''Poetry Wales'' is a triannual poetry magazine published in

Bridgend, Wales Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Ogmor ...

. Founded by

Meic Stephens Meic Stephens (23 July 1938 – 2 July 2018) was a Welsh literary editor, journalist, translator, and poet. Birth and education Meic Stephens was born on 23 July 1938 in the village of Treforest, near Pontypridd, Glamorgan. He was educated ...

and now published by Seren, it is edited by Zoë Brigley. Since its first publication in 1965, the magazine has built an international reputation for excellent poems, features and reviews from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and beyond. The magazine is published in print and online.

History

''Poetry Wales'' was founded by

in 1965, and has since been edited by Sam Adams, John Powell Ward, Cary Archard, Mike Jenkins, Richard Poole, Robert Minhinnick,

Zoë Skoulding Zoë Skoulding is an English/Welsh poet, whose work also encompasses translation, editing, sound-based vocal performance, literary criticism and teaching creative writing. Her poetry has been included in several UK anthologies, translated into 1 ...

, Nia Davies and Jonathan Edwards. In August 2021, the magazine appointed its first ever joint editors in Zoë Brigley and Marvin Thompson. However, Thompson stepped down from the role three weeks later. Since then, Brigley has introduced a scheme where a series of contributing editors join the magazine for a couple of issues, including Vicky Morris, Isabelle Baafi, Hannah Hodgson, Taylor Edmonds, and Grug Muse. Former guest editors of individual issues include

Deryn Rees-Jones Deryn Rees-Jones is an Anglo-Welsh poet, who lives and works in Liverpool. Although, Rees-Jones has spent much of her life in Liverpool, she spent much of her childhood in the family home of Eglwys-bach in North Wales. She considers herself a We ...

, Stephen Knight,

Gwyneth Lewis Gwyneth Denver Davies (born 1959), known professionally as Gwyneth Lewis, is a Welsh poet, who was the inaugural National Poet of Wales in 2005. She wrote the text that appears over the Wales Millennium Centre. Biography Gwyneth Lewis was b ...

, Paul Henry and Duncan Bush. Former editor Cary Archard also founded Poetry Wales Press, which now trades under the name

Seren Books Seren Books is the trading name of Poetry Wales Press, a small independent publisher based in Bridgend, Wales, specialising in English-language writing from WalesFelicity Wood (23 August 2013). Rhyme and reason: The poetry market is a notoriously ...

. ''Poetry Wales'' is supported by

Swansea University Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. ...

and has a Creative Partnership with Aberystwyth University's Institute of Literature, Languages and Creative Arts. Along with two other literary magazines in Wales, ''

New Welsh Review ''New Welsh Review'' is a literary magazine published in Wales. Its primary language is English, with brief excerpts of texts indicated in the original Welsh. History Founded in 1988 as successor to ''The Welsh Review'' (1939–1948), ''Dock Leave ...

'' and ''

Planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

'', ''Poetry Wales'' receives funding from the

Welsh Books Council The Books Council of Wales (previously known as the Welsh Books Council) or Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru was established in 1961. Today it is funded by the Welsh Government. The council's aims are to promote the interests of Welsh language books and Engl ...

Recent Issues

''Poetry Wales'' has published 212 issues and counting of its magazine. The magazine is published in yearly volumes, previously over 4 seasonal issues, and now over 3 issues published in Winter, Spring and Summer.

Wales Poetry Award

In August 2019, ''Poetry Wales'' launched its annual international poetry competition Wales Poetry Award, sponsored by Aberystwyth University. The competition is open to all poets aged 17+ and accepts English language poetry up to 70 lines. Its inaugural award winners were announced at Seren Cardiff Poetry Festival in February 2020, with Leo Temple taking first prize for 'Towards a Bucolics of Contactless: a particular poem'.

References

External links

Poetry Wales website
Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1965 Poetry magazines published in the United Kingdom Literary magazines published in Wales Triannual magazines published in the United Kingdom {{UK-lit-mag-stub

History

Recent Issues

Wales Poetry Award

See also

References

External links