Glyn Jones

Morgan Glyndwr Jones, generally known as Glyn Jones, (28 February 1905 – 10 April 1995) was a Welsh novelist, poet and literary historian, and an important figure in Anglo-Welsh literature. He served as both Chairman and President of the Welsh Academy's English-language section. His study The Dragon Has Two Tongues discusses ways in which the interwar period affected his generation of Welsh authors. Despite Welsh being his family language he was educated in English, as were all attending mainstream education in Wales in the first half of the 20th century. Jones gained a place at Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar School, and by the time he left secondary education, he had all but lost his ability to speak Welsh fluently. However, he re-taught himself Welsh in later life, although his literary work was always in English. After leaving Cyfarthfa Grammar, he gained a place at St Paul's College in Cheltenham.

From an early age Jones was a devout Christian; his parents being Welsh Nonconformists. Jones attended Sunday School as a child and in his later life he was a member of Minny Street Congregational Chapel in Cardiff. even when many of his contemporary authors rejected religion. In later years neither poet showed much distress when they met, and were able to laugh off the controversy. Jones first translated Welsh texts in 1954, working with T. J. Morgan on The Saga of Llywarch the Old. In 1981 he worked on his own translations with When the Rose Bush brings forth Apples followed by Honeydew on the Wormwood: a further selection of old Welsh verses in 1984.

Relations with Dylan Thomas In 1934 Jones wrote to Dylan Thomas after reading his poem The Woman Speaks, which had been published in The Adelphi. Both men were relatively unknown in that period, but the correspondence led to a long-lasting friendship between the two. They met at Whitsun 1934. Jones, who had a car, drove the two of them to Laugharne; Thomas later described Jones to his girlfriend, Pamela Hansford Johnson, as "a nice, handsome young man with no vices".

Later that year, the two men met again, this time to visit fellow poet Caradoc Evans. After the visit, while the men shared a hotel room, Jones recalled the tale of Welsh eccentric Dr. William Price, who cremated his young son without official permission after the child's death. Thomas later turned the tale into the story "The Burning Baby". The next year, Thomas invited Jones to London. Jones found that Thomas, when amongst the artists of London, would change his viewpoint to suit the group of people he was talking to – a trait that made Jones uneasy.

As Thomas grew in fame, he and Jones saw less of each other, but in December 1949, Jones was asked to interview his old friend for a BBC radio programme, How I Write. Jones travelled to Laugharne to meet Thomas at his home, the Boathouse. Jones was shocked at how much Thomas had changed, with his face bloated and pale from years of heavy drinking. They spent some time planning what the broadcast should include, but a few days before Christmas, the producers received a call from Thomas' wife, saying that he was ill with "broken ribs", and the interview never took place.

Awards and later life Jones was seen as an important and influential writer in Welsh literary circles. He was elected President of the Welsh Academy and in 1985 became the Academy's first honorary member. This was proceeded in 1971 by an award from the Arts Council of Wales for his contribution to the literature of Wales. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature by the University of Glamorgan in 1994 and an Honorary Fellowship by Trinity College, Carmarthen. In 1988 he became an honorary member of the Gorsedd of Bards.

In his final years, Jones's health suffered. He was forced to have his right arm amputated, but he continued to correspond with fellow writers, in what he saw as a vital link in the history of Welsh literature. He died in Cardiff on 10 April 1995.

Published works Novels The Valley, The City, The Village (1956) The Learning Lark (1960) The Island of Apples (1965)

Poetry Poems (1939) The Dream of Jake Hopkins (1944) Selected Poems (1975) Selected Poems: fragments and fictions (1988) The Collected Poems of Glyn Jones (edited by Meic Stephens) (1996)

Short Stories The Blue Bed (1937) The Water Music and other stories (1944) Selected Short Stories (1971) Welsh Heirs (1977) The Collected Stories of Glyn Jones (edited and introduction by Tony Brown) (1999)

Translations The Saga of Llywarch the Old: a reconstruction by Glyn Jones with the verse and interludes (with T. J. Morgan) (1955) When the Rose Bush brings forth Apples (1981) Honeydew on the Wormwood: a further selection of old Welsh verses (1984) The Story of Heledd (with T. J. Morgan, edited by Jenny Morgan) (1994) A People’s Poetry: hen benillion (1997)

Criticism The Dragon Has Two Tongues (1968. Reprinted 2001) Profiles: a visitor’s guide to writing in twentieth century Wales (with John Rowlands) (1980)