Dic Jones (30 March 1934 – 18 August

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

), was a Welsh-language poet and

Archdruid Archdruid () is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd. The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the and the Chairing of the ...

of 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 ...

Career

Jones was born Richard Lewis Jones at Tre'r-ddôl in

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

. The son of a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

, he himself farmed at Fferm yr Hendre at Blaenannerch in

Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 a ...

. In commenting upon his life, he remarked, "I farm for bread and butter; I write for some jam on it." Jones began his literary career as a competitor in the

Urdd Urdd Gobaith Cymru () (known as the Urdd) is a national voluntary youth organisation, which claimed over 56,000 members in 2019 aged between 8 and 25 years old. It provides opportunities for children and young people across Wales to take part ...

eisteddfod, where, as an exponent of

cynghanedd In Welsh-language poetry, ''cynghanedd'' (, literally "harmony") is the basic concept of sound-arrangement within one line, using stress, alliteration and rhyme. The various forms of ''cynghanedd'' show up in the definitions of all formal Welsh v ...

, he won the chair five times in his twenties. In 1966 he won the

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

at the National Eisteddfod with an ''awdl'' entitled "Cynhaeaf" (meaning harvest). In 1968, cameras from HTV filmed one of the first pieces of British

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

, when they followed Jones, his wife Jean, and three of their children, Delyth, Rhian and Dafydd, on a fortnight's holiday to

San Antonio, Ibiza Sant Antoni de Portmany (, es, San Antonio Abad) or San Antonio is a town on the western coast of Ibiza. It is the second-largest town and municipality in Ibiza; an island described by ''Time Out'' magazine as "arguably the clubbing capital o ...

. Under his

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who m ...

"Dic yr Hendre", Jones was installed as Archdruid in 2007, succeeding Selwyn Iolen. He officiated at the 2008 event in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, but missed the 2009 event in Bala due to ill health.

Works

*''Agor Grwn'' (1960) *''Caneuon Cynhaeaf'' (1969) *''Storom Awst'' (1978) *''Sgubo'r Storws'' (1986) *''Golwg Arall'' (2001) *''Golwg ar Gân'' (2002) *''Cadw Golwg'' (2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Dic 1934 births 2009 deaths Chaired bards Welsh Eisteddfod archdruids Welsh farmers Welsh-language poets 20th-century Welsh poets People from Ceredigion