David James Jones (18 May 1899 – 24 December 1968), commonly known by his bardic name Gwenallt, 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 ...

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 wri ...

, critic, and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...

, and one of the most important figures of 20th-century

Welsh-language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the 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 Province, Argentina). Historically, it has al ...

literature. He created his bardic name by transposing

Alltwen Alltwen (or Allt-wen; translates to "white wooded slope") is a village in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. Alltwen forms part of the community of Cilybebyll and is administered separately from adjoining Pontardawe on the opposit ...

, the name of the village across the river from his birthplace.

Early life

Gwenallt was born in

Pontardawe Pontardawe () is a town and a community in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. With a population of 6,832, it comprises the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos. A town council is elected. Pontardawe forms part of the county ...

Glamorganshire , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, the eldest son of Thomas "Ehedydd" ("lark") Jones and his wife Mary. Conscripted into the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1917 during

World War I 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 declared himself a conscientious objector and was imprisoned at

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, ...

before being transferred to Princetown Work Centre in the former

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

Prison until April 1919, an experience he wrote about in his 1934 novel ''Plasau'r Brenin''. In 1919 he enrolled at

University College 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 = ...

, where he met the writer Idwal Jones whose biography he was to write in 195

His father was killed by molten metal in the tin works, and this had a deep effect on him. Although his childhood was spent in an industrial area, he was also influenced by the rural area of Rhydcymerau in Carmarthenshire, as he often stayed with relatives there in his youth.

Later life and career

The poem, ''Y Mynach'', won Gwenallt the Chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales held in Swansea in 1926, and he won the Chair for a second time at Bangor in 1931 for ''Breuddwyd y Bardd'' (The Poet's Dream). He was a founder member of the

Welsh Academy Literature Wales is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language and English-language literature in Wales. It offers bursaries for writing projects, runs literary events and lectures ...

(''Academi Gymraeg'') and edited its magazine, ''Taliesin'', from 1961 to 1965. On graduating from Aberystwyth with a BA in Welsh and English, he became a teacher of

Barry County School Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

and later, in 1927, was appointed as a lecturer in the Welsh language department of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth but was disappointed not to be made professor of the department to succeed

T. H. Parry-Williams Sir Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams (21 September 1887 – 3 March 1975) was a Welsh poet, author and academic. Parry-Williams was born at Tŷ'r Ysgol (''the Schoolhouse'') in Rhyd Ddu, Caernarfonshire, Wales. He was educated at the University ...

. He was the first editor of the literary magazine

Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...

published by the

. He graduated as MA in 1929 and was awarded an honorary

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree by the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

in 1967. In his youth he regularly attended chapel, but later he embraced Marxism. Still later he changed his opinions and became a Welsh nationalist and a Christian poet.Pymtheg o Wŷr Llên yr Ugeinfed Ganrif. ("15 men of 20th century literature") D.Ben Rees. Cyhoeddiadau Modern Cymru 1972 He was an early member of

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 ...

. Christian themes are present in much of his work, not least in ''Y Coed'', which was published following a visit to the Holy Land. He is buried in Aberystwyth. A memorial plaque was placed on his house, Rhydymôr, Ffordd Rheidol,

Penparcau Penparcau is a village and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, situated to the south of Aberystwyth. The village has the largest number of Welsh language speakers (1095) in the Aberystwyth town area, covering an area from the sea to the Rheidol ...

, a village near Aberystwyth, in 199

Works

Novels

* '' Plasau'r Brenin'' 1934 * '' Ffwrneisiau'' 1982

Poetry

* '' Ysgubau'r Awen'' 1939 * ''Cnoi Cil'' 1942 * '' Eples'' 1951 * ''Gwreiddiau'' 1959 * ''Y Coed'' 1969 * ''Cerddi Gwenallt: Y Casgliad Cyflawn'' 2001 (Collected works, edited by

Christine James Christine James (born 2 February 1954) is a Welsh poet and academic. She served as the first female Archdruid of Wales from June 2013 until June 2016. She first presided over the ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod in the 2013 Eisteddfod in Denb ...

, published by Gomer)

Other

* (ed.), ''Yr Areithiau Pros'' (1934) * (ed.), ''Blodeugerdd o'r Ddeunawfed Ganrif'' (1936) * (ed.), ''Detholiad o Ryddiaith Gymraeg R. J. Derfel'' (1945) * ''Bywyd a Gwaith Islwyn'' (1948) * ''Cofiant Idwal Jones'' (1958)

Critical studies

* Allchin, Donald and D. Densil Morgan. 2000. ''Sensuous Glory The Poetic Vision of D. Gwenallt Jones''. Norwich: Canterbury Press. * Edwards, Hywel Teifi. 2006. Making the most of Gwenallt. Cambria. 3. 49. * Hodges, H.A. 1975. Gwenallt: an English view of the poet. Planet. 29. 24-29. * Johnston, Dafydd. 1994. ''A guide to the literature of Wales''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. Pages 99–101. * Jones, Gwyn and John Rowlands. 1980. ''Profiles: A Guide to Writing in Twentieth Century Wales''. Llandysul: Gomer. Pages 70–75. * Stephens, Meic. 1972. ''The New Companion to the Literature of Wales''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. Pages 371-373.

References

External links

'Gwenallt'
on the

BBC Cymru BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

website
'Gwenallt'' on the Ceredigion County Council website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, D. Gwenallt 1899 births 1968 deaths People from Penparcau People from Pontardawe Academics of Aberystwyth University Alumni of Aberystwyth University Chaired bards Calvinist pacifists Welsh Christian pacifists Welsh conscientious objectors Welsh-language poets Welsh-language writers Welsh scholars and academics People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera 20th-century British philosophers 20th-century Welsh writers 20th-century Welsh educators