The South Wales Valleys have a proud history as the source of some of the most extraordinary literature to emerge from Wales. Ed Vanstone explores what’s being done to encourage creativity in the valleys of 2009
In order to produce a brilliant work of literature, an author must be blessed with many things: time and space in which to create; tragedies and triumphs to catalyse the imagination; talent and drive to get the job done; and, finally, thick-skin and stubbornness to keep plugging away through countless rejections.
But arguably the most important facet of all in the creation of excellent literature is the surroundings from which a writer draws inspiration. It’s hard to imagine Dylan Thomas, for instance, fulfilling his natural gifts for poetic expression were he born in, say, Slough. It’s unlikely that Irvine Welsh would have realised his potential for gritty realism had he hailed from Kettering. And it’s very hard to imagine anything of literary merit emanating from Milton Keynes.
The South Wales Valleys, however, are exactly the kind of place you might expect masterpieces to be born.
“There’s a huge wealth of writing from the valleys,” says Dr Katie Gramich, senior lecturer in English Literature at Cardiff University. “[It’s] been absolutely crucial, absolutely formative, in the context of the history of Welsh literature in English.”
Writers from the valleys in the 1930s, says Gramich, emerged from poor backgrounds to effectively re-invent the realist novel. Authors such as Gwyn Thomas, Glyn Jones and Rhys Davies twisted together the tongues of Welsh and English to create a uniquely lyrical portrait of working class Wales, squeezing coal-black comedy from the sweat and squalor of the daily grind.
And it’s possible to trace a line from these great architects of the Welsh industrial novel to modern classics the valleys have spawned. The work, for example, of Rhondda-born Rachel Trezise – who won the richest literary award in the world, The £60,000 Dylan Thomas Prize, for her short story collection Fresh Apples in 2006 – is suffused with the transgressive, gallows humour of her literary predecessors.
Teasing out the talent
Ensuring that the valleys continue to be so creatively febrile, and that all who so desire are able to try their hand at writing and draw pleasure from literature, is the goal of the South Wales Valleys Literature Development Initiative. The scheme, which is run by Academi, the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency, is headed up by Louise Richards.
“It’s a three-year project with a grant from the arts council and money from each of the seven authorities involved, which are Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Rhondda Cynon Taff, and Torfaen,” Louise explains.
The project uses innovative concepts and situations to inspire children and adults alike to put pen to paper. “One of the first ones was with Arriva trains, which was celebrating the opening of the Ebbw Vale link [with] Cardiff,” says Louise. “Thirteen children travelled down with a poet and then wrote about their journey and the things they saw. It was turned into posters which appear on some of the trains.”
Louise also tries to exploit noted valleys authors and personalities in order to stimulate passion for the written word. In March and September 2008, for example, Scott Quinnell, the Welsh rugby legend, visited comprehensive schools in Abertillery and Tredegar to praise the virtues of reading and give a speech about his personal struggle with dyslexia.
“[Scott] goes on about how important it is to ask for help if you’re struggling,” says Louise. “And as a result at the end of each of the sessions at least one or two kids went straight up to their teachers and said ‘we need some extra help’. So, you know, it’s worth it. We were really pleased with that one.”
Gavin Jones, a 17-year-old budding flanker, was particularly impressed. “It was brilliant,” he said. “It was wonderful to meet Scott. He was just a fantastic player to look up to, and it was great to listen to him”
In the 18 months since the project began Louise has organised, among much else, a writing trip to Cardiff FC’s Ninian Park, a highly successful sci-fi conference at the University of Glamorgan, and writing projects involving surfing, food festivals, farming and rap. The latest plan is to get Louise Walsh, author of 2008 novel Fighting Pretty, to run a series of creative journaling sessions with boxers from the valleys. “Anything to get people writing and reading and enjoying it,” says Louise. “That’s what it’s all about.”
So far, over 4000 adults and children have taken part in the initiative.
The next step
But getting people from the valleys writing is only half the battle. What’s equally important is that those who go on to produce work of merit are able to get published.
This is where Leaf, a publishing house based in Abercynon and founded by two University of Glamorgan graduates in 2003, comes in.
Leaf was created to be, “A publishers that promotes writers who haven’t really established themselves and will provide that stepping stone that is much needed for people’s confidence,” explains Sarah Edmonds, who has worked at Leaf for around a year.
One of the most important things currently, says Sarah, is running microfiction competitions. “It’s brilliant for getting unpublished writers into publication. We’ve put about 250 new authors into print over the last few years.”
Microfiction, Sarah feels, is the perfect way for wannabe writers to get the confidence boost of their name in print while simultaneously developing their craft. “It’s a good way of training the writer into editing and making sure that every single word has enough energy to carry the reader into the world of the writer’s imagination,” she says.
In a time when people claim to have less and less time to read (and write), microfiction is seen by many in the industry as the up-and-coming genre. And Leaf’s sales figures bear this out: their latest collection, Discovering a Comet and More Microfiction, has shifted record copies.
Sarah hopes that the project run by Academi will encourage more valleys writers to enter Leaf’s competitions and get a foot on the first rung of the literary ladder.
It remains to be seen whether scribes of the calibre of Gwyn Thomas, Rhys Davies or Rachel Trezise are being inspired to pick up a pen for the first time and experiment with the weird and wonderful things that words can do. But what is certain is that if there are, the opportunities available to them in the valleys ensure they will be given every chance to realise their talents.
We get a huge amount of people from the valleys entering our competitions, says Sarah. “And although we obviously get lots of bad stuff, we also have some real gems – really outstanding pieces of writing that deserve to be seen,” she says. “That’s our reward.”
Five great reads from the valleys
Idris Davies, The Angry Summer, 1943: An epic poem telling the story of those embroiled in the six-month miners’ strike of 1926, which forced Davies himself to seek new work.
Gwyn Thomas, The Dark Philosophers, 1946: Black humour pervades this anti-capitalist tale of bitter old men sniping their way through the Great Depression in the Rhondda valley.
Glyn Jones, The Valley, The City, The Village, 1956: Jones’ three-part novel follows peasant-farmer Trystan Morgan, beautifully melding poetic techniques and stream-of-consciousness narrative.
Chris Meredith, Shifts, 1988: A modern Welsh masterpiece which charts the consequences of the closure of a steel plant on four intricately entangled young workers.
Rachel Trezise, In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl, 2000: Raw and ranting, Trezise’s debut novel scooped the Orange Futures’ award – and convinced thousands to avoid visiting Rhondda at all costs.
