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Emyr Humphreys (; 15 April 191930 September 2020) was a
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...
,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
, and author. His career spanned from the 1940s until his retirement in 2009. He published in both English and Welsh.


Early life and career

Humphreys was born on 15 April 1919 at
Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that the ...
in Denbighshire. He was educated at
Rhyl High School Rhyl High School is one of two high schools in Rhyl, Wales. It was founded in 1894. History Rhyl and District Intermediate School was founded in 1894. In 1901 the school was relocated to Grange Road and became Rhyl County School. The school subs ...
, where, as E. O. Humphreys, he started composing poetry and wrote for ''The Welsh Nationalist,'' the monthly English-language newspaper of the Welsh Nationalist Party, later called by
Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...
. He went on to study history and English at
University of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...
, after winning a scholarship to study there. However, he did not graduate due to the start of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. During the war, Humphreys registered as a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
and worked on a farm. He subsequently undertook relief work in Egypt and Italy. After the war he worked as a teacher, as a radio producer at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and later became a lecturer in drama at
Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...
. Having become fluent 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 ...
while at Aberystwyth, Humphreys went on to learn
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
while working in Italy after the war, and spent time there as well as studying the country's literature.


Writings

The stories of Humphreys are based on Celtic myths, and in particular the myth of
Blodeuwedd Blodeuwedd (), (Welsh "Flower-Faced", a composite name from ''blodau'' "flowers" + ''gwedd'' "face"), is the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology. She was made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and oak by the magicians Math and Gwydio ...
which has been incorporated in his writings throughout his career. One of the major themes of his writings is Welsh identity. ''The Little Kingdom'' (1946) is written in English; however, the main characters are talking Welsh. Humphreys's best known novel is ''
A Toy Epic ''A Toy Epic'' is a novel by Welsh author Emyr Humphreys Emyr Humphreys (; 15 April 191930 September 2020) was a Welsh novelist, poet, and author. His career spanned from the 1940s until his retirement in 2009. He published in both English ...
'' (1958). The story is a coming-of-age story of three boys, and an important war novel, however it is also a coming-of-age story of Wales itself. He took a different viewpoint in ''Outside the House of Baal'' (1965), and wrote the novel from a perspective of old age. Humphreys's masterpiece was ''The Land of the Living'' (1974–2001), an epic sequence of seven novels charting the political and cultural history of twentieth-century Wales. Humphreys remarked in a 2018 interview that he wanted to tell a story from "cradle to the grave". During his long bilingual writing career, he published over twenty novels. He also wrote plays for stage and television, short stories, ''The Taliesin Tradition'' (a cultural history of Wales), and published his ''Collected Poems'' in 1999. His final work was ''The Woman at the Window'' (2009) in which one of the characters says: "My useful life is over". His papers, held by the
National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...
, include correspondence with writers, performers and other public figures, such as
Dannie Abse Daniel Abse CBE FRSL (22 September 1923 – 28 September 2014) was a Welsh poet and physician. His poetry won him many awards. As a medic, he worked in a chest clinic for over 30 years. Early years Abse was born in Cardiff, Wales, as the young ...
, Philip Burton,
Hywel Teifi Edwards Hywel Teifi Edwards (15 October 1934 – 4 January 2010) was a Welsh academic and historian, a prominent Welsh nationalist, a broadcaster and an author in the Welsh language. He was the father of the BBC journalist Huw Edwards. ...
, T. S. Eliot,
Gwynfor Evans Gwynfor Richard Evans (1 September 1912 – 21 April 2005) was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. He was President of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru for thirty-six years and was the first Member of Parliament to represent it at Westmi ...
,
Patrick Heron Patrick Heron (30 January 1920 – 20 March 1999) was a British abstract and figurative artist, critic, writer, and polemicist, who lived in Zennor, Cornwall. Heron was recognised as one of the leading painters of his generation. Influenced b ...
,
Marghanita Laski Marghanita Laski (24 October 1915 – 6 February 1988) was an English journalist, radio panellist and novelist. She also wrote literary biography, plays and short stories, and contributed about 250,000 additions to the ''Oxford English Diction ...
and
R. S. Thomas Ronald Stuart Thomas (29 March 1913 – 25 September 2000), published as R. S. Thomas, was a Welsh poet and Anglican priest ( Church of Wales) noted for nationalism, spirituality and dislike of the anglicisation of Wales. John Betjeman, introduc ...
.


Honours

Among many honours, he was awarded the
Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...
in 1953 for ''Hear and Forgive''. Humphreys won the
Wales Book of the Year The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors. Established in 1992, the awards are currently ad ...
Award in 1992 and 1999. Humphreys was a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
and the
Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales ( Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh natio ...
.


Personal life

Humphreys married Elinor Myfanwy Jones in 1946. Together, they had four children. They travelled to Austria after he won the
Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...
, which stipulated that the prize money was to be used for travel abroad. Humphreys retired in 2009 aged 90 after his final book was published. He reached his centenary on 15 April 2019. He died on 30 September 2020 at his home in
Llanfairpwll Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, or Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (), is a large village and local government community on the island of Anglesey, Wales, on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. Both shortened (Llanfa ...
,
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
, aged 101.


Bibliography

* Emyr Humphreys bibliography


References


External links


Personal site on Emyr Humphreys with bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, Emyr 1919 births 2020 deaths People from Prestatyn Alumni of Aberystwyth University 20th-century Welsh novelists Welsh-language writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Academics of Bangor University BBC people 20th-century Welsh poets Welsh male poets Welsh male novelists British male novelists British male poets 20th-century British male writers Welsh centenarians Men centenarians Welsh conscientious objectors