#margiad evans

[mickstart]

Another thing MW refuses to acknowledge is that Price was born in a border county at the edge of England and as someone who read Country Dance by Margiad Evans and was never the same, I'm telling you. That's something they should probably uhhh talk about more too.

[nusumigaki]

あのころはなぜ、何もかも美しく思えたのだろう？ すべてが美しかったはずはない。

[theblankgarden]

Catch-up (I): Elizabeth Bowen & Margiad Evans

Catch-up (I): Elizabeth Bowen & Margiad Evans

[bookjotter6865]

Winding Up the Week #111

Winding Up the Week #111

An end of week recap

Once again, I bring you a truncated wind-up. My excuse this time is D and I are celebrating our 30th anniversary today and we have friends staying with us in our little lodge over the weekend. Nevertheless, Dewithon kicked off on the 1st March (Saint David’s Day) with a visit to Harlech Castle and a plethora of promotional plugs from fellow book bloggers.

As ever, this is a…

[bydbach]

books read in 2018

Gareth Thomas: Myfi, Iolo ****

August Peters: Erzgebirgische Geschichten ***

Jean Rhys: Wide Sargasso Sea ****

Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird *****

Ralph Giordano: Der Wombat ***

Bethan Gwanas: Efa ***

Toni Morrisson: Beloved *****

Sarah Perry: The Essex Serpent *****

Menna Gallie: Strike for a Kingdom *****

Jeanette Winterson: Oranges are not the Only Fruit *****

Various: Deutsche Romantiker ****

Jakob & Wilhelm Grimm: Die Elbjungfer und das Saaleweiblein (ed.) ***

Hilda Vaughan: Iron and Gold *****

Alys Conran: Pigeon ****

Margiad Evans: Creed ****

Madeline L'Engle: A Wrinkle in Time **

Philip Pullman: Grimm’s Tales for Young and Old ***

Rachel Jones: Crime, Courts and Community in mid-Victorian Wales ****

Pamela Petro: Travels in an Old Tongue *

Richard Carr: Charlie Chaplin: A Political Biography from Victorian Britain to Modern America *****

Doris Lessing: The Golden Notebook *****

W. G. Sebald: Austerlitz **

Manon Steffan Ros: Llyfr Glas Nebo *****

Alexander Cordell: Hosts of Rebecca ***

Noelle Stevenson: Nimona *****

Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples: Saga ****

Phil Kay: The Wholly Viable ***

Jerome K Jerome: Three Men on the Bummel ***

Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse ***

Ransom Riggs: A Map of Days *

Bethan Gwanas: Y Diffeithwch Du ****

James S. A. Corey: Caliban’s War *****

breakdown

authors by gender (one overlap due to collaboration)

books by female authors: 19

books by male authors: 14

genres:

fantastic literature: 8

graphic novels: 2

Wales-related books: 10

crime fiction: 2

historical novels: 7

science fiction: 2

post-colonial: 1

non-fiction: 5

short-story/fiction collections: 3

other: 9

languages:

English: 21

Welsh: 4

German: 5

ratings:

*: 2

**: 2

***: 9

****: 8

*****: 11

resolution for 2019: read more books in welsh again and up the post-colonial writing

[zmkccommonplace]

The air up there, though very, very pure, used to get involved with the clouds. At a thousand feet this will happen.

From A Ray of Darkness by Margiad Evans, quoted by PJ Kavanagh, in People and Places, a Selection of his Essays 1975-1987

[atthecommune]

reading country dance.... and looking forward to reading carmilla afterwards

[mickstart]

17 Questions/Answers

Aaaah thank you @jurivips for tagging me! I’ll tag, uh, @gyzhou-s @ricciardos @pierreseclair and @ovcrtakes? sdffdsjsfd sorry if anybody’s already done this / doesn’t want to once again I’m new here and tagging people makes me Anxiety

NICKNAMES: LJ, Santa

ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn

HEIGHT: Uhhhhhhh I think 5′3?

HOGWARTS HOUSE: Ravenclaw

LAST THING I GOOGLED: “enraptured” dffdsjgsfd I was checking I had the definition right for something I was writing

SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: This really old mlp fan song but not the one you’re thinking of

NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS: FSDJDFSJ 17 I’m brand new here my simblr has more

AMOUNT OF SLEEP: I get insomnia a lot but today I’ve had about 9 hours?

LUCKY NUMBER: 7 bc I’m basic and also, schumi

DREAM JOB: Anything where I get to write

WEARING: baseball T and like grey jogging bottoms

FAVE SONG: hmm Elle me dit, everybody wants to rule the world, and don’t stop me now are the songs guaranteed to lift my spirits

FAVE INSTRUMENT: guitar I guess?

FAVE AUTHOR: oh this is HARD ok uhhhh. Ann Radcliffe wrote my favourite gothic, N. K. Jemisin deserves more hype for winning a hugo for every book in the Broken Earth trilogy, and since I really can’t pick a fave I’ll just namedrop a welsh author and say Margiad Evans’ Country Dance had me seething at a fictional character at 3am.

FAVE ANIMAL NOISES: The specific sound my cat makes when she’s purring and she opens her mouth to rub on my hand and it sounds like she’s rolling an r. 

RANDOM: I’m trying to learn how to edit videos and graphics + make gifs bc I have Visions I want to make a reality

HAVE A RECENT PIC:

[nusumigaki]

「自分を大切にしていないと、勝手に、何か別のものに所属させられてしまう。国家だわ。自分を乗っ取ろうとするものなんて、それ以外にはない⋯⋯」

[queerwelsh]

‘Landladies’: photos of Margiad Evans (Peggy Whistler), the bisexual Anglo Welsh writer. Left: With sister Nancy Whistler/Sian Evans at Ross on Wye in 1938. Right: Margiad at Springherne, near Ross on Wye in the last 1930s.

Via ‘Women in Trousers’, an Archive by Cardiff University. (Women in Trousers on Twitter)

[nusumigaki]

「そうです。川が大好きなんです。わたしにとって、川に勝るものは何もありません」

[queerwelsh]

💗 💜 💙 Bi Visibility Day! 💗 💜 💙 Diwrnod Dathlu Deurywioldeb! 💗 💜 💙

To celebrate, here are bi figures (#bicons!) who’ve featured on this blog! I ddathlu, dyma ffigyrau ddeurywiol sydd wedi ymddangos ar y blog ‘ma! 

1. Katherine Philips - the ‘Welsh Sappho’ wrote romantic friendship poetry and started a romantic friendship society in Cardigan. Like the real Sappho, Katherine may have been sapphic, bisexual, or lesbian, but it isn’t 100% known - though she wouldn’t have used any of these terms.

2. Gwen John definitely had relationships with men, such as Rodin, and definitely had sexual relations with other female models of his, plus infatuations for women such as Véra Oumancoff, though unrequited. 100% Welsh bicon.

3. Nina Hamnett is another Welsh female artist from Tenby. Known for her bohemian lifestyle, her memoir The Laughing Torso, and perhaps also overshadowed herself by the men she had relationships with, Nina Hamnett was openly bisexual.

4. Kate Roberts‘ sexuality isn’t entirely known. Married to Morris T. Williams, who had affairs with men and died in his 40s, Kate loved him, and seemed to have attraction to women in her letters, and wrote some stories with lesbian themes. What is important with Kate Roberts is the possibility that such a Welsh figure could have been bisexual.

5. E. Prosser Rhys - the Welsh poet from Ceredigion whose poem ‘Atgof’ (’Memory’) won the Crown at the 1924 Eisteddfod with explicit sexual themes. Exploring sexual relationships with women and men, ‘Atgof’ is a bisexual poem, likely partly about Prosser’s relationship with Morris T. Williams. He was also married and died in his 40s.

6. Margiad Evans (or Peggy Whistler) was a novelist who identified with Wales, though she lived on the border. Her writing explores clashes of identity, sexuality and illness such as epilepsy. She had an affair with a woman called Ruth Farr and was likely bisexual.

7. Historian John Davies came out as gay, though he is occasionally thought to be bisexual as he was married with children. He identified as gay, but his coming out in response to the scandal surrounding Ron Davies, who since identified as bisexual, is certainly relevant to more recent discrimination faced by gay and bisexual men in Wales.

8. Hansh has featured wonderful videos about coming out in Wales, and various great LGBT+ videos. This includes Welsh videos on being bisexual, including by Amy, and by Fflur Elin.

9. Yasmin is a writer and activist who this year raised awareness and education of the history of POC in Wales, especially for the centenary of the 1919 race riots though @1919raceriots (on twitter.) Yasmin is openly bisexual and you should follow her on twitter!

10. BiCymru/BiWales is ‘the All-Wales network for people attracted to more than one gender and people who think they may be bi.’ They have organised BiFests in Wales since 2010, and other events and groups for bisexual people, as well as challenge biphobia in Wales.

Just click the links through to their posts on this blog, and search their tags for any more posts on these #bicons! [Images: Stonewall Cymru | Gwen John self portrait | Nina Hamnett portrait]

[queerwelsh]

LGBT+ History Month & Wales - Cymru & Mis Hanes LHDT+

This is a guest post I made for LGBT+ History Month 2018, on the National Library of Wales’s blog. (Welsh version below.)

Wales & LGBT+ History Month Wales & LGBT+ History Month For fifteen years, February has been regarded as the month to celebrate the histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, and anybody else who may fit into the LGBT+ umbrella. LGBT+ History Month 2018 has seen the most events in Wales yet – such as Pride Cymru’s event at the Senedd. From studying the LGBT History of Wales, I’ve found that the National Library is a hive of secondary and primary resources into Welsh LGBT Histories. Anyone who has used their archives will know it is a great resource to uncover personal histories – such as Welsh women’s histories. Similarly, Welsh LGBT+ people’s histories are still being uncovered. This month, or any other month, read the history of a Welsh LGBT+ person, celebrate them, and maybe help uncover the history of Welsh LGBT+ people. Here are fourteen key figures in Welsh LGBT+ history who can be researched at the National Library of Wales – to be celebrated this month, and hopefully to always be celebrated in Welsh history. 1. The Ladies of Llangollen are the most well-known Welsh LGBT+ figures. They were Sarah Ponsonby [1755-1831] and Eleanor Butler [1739-1829], two Irish women who escaped their family to live their lives together at Plas Newydd in Llangollen. Much has been written about them, which can be read at the National Library. Archives related to the Ladies at the Library include portraits, letters, facsimiles of their account books, electronic resources and other papers. NLW MS 21682C – Letters from Ladies of Llangollen NLW MS 23699E, ff. 135-137. – Letters of the Ladies of Llangollen NLW MS 23980F, ff. 24-25. – Ladies of Llangollen letters NLW MS 22768D. – Ladies of Llangollen letters Cardiff MS 2.908. – Ladies of Llangollen Bodrhyddan Estate Papers, Deeds and Documents 57 – Letter: Sarah Ponsonby to Miss Williams Wynn. Endorsed ‘Last Letter from Miss Ponsonby’ NLW Facs 18. – ‘Ladies of Llangollen’ account book NLW Facs 19. – ‘Ladies of Llangollen’ account book NLW MS 19697B. – A personal and household account book of the ‘Ladies of Llangollen’ in the hand of Sarah Ponsonby Other writings on the Ladies includes accounts on them from the period, Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan’s Papers of the ‘Ladies of Llangollen’ and Susan Valladares’ article on Anne Lister’s meeting with the Ladies. 2. Katherine Philips [1631-1664] was an Anglo-Welsh poet who Norena Shopland has uncovered as ‘The Welsh Sappho.’ Philips is one of the earliest examples of poetry around her ‘romantic friendships.’ NLW MS 775B. – Katherine Philips poetry NLW MS 776B. – Katherine Philips poetry NLW Facs 739. – Katherine Philips poem NLW Films 943-6 – Katherine Philips Microfilms NLW MS 21702E. – Barddoniaeth amrywiol 3. Frances Power Cobbe [1822-1904] and Mary Charlotte Lloyd [1819-1896], like the Ladies of Llangollen lived in Wales together. Cobbe was a well-known suffragette, campaigner and writer – Mary Lloyd was a Welsh sculptor who lived as her partner. Sources on Lloyd are mainly from Cobbe’s writings. Minor Deposit 1309-15. – Manuscripts of Frances Power Cobbe of Hengwrt, Dolgellau, religious philosopher, &c NLW ex 1865-7 – Frances Power Cobbe Bequest 4. Sarah Jane Rees (Cranogwen) [1839-1916] was a writer, editor, sailor, lecturer, and editor of Y Frythones, and was in a lifelong lesbian relationship, as written by Jane Aaron in Queer Wales. Sarah Jane Rees (‘Cranogwen’) Cerddi i Maggie Eurona gan Cranogwen. NLW MS 23895A. – Anerchiad gan Cranogwen Sarah Jane Rees (‘Cranogwen’) poetry 5. Amy Dillwyn [1845-1935] was an industrialist and feminist who also published novels with lesbian and cross-dressing themes. The novels published by Honno, her biography David Painting and other writings about her by Kirsti Bohata can be read at the Library. Amy Dillwyn papers 6. Gwen John [1876-1939] is probably the most well-known female Welsh artist – less well-known is her relationships with women, such as Véra Oumançoff. Gwen John manuscripts 7. Margaret Haig Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess of Rhondda, [1883-1958] also had relationships with men and women and is well-known as a suffragette. Books by and about her (i.e. Angela John) can be found in the Library. 8. George E. J. Powell of Nanteos [1842-82], has been written about by Harry Heuser in Queer Wales and New Welsh Reader. NLW Facs 417. – Letters to George E. J. Powell, Nanteos Minor Deposits 1394-97. – Letters to George E. J. Powell from A.C. Swinburne 9. Nina Hamnett [1890-1956] was the ‘Queen of Bohemia,’ a bisexual artist from Wales who was linked to the Bloomsbury Group. Search Nina Hamnett in the catalogue. 10. Ivor Novello [1893-1951] was a popular 20th century entertainer from Cardiff. NLW MS 23204D. – Ivor Novello papers NLW MS 23696E. – Ivor Novello letters 11. Rhys Davies [1901-1978] Rhys Davies Papers 12. Kate Roberts [1891-1985], known as the Queen of our Literature, was married to Morris T. Williams [1900-1946], while he had an affair with Edward Prosser Rhys [1901-1945]. E. Prosser Rhys is best known for his winning poem ‘Atgof’ in the 1924 Eisteddfod, exploring his bisexual relationships. Alan Llwyd, in his autobiography of Roberts, theorised that she may have also been bisexual. Papurau Kate Roberts 13. Margiad Evans [1909-1958] was a novelist who again was married, but it is more well known that she had a relationship with Ruth Farr, while her novelists explore themes of sexuality. Her novels, manuscripts and autobiography are at the Library, as well as writings on her, such as by Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan, and her archived papers and letters: NLW Facs 870 – Margiad Evans Diary NLW ex 2790 (i & ii) – Margiad Evans family papers Margiad Evans Papers Margiad Evans Manuscripts NLW MS 23893E. – Margiad Evans Letters NLW MS 23994F. – Poems by Margiad Evans 14. Jan Morris. [1926-] is a Welsh writer and historian, and trans woman. She wrote Conundrum on her experiences with gender transition, as well as books on Wales, and is an important and influential Welsh LGBT figure. Jan Morris Papers

There are many more LGBT+ people from Wales increasingly being written about in queer history and Welsh history. John Davies was a leading Welsh historian who was LGBT and Jeffrey Weeks is a leading sexuality historian from the Rhondda. Other sources used by Welsh LGBT historians, such as Shopland, are newspaper articles, such as those available through the Welsh Newspapers Online. Mair Jones, MA History of Wales, Aberystwyth University. Further Reading Osborne, Huw. Queer Wales. Shopland, Norena. Forbidden Lives. Tate, Tim. Pride. Weeks, Jeffrey. Icons & Allies.

Cymru & Mis Hanes LHDT+

Dyma gofnod gwadd gan Mair Jones.

Cymru & Mis Hanes LHDT+ Am bymtheg mlynedd, ystyriwyd mis Chwefror fel mis i ddathlu hanes pobl lesbiaidd, hoyw, deurywiol, trawsrywiol a queer, ac unrhyw un arall gall ffitio i’r ambarél LHDT+. Mae Mis Hanes LHDT+ 2018 wedi gweld y mwyaf o ddigwyddiadau yng Nghymru eto – fel digwyddiad Pride Cymru yn y Senedd

O astudio Hanes LHDT+ Cymru, rwyf wedi darganfod bod y Llyfrgell Genedlaethol yn llawn adnoddau cynradd ac eilradd Hanes LHDT+ Cymru. Bydd unrhyw un sydd wedi defnyddio eu archifau yn gwybod ei fod yn adnodd gwych i ddatgelu hanesion personol – fel hanesion menywod yng Nghymru. Mae hanesion pobl LHDT+ Cymru hefyd yn dal i gael eu datgelu. Mis yma, neu yn unrhyw fis arall, darllenwch darllen hanes person LHDT + Cymraeg, dathlwch, ac efallai helpwch i ddatgelu hanes pobl LHDT+ Cymru.

Dyma bedwar ar ddeg o ffigurau allweddol mewn hanes LHDT+ Cymru y gellir eu hymchwilio yn Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – i’w ddathlu’r mis hwn, a gobeithio o fewn hanes Cymru.

1. ‘Ladies of Llangollen.’ Rhain yw’r ffigyrau LHDT+ mwyaf adnabyddus o Gymru. Yr oeddent yn Sarah Ponsonby [1755-1831] ac Eleanor Butler [1739-1829], dwy fenyw Gwyddelig a wnaeth ddianc o’u teuluoedd i fyw eu bywydau gyda’i gilydd ym Mhlas Newydd yn Llangollen. Ysgrifennwyd llawer amdanynt y gellir eu darllen yn y Llyfrgell Genedlaethol. Mae archifau sy’n gysylltiedig iddynt yn cynnwys portreadau, llythyrau, ffacsimilïau o’u llyfrau cyfrif, adnoddau electronig a phapurau eraill. NLW MS 21682C – Letters from Ladies of Llangollen NLW MS 23699E, ff. 135-137. – Letters of the Ladies of Llangollen NLW MS 23980F, ff. 24-25. – Ladies of Llangollen letters NLW MS 22768D. – Ladies of Llangollen letters Cardiff MS 2.908. – Ladies of Llangollen Bodrhyddan Estate Papers, Deeds and Documents 57 – Letter: Sarah Ponsonby [one of ‘The Ladies of Llangollen’] to Miss Williams Wynn. Endorsed ‘Last Letter from Miss Ponsonby’ NLW Facs 18. – ‘Ladies of Llangollen’ account book NLW Facs 19. – ‘Ladies of Llangollen’ account book NLW MS 19697B. – A personal and household account book of the ‘Ladies of Llangollen’ in the hand of Sarah Ponsonby Mae ysgrifau eraill arnynt yn cynnwys cyfrifon ohonynt o’r amser, Papers of the ‘Ladies of Llangollen’ gan Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan ac erthygl Susan Valladares arnynt yn gyfarfod Anne Lister.

2. Roedd Katherine Philips [1631-1664] yn fardd Anglo-Gymreig y mae Norena Shopland wedi darganfod fel y ‘Welsh Sappho.’ Mae Philips yn un o’r enghreifftiau cynharaf o farddoniaeth o gwmpas ‘gyfeillgarwch rhamantus’. NLW MS 775B. – Katherine Philips poetry NLW MS 776B. – Katherine Philips poetry NLW Facs 739. – Katherine Philips poem NLW Films 943-6 – Katherine Philips Microfilms NLW MS 21702E. – Barddoniaeth amrywiol

3. Roedd Frances Power Cobbe [1822-1904] a Mary Charlotte Lloyd [1819-1896], fel Ponsonby a Butler, yn byw yng Nghymru gyda’i gilydd. Roedd Cobbe yn swffraget adnabyddus, ac awdur – roedd Mary Lloyd yn gerflunydd o Gymru a oedd yn byw gyda’i fel ei phartner. Mae’r ffynonellau ar Lloyd yn bennaf o ysgrifau Cobbe. Minor Deposit 1309-15. – Manuscripts of Frances Power Cobbe of Hengwrt, Dolgellau, religious philosopher, &c NLW ex 1865-7 – Frances Power Cobbe Bequest

4. Roedd Sarah Jane Rees (Cranogwen) [1839-1916] yn awdur, golygydd, morwr, darlithydd, a golygydd Y Frythones, ac roedd mewn perthynas lesbiaidd gydol oes, fel y ysgrifennwyd gan Jane Aaron yn Queer Wales. Sarah Jane Rees (‘Cranogwen’) Cerddi i Maggie Eurona gan Cranogwen NLW MS 23895A. – Anerchiad gan Cranogwen Sarah Jane Rees (‘Cranogwen’) poetry

5. Roedd Amy Dillwyn [1845-1935] yn ddiwydiannydd a ffeminist a gyhoeddodd nofelau â themâu lesbiaidd a chroes-wisgo. Gellir darllen y nofelau a gyhoeddwyd gan Honno, ei chofiad gan David Painting ac ysgrifenniadau eraill amdani gan Kirsti Bohata yn y Llyfrgell. Amy Dillwyn papers

6. Mae’n debyg mai Gwen John [1876-1939] yw’r artist benywaidd mwyaf adnabyddus yng Nghymru – llai adnabyddus yw ei pherthynas â merched, fel Véra Oumançoff. Gwen John manuscripts

7. Cafodd Margaret Haig Mackworth, 2il Is-iarll Rhondda, [1883-1958] hefyd berthnasoedd â dynion a merched ac mae’n adnabyddus fel swffraget. Gellir dod o hyd i lyfrau amdani (h.y. gan Angela John) a ganddi yn y Llyfrgell.

8. Mae George Powell o Nanteos [1842-82] a’i rhywioldeb wedi cael ei ysgrifennu amdano gan Harry Heuser yn Queer Wales ac mae nifer o’i ysgrifau i’w darllen yn y Llyfrgell. NLW Facs 417. – Letters to George E. J. Powell, Nanteos Minor Deposits 1394-97. – Letters to George E. J. Powell from A.C. Swinburne

9. Nina Hamnett [1890-1956] oedd y ‘Queen of Bohemia,’ artist deurhywiol o Gymru oedd yn gysylltiedig a’r Grwp Bloomsbury.

10. Ivor Novello [1893-1951] NLW MS 23204D. – Ivor Novello papers NLW MS 23696E. – Ivor Novello letters

11. Rhys Davies [1901-1978] Rhys Davies Papers

12. Roedd Kate Roberts [1891-1985], a elwir yn Frenhines ein Llên, yn briod â Morris T. Williams [1900-1946], tra bu ganddo berthynas ag Edward Prosser Rhys [1901-1945]. Mae E. Prosser Rhys yn adnabyddus am ei gerdd fuddugol ‘Atgof’ yn Eisteddfod 1924, amdano ei berthnasoedd ddeurywiol. Teimlai Alan Llwyd, yn ei hunangofiant Roberts, ei bod hi hefyd wedi bod yn ddeurywiol. Papurau Kate Roberts

13. Roedd Margiad Evans [1909-1958] yn nofelydd a oedd eto’n briod, ond mae’n fwy adnabyddus bod ganddi berthynas â Ruth Farr, tra bod ei nofelau yn archwilio themâu rhywioldeb. Mae ei nofelau, ei lawysgrifau a’i hunangofiant yn y Llyfrgell, yn ogystal ag ysgrifennu arni, fel gan Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan, a’i phapurau a’i llythyrau archif. NLW Facs 870 – Margiad Evans Diary NLW ex 2790 (i & ii) – Margiad Evans family papers Margiad Evans Papers Margiad Evans Manuscripts NLW MS 23893E. – Margiad Evans Letters NLW MS 23994F. – Poems by Margiad Evans

14. Mae Jan Morris [1926-] yn awdur a hanesydd Cymreig. Ysgrifennodd lyfr ar ei phrofiadau yn bod yn trawsryweddol yn ogystal â hanesion Cymru, ac mae’n ffigwr pwysig a dylanwadol LHDT+ Cymru. Jan Morris Papers

Mae yna llawer mwy o bobl LHDT + o Gymru yn cael eu hysgrifennu’n gynyddol mewn hanes queer a hanes Cymru. Roedd John Davies yn hanesydd blaenllaw yng Nghymru a oedd yn LHDT ac mae Jeffrey Weeks yn hanesydd rhywioldeb blaenllaw o’r Rhondda. Mae ffynonellau eraill a ddefnyddiwyd gan haneswyr LHDT Cymru, megis Shopland, yn erthyglau papur newydd, fel y rhai sydd ar gael trwy Bapurau Newydd Cymru Arlein

Mair Jones, MA Hanes Cymru, Prifysgol Aberystwyth.

Darllen pellach: Osborne, Huw. Queer Wales. Shopland, Norena. Forbidden Lives. Tate, Tim. Pride. Weeks, Jeffrey.

[queerwelsh]

Blog post from 2018 on some LGBT+ history resources in the National Library of Wales. (There are probably more that have been ‘discovered’ by now.)

Includes resources relating to Ladies of Llangollen, Katherine Philips, Mary Charlotte Lloyd (and Frances Power Cobbe), Cranogwen (Sarah Jane Rees), Amy Dillwyn, Gwen John, Margaret Haig Mackworth (Lady/Viscountess Rhondda), Nina Hamnett, Ivor Novello, Rhys Davies, Kate Roberts, George Powell of Nanteos, Margiad Evans and Jan Morris.

Also available to read in Welsh.

[queerwelsh]

Kate Roberts (1891-1985) was born on this day, 13th February, 1891 in Rhosgadfan, Caernarfonshire.

Known as ‘Brenhines ein Llên’ (Queen of our Literature), Kate published novels such as Traed Mewn Cyffion (Feet in Chains) in 1936, which depicted poverty and the hardships of women in the slate quarries in North Wales. She was also known for short stories such as in the collection ‘Ffair Gaeaf a storïau eraill’ (’Winter Fair and other stories’), published in 1937.

Through her political activism with Plaid Cymru, she met Morris T. Williams, who she married in 1928. They bought the Gwasg Gee publishing house in Denbigh by 1935, which published books, pamphlets and Y Faner (The Banner). Kate and Morris both were close to the editor of Y Faner, E. Prosser Rhys, a poet who broke ground in 1924 by winning in the Eisteddfod with ‘Atgof’, which depicted heterosexual sex, masturbation and gay sex. Morris and Prosser’s relationship was particularly close, and they are thought to have had an affair.

Morris died in 1946 (Prosser Rhys in 1945) but Kate continued at the press for another decade. Her later short stories reflected her isolation and her autobiography was published in 1960. Kate is also known for her politics, carrying on a correspondence with the Welsh Nationalist Saunders Lewis for 40 years and herself contributing to Y Faner. Kate retired to Denbigh and died in 1985, at the age of 94.

The image of Kate Roberts is that of a powerhouse of a Welsh novelist, writer and political campaigner, but also of a lonely and childless widow later in life. This image is sadder if her husband was gay, had an affair, and died from his alcoholism in his 40s. The traditional images of Kate Roberts can be challenged, however. Morris’s sudden death was devastating - in an interview with Lewis Valentine, Kate told him how her world had fell to pieces, leading to write of ‘the struggle of a woman’s soul’ in Stryd y Glep (Gossip Row). The affair, however, she understood.

Kate’s own literature has more recently been analysed as itself having examples of homoerotic writing between women. Relationships between women can be intense, erotic, such as in the 1929 short story ‘Nadolig’ (’Christmas’), which explores a relationship between two teachers with coded queer subtext, and the 1972 short story ‘Y Trysor’ (’The Treasure’). Not only did lesbian relationships seem to appear in her short stories (similarly to the writer Margiad Evans, who is thought to be bisexual, who Kate also corresponded with) but in Alan Llwyd’s biography, he writes that her letters to Morris hint at her own feelings for women:

“Yr oedd gwraig y cigydd lle’r arhoswn yn un o’r merched harddaf y disgynnodd fy llygaid arni erioed. Dynes lled dal, heb fod yn rhy dew nac yn rhy denau, gwellt gwineu - real chestnut a thuedd at donnau ynddo. Croen fel alabaster a’r gwddf harddaf a welais erioed - llygaid heb fod yn rhy brydferth ond yn garedig. Yr oedd yn hynod gartrefol ei ffordd - Cymraes iawn. Bore trannoeth, hebryngai’r mab fi mewn cerbyd i Gastellnedd - cychwyn tua 7.15a.m. a hithau’n oer. Mynnodd y wraig roi clustog o’r ty odanaf, a lapiodd rug am fy nhraed, rug arall am fy nghorff, a rhoes glamp o gusan ar fy ngwefus. Nid oedd dim a roes fwy o bleser imi. Os byth ysgrifennaf fy atgofion, bydd y weithred hon yno, a’r noson ar lan afon Ddyfi.”

“The butcher’s wife where we stayed was one of the most beautiful girls I have ever laid eyes on. A broad, tall woman, not too fat or too thin, brown(?) hair - real chestnut, with a tendency to waves. Skin like alabaster and the most beautiful neck I’ve ever seen - eyes not too beautiful but kind. She was very homely - a real Welshwoman. The next morning, the son escorted me in a vehicle to Neath - starting at 7a.m. and it cold. The wife insisted on putting a cushion from the house under me, wrapped a rug around my feet, and another on my body, and put a clamp of a kiss on my lips. There was nothing that gave me more pleasure. If I ever write my memoir, this deed will be there, and that night on the banks of river Dyfi.”

The implication is she was aware of Morris’s homosexuality before they married and felt comfortable her own sexuality to him, and, as she was in love with Morris, was bisexual. This interpretation of her writing, both personal and published, was treated as controversial however - the ‘sensational’ ‘claim’ of the biography, rather just one part of Llwyd’s portrayal of Kate’s life. The queer readings of her writing already existed and certainly are not so far-fetched or shocking. Kate’s history does not generally include her queerness, so have these interpretations been entirely dismissed as unbelievable?

Through her writing and her personal life, if not through her own sexuality, Kate Roberts certainly is a part of the LGBT+ history of Wales - she already is a part of the LGBT+ literature of Wales. So what makes a historically queer view of Kate Roberts so far unacceptable? For some, it’s still to unbelievable that figures in Welsh history may be queer - for others, too disrespectful to repeat that ‘Brenhines Ein Llên’ was attracted to women. The image of her is respectable, does same-sex attraction not fit in with that? Or does same-sex attraction not fit in with her Welshness even?

It is however not a slur on her legacy to believe her to be queer. When it’s treated as such, by ignoring the queer interpretation, by not speaking of it (like we for so long did not speak about queer people in our society, through shame) - it sends the message to LGBT+ people in Welsh society today that a Welsh identity and LGBT+ identity are still mutually exclusive. This puts Welsh LGBT+ people in the position of needing to choose between the two identities, needing to compartmentalize these two parts of themselves. That Welsh historical figures, Welsh heroes even, could have been queer validates our identities  - when even the possibility is dismissed, Welsh LGBT+ people are dismissed. When LGBT+ people do exist in our history, when Kate Roberts (such a Welsh figure) is a part of a Welsh LGBT+ history, this needs to be recognised, to recognise that Welsh LGBT+ people are a permanent part of Wales, and even of Welsh-speaking Wales.

Sources: -‘“A queer kind of fancy”: Women, Same-sex Desire and Nation in Welsh Literature’ by Kirsti Bohata in Huw Osborne ed. Queer Wales. - ‘Coded Sexualities and Outside Views’ by Gwen Davies. - Kate Roberts (Writers of Wales) by Katie Gramich. - Kate: Cofiant Kate by Alan Llwyd. - ‘From Huw Arwystli to Siôn Eirian: Representative Examples of Cadi/Queer Life from Medieval to Twentieth-Century Welsh Literature,’ by Mihangel Morgan in Queer Wales. - ‘Cultural Translations: A Comparative Political Study of Kate Roberts and Virginia Woolf,’ PhD thesis by Francesca Rhydderch.