Singing in Chains – a talk on Welsh poetry As part of Yn Chruinnaght Inter-Celtic Festival, Dr Mererid Hopwood will give a talk about the art of Welsh poetry under the intriguing title Singing in Chains. Her talk – in English! – will take place in the Atholl Room of the Centenary Centre, Peel at 6.00pm on Friday 22nd July. Admission is free. Welsh poetry is subject to strict rules – the chains of the title – but leading poets make the language sing. Mererid Hopwood will give a unique insight into the difficulties involved and how Welsh poets overcome them. Her book on the subject, entitled Singing in Chains : Listening to Welsh Verse (with associated CD), is available from Gomer Press. Mererid Hopwood is well-qualified to talk on this subject. She became the first woman to receive the highest award for Welsh poetry when she was chaired as Bard at the National Eisteddfod in 2001. She won further honours for her poetry at the Eisteddfod in 2003 when she became a crowned Bard. In 2008 she was awarded the Eisteddfod’s Prose Medal – a rather prosaic name for what is, in fact, a Welsh Booker Prize, an award given for a novel. As well as giving university lectures on Creative Writing in Welsh, Mererid’s academic background is involved with the Spanish and German languages. However, she is more widely known for her work in Welsh through her appearances on television and radio. Mererid’s talk will include an explanation of the relationship between art and craft in Welsh poetry, and its close relationship to music. The name of the highest poetic form (cynghanedd) means ‘harmony’. Welsh has long been regarded as a very musical language. However, Mererid explains how this poetry can also be found in English examples as diverse as poetry, newspaper headlines and advertising campaigns. www.ynchruinnaght.com Festival hotline 425957 END