sons. In 1915 he became minister of Finsbury Park church in London, but in 1917, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he enlisted in the armed forces. He won the

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...

in 1926. In 1929 he won the chair at the National, the first of an unequalled four wins, and he continued to win chairs in local eisteddfodau. Having abandoned the ministry, he lived a peripatetic life; one of his bardic chairs was left at the Eagle public house in

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth Llanfihangel-ar-Arth is a village and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. The area includes six villages: Alltwalis, Dolgran, Gwyddgrug, Llanfihangel-Ar-Arth, New Inn, Carmarthenshire, New Inn and Pencader, Carm ...

, where he is said to have left it as payment for his bill. In 1936, he returned to journalism, writing for ''

Y Cymro ''Y Cymro'' (, 'The Welshman') is a Welsh-language newspaper, which was first published in 1932. It was founded in Wrexham, and succeeded other newspapers of the same name that had existed during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is Wales's ...

''. In later life, he was associated with two female Welsh-language poets,

Dilys Cadwaladr Dilys Cadwaladr (19 March 1902 – January 1979) was a Welsh-language poet and fiction writer. Her work also gained readers in English translation. First female crowned bard Dilys Cadwaladr is notable for being the first woman to win the Crown ...

and

Eluned Phillips Eluned Phillips (27 October 1914 – 10 January 2009) was the only woman to win the bardic crown at the National Eisteddfod of Wales twice, a feat she accomplished in 1967 at Bala and 1983 at Llangefni. Phillips was born in Cenarth, on the same ...

; the latter wrote a biography of Dewi Emrys. In 1930, Dilys had a daughter, Dwynwen ("Nina"), by Dewi. In the early 1940s he went to live with his daughter, in Talgarreg, Cardiganshire, joined the local Congregational church and began preaching again, although he did not return to the ministry. A drama-documentary about the life of Dewi Emrys, ''Dewi Emrys: Cythraul yr Awen'', was shown on S4C in 2014. A memorial to him can be seen near Pwllderi in

Pencaer Pencaer is a community which covers an area of dispersed settlement in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the peninsula of Pen Caer and comprises the village of Llanwnda and the smaller settlements of Granston, Llangloffan, St Nicholas (Tremarchog) and T ...

, Pembrokeshire, a place that was the inspiration for one of his best-known poems.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emrys, Dewi 1881 births 1952 deaths Chaired bards Welsh-language poets