Gwyneth Denver Davies (born 1959), known professionally as Gwyneth Lewis, is a Welsh poet, who was the inaugural

National Poet of Wales The post of National Poet of Wales ( cy, Bardd Cenedlaethol Cymru) was established in May 2005 by Academi – the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society for Writers. The current holder of the position is Hanan Issa, who was appoin ...

in 2005. She wrote the text that appears over the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

Biography

Gwyneth Lewis was born into 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 ...

-speaking family 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 ...

. Her father started teaching her English when her mother went into hospital to give birth to her sister. Lewis attended

Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen Ysgol Garth Olwg (previously named Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen and Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg), English Garth Olwg School is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in the village of Church Village near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf ...

, a bilingual school near

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 ...

, and then studied at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where she was a member of Cymdeithas Y Mabinogi. She was awarded a double first in English literature and the Laurie Hart Prize for outstanding intellectual work. Lewis then studied creative writing at Columbia and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, before receiving a D. Phil in English from

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, for a thesis on 18th-century literary forgery featuring the work of

Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedi ...

.CREW Welsh Writers Online: Gwyneth Lewis
Lewis was made a

Harkness Fellow The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several coun ...

and worked as a freelance journalist in New York for three years. She then returned to Cardiff as a documentary producer and director at

BBC Wales 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 ...

. She left the BBC in 2001 after receiving a £75,000 grant from the

National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts Nesta (formerly NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is an innovation foundation based in the UK. The organisation acts through a combination of programmes, investment, policy and research, and the formation of part ...

to carry out research and sail to ports linked historically with the inhabitants of her native Cardiff. Lewis later wrote the words which appear over the

, which opened in November 2004. The same words form the title of

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song " Adiemus" and the ''Adiemus'' album series; '' Palladio''; ''The Armed Man''; and his ''Requiem''. J ...

's cantata ''

In These Stones Horizons Sing ''In These Stones, Horizons Sing'' is a work for chorus and orchestra composed by Karl Jenkins. It was commissioned for the opening of Wales Millennium Centre and first performed at its opening in November 2004. The work includes text in both Engl ...

'', which is partly set to lyrics by Gwyneth Lewis. In 2005 she was elected Honorary Fellow of

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. The same year she was made the first

. Lewis was a judge for the 2011

Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine The Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine was founded in 2009 by Donald Singer and Michael Hulse. The founders "wished to draw together national and international perspectives on three major historical and contemporary themes uniting the disc ...

. On 6 August 2012, Gwyneth Lewis won Y Goron (the Crown) at the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (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 Europe. Competitors ...

Llandow Llandow ( cy, Llandŵ) is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 726. The village is located south west of Cardiff. The community includes the villages of Sigingstone and ...

for a collection of poems on the set title of ''Ynys'' (Island). Lewis was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as par ...

for services to literature.

Music

Lewis entered the world of music in partnership with

Richard Chew Richard Franklin Chew (born June 28, 1940) is an American film editor, best known for his Academy Award-winning work on ''Star Wars'' (1977), alongside Paul Hirsch and Marcia Lucas. Other notable films include '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' ...

. ''Redflight/ Barcud'' was her first

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

, commissioned and presented by

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

with pupils from Ysgol Capel y Cynfab, Cynghordy and Ysgol Cil-y-cwm. ''The Most Beautiful Man from the Sea'' is an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

for 600 voices, with music by Chew and

Orlando Gough Orlando Gough ( ; born 1953 in Brighton, Sussex) is a British composer, educated at Oxford, and noted for projects written for ballet, contemporary dance and theatre. Collaborators have included Siobhan Davies, Alain Platel, Shobana Jeyasingh ...

. It was given its world première at the

by the Chorus of Welsh National Opera and 500 amateur singers.

Personal life

Married to Leighton, a former

bosun A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...

with the Merchant Navy, Lewis has had a well documented battle in the past with

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

and

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

.Two in a Boat: The True Story of a Marital Rite of Passage by Gwyneth Lewis
/ref> Her personal battles inspired her first book, ''Sunbathing in the Rain: A Cheerful Book on Depression'' and also a collection of poems, ''Keeping Mum – Voices from Therapy''. Having agreed to change their lifestyles for their own good, Lewis and her husband bought the small yacht ''Jameeleh'', taught themselves to sail, and set out to cross the Ocean to Africa. The journey inspired her 2005 book ''Two in a Boat – The True Story of a Marital Rite of Passage''.

Bibliography

*''Llwybrau bywyd'' –

Urdd Gobaith Cymru 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 ...

, 1977 *''Ar y groesffordd'' –

, 1978 *''Sonedau Redsa a Cherddi Eraill'' – Gomer, 1990 *''Parables and Faxes'' – Bloodaxe, 1995 *''Cyfrif Un Ac Un yn Dri'' – Barddas, 1996 *''Zero Gravity'' – Bloodaxe, 1998. Inspired by an astronaut cousin's voyage to repair the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

. The BBC later based a documentary on the poetry. *''Y Llofrudd Iaith – Barddas'', 2000: won the Welsh Arts Council Book of the Year Prize. *''Sunbathing in the Rain: A Cheerful Book on Depression'' – Flamingo, 2002 *''Keeping Mum'' (republished in 2005 as ''Chaotic Angels'') – Bloodaxe, 2003 *''Two In A Boat: A Marital Voyage'' – Fourth Estate, 2005. Recounts a voyage with her husband on a small boat from Cardiff to North Africa, during which her husband was diagnosed with cancer. *''A Hospital Odyssey'' – Bloodaxe, 2010 *''The Meat Tree'' – Seren, 2010 *''Sparrow Tree'' – Bloodaxe, 2011 *''Y Storm'', 2012. Lewis's translation of Shakespeare's '' The Tempest'')

Prizes and awards

Current list of prizes and awards:Gwyneth Lewis
*1977 – Literary Medal at the

*1978 – Literary Medal at the

*1988 – Eric Gregory Award *1995 – Aldeburgh Poetry Festival Prize Parables and Faxes *1995 – Forward Poetry Prize (Best First Collection) (shortlist) Parables and Faxes *1998 – Forward Poetry Prize (Best Poetry Collection of the Year) (shortlist) Zero Gravity *2000 – Arts Council of Wales Book of the Year Award Y Llofrudd Iaith *2001 – National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) Award

References

External links

Gwyneth Lewis personal websiteBio at ContemporaryWriters.comGwyneth Lewis profile
at

Listen to Gwyneth Lewis reading her poetry
– a British Library recording, 12 July 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Gwyneth 1959 births Living people 20th-century British journalists 21st-century British journalists 20th-century Welsh poets 20th-century Welsh women writers 21st-century Welsh poets 21st-century Welsh women writers 21st-century Welsh writers Writers from Cardiff Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Harvard University alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Welsh journalists Harkness Fellows Welsh women poets BBC newsreaders and journalists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg British women television journalists British women radio presenters Welsh women journalists Welsh women radio presenters Members of the Order of the British Empire