Ifor ap Glyn: Blwyddyn y Bardd

-Subtitles

-Last year, it was announced that

-I would follow Gwyneth Lewis...

-..Gwyn Thomas and Gillian Clarke

-as Wales' fourth national poet.

-Quite a responsibility then.

-Everyone who's held the post

-in the past has had the freedom...

-..to reinvent the role

-to fit their own strengths.

-It's a bit like

-being the new Doctor Who.

-So, here's what I've been up to

-in my first year...

-..as the National Poet of Wales.

-Literature Wales is responsible

-for the National Poet of Wales.

-They arranged for the reigns to

-be handed over at the Hay Festival.

-It's an international festival

-that draws authors...

-..to Hay on Wye from all over

-the world to celebrate literature.

-As my predecessor, Gillian Clarke

-held the post for eight years...

-..I wonder how she felt

-about today's ceremony.

-It's a great occasion.

-I'm pleased that it's Ifor.

-All poets work together anyway

-in Wales.

-It's very important

-because Wales is a small country.

-Thanks very much, Gillian.

-It's an honour

-to stand in front of you...

-..in this new,

-respectable, scary job.

-After addressing the audience,

-Gillian and I had an informal chat.

-She warned me about a few

-of the things I could expect.

-What advice did she have for me

-as the new National Poet of Wales.

-I just say "Yes". I go everywhere

-that I'm asked to go.

-By doing that,

-Gillian has constantly fought...

-..to ensure neither Wales nor its

-literature is pushed to the verges.

-We first

-got to know each other properly...

-..when we were both in Washington.

-It can be done.

-We both burn the same petrol

-in that way.

-We're firmly opposed to any attempts

-to make Wales invisible.

-Neither of us want to be part

-of a vampire nation...

-..that looks in the mirror

-and can't see anything there.

-Gillian's most important lesson

-to me was not to be scared...

-..of expressing my opinion

-as National Poet of Wales.

-Education, literacy,

-libraries, the NHS...

-..decent treatment of everybody.

-That's not party political.

-That's just, you know.

-I'd fight for those things.

-I'd lie down in the road

-to save the Welsh language.

-I really enjoyed the ceremony.

-I felt for Gillian.

-It must have been a bitter-sweet

-feeling for her.

-She's been in the job

-for a long time.

-She's made it her own.

-She's taken the job to a new level.

-It's going to be a challenge to

-follow her and filling her shoes.

-Congratulations, will you change

-your style because of this?

-I'm hoping to be true to myself.

-I hope I'll be true to the role too.

-The thing I'm most unsure about

-is all the interviews.

-When you do a public address,

-you've had time to prepare.

-With interviews

-for the news and similar things...

-..you're never sure

-which way it will go.

-You can get caught out.

-When I got the job, a friend of mine

-wrote a beautiful englyn...

-..offering me some advice.

-At least be controversial, he said.

-But don't be controversial

-by accident.

-There was nothing controversial

-about my next task.

-It was a book-signing session

-at the Hay on Wye bookshop.

-It was nice to see the odd person

-who struggled with Welsh...

-..daring to buy a Welsh book.

-Would a translation of this

-be helpful?

-Very much so.

-If you'd like

-to put your email there.

-The day's final job was

-a reception with Literature Wales.

-It was a chance to meet

-with old and new friends.

-It was also another chance

-to thank Gillian...

-..at the end of her

-tenure in the job.

-The National Poet of Wales!

-What can I say?

-Thank you very much, Gillian.

-I'd like to read Gwaddol,

-a presentation to Gillian Clarke.

-"A toolbox came

-anonymously to my door.

-"And in it I found

-a knife to carve poems

-" And a warning

-regarding the muse's clean slap.

-"An imaginary hammer and nails

-with which to shoe our experiences.

-"And a crosscut saw

-for translations

-"enabling two people

-to pull together.

-"This was the Taliesin of toolboxes.

-"The heavy tools

-were the weight of wrens in my hand.

-"A gadget for every requirement.

-"From prolific ideas

-like bicycle seeds

-"To a file to smooth off lines.

-"And spanners of couplets

-to loosen meanings.

-"On the blade or handle of each

-tool, the initials GC were etched.

-"I now acclaim their owner for

-generously sharing them with me."

-Thank you very much, Gillian.

-My next responsibility

-as National Poet of Wales...

-..was to write a poem for the

-Official Opening of the Senedd.

-The late Iwan Llwyd had written

-a poem about the first Senedd...

-..called by Owain Glyndwr

-back in 1404.

-Iwan's influence can be heard

-here and there in my poem.

-"Spring came late to our country;

-the winter locked down ambition

-"and put our aspirations on ice,

-before the big thaw

-"which made the drains gargle

-and the downpipes gush.

-"And so may the sun shine bright

-on this house today

-"This, the cauldron of our rebirth

-"The platform for our voice,

-where we sing our vision into being.

-"We come here

-from many commote, as before

-"Treading the overgrown path, barbed

-with wool like Christmas trimmings

-"And crowding down the wet lane

-which mirrors the sky's shine.

-"We come here, to touch the horizon

-and bend it for common good.

-"And as we,

-from our valleys and mountains

-"approach our perpetual city

-"We give thanks there are no bullet

-holes in the pillars of this house

-"Just a cloud of witnesses

-"who'll maintain us

-in all manner of beliefs.

-"And as we are led

-to the halls of this house

-"May there be passion in our debate;

-prudence in conciliation

-"Let difficult' become simple,

-and challenging' become fun

-The last thing we want is to import

-that kind of chaos into Wales.

-"and let us each day

-repeat the maxim

-"that two men will come together

-sooner than two mountains."

-I couldn't be at the official

-opening of the Senedd last June.

-Just like many fellow

-Welsh men and women...

-..I'd crossed the sea to follow the

-national football side in France.

-As there was a referendum on staying

-in Europe later in the month...

-..I'd made sure

-of a postal vote before leaving.

-After the victory against Russia

-in Toulouse...

-..which got us a place

-in the second round.

-I saw that as a great opportunity

-to do some canvassing for remain.

-As my friend advised,

-at least be controversial.

-"The party has started.

-"Everyone's singing our praises.

-"Our team is still in Europe,

-it's where we want to be.

-"If like me,

-you want the party to continue

-"Don't forget to vote.

-"Vote remain this Thursday."

-# Hal Robson-Kanu #

-That video got a huge response with

-some 50,000 views in a few days.

-These little verses are the most

-popular thing I've ever done.

-It didn't change the result

-of the referendum, unfortunately.

-Without doubt, one of the most

-popular stories of the year...

-..was the success of the Wales team

-in France.

-When a crew from Wales Arts Review

-came to look back at my year...

-..they wanted to talk

-about the football.

-So, the players singing

-the national anthem...

-..it would be nice

-to hear your thoughts.

-The biggest thing was that

-the experience bred confidence.

-If only we could bottle that.

-All of a sudden,

-Wales was in the headlines.

-But there were a few cross words

-despite that.

-As Wales did

-better and better...

-..some of the London press began

-sniping around the team...

-.."half of them

-were born in England."

-So what!

-So was I. I'm the National

-Poet Of Wales. Deal with it.

-Wales' players embraced

-the Welsh language...

-..as part of the team's image

-regardless of who spoke it.

-That's only one of that month's

-odyssey of wonders...

-..on and off the pitch.

-Things like the behaviour of fans,

-the passionate support...

-..on both sides of the sea.

-These things are woven

-through the poem I wrote...

-..to celebrate our success

-at the Euros.

-"One June afternoon

-"The long wait gilded

-by the sunshine

-"I took myself off to France.

-"There, I saw great wonders.

-"First, a red wall

-"Moving and singing as one.

-"The wall became a tempest

-Rising from the stadium's flanks

-"Turning into

-a celebrating sea of red

-"Through the streets,

-from Lens to Toulouse.

-"I heard the football heroes

-"Claiming their language back,

-one 'diolch' at a time

-"And shirt-makers and brewers

-from the end of the world

-"Acknowledging it in turn.

-"And here are my people,

-the vampire nation

-"Who once stared into mirrors

-and saw nothing

-"Stepping from the shadows

-and finding themselves

-"As if for the first time.

-"May these wonders continue

-"To open up new paths

-as old ones seem set to close.

-"That would complete the gilding."

-.

-Subtitles

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-Subtitles

-# Hallelu... Hallelujah #

-Last September, I was in Blackwood

-for the Velvet Coal Mine Festival.

-For three years, this festival

-has brought literature and music...

-..to the middle of Gwent.

-I was there on the invitation

-of the organiser, Ian Richards.

-In a question and answer session

-before the reading...

-..Ian was keen to know

-how writing in Welsh...

-..affects the

-National Poet's ability...

-..to appeal to audiences

-in places like Blackwood...

-..where the majority

-don't speak Welsh.

-Whatever language you write in...

-..you want to engage with

-as wide an audience as possible.

-There are translations

-on every seat.

-I was eager to make a more

-fundamental statement about this.

-It's important to make the point the

-Welsh language belongs to us all.

-It can be something that divides us

-or something that unites us.

-I'm interested in using it

-as something that unites us.

-Not only can the language unite us

-but our history can too.

-The history of Wales is frequently

-overlooked in our schools...

-..as I noted

-in the evening's final poem.

-"We saw ourselves,

-as if through glass.

-"Like people who lost weight

-too quickly.

-"Feeling their history

-hanging loose upon them."

-The next morning in Blackwood...

-..it was another poem about our

-history under the microscope.

-I met local poet Clare Potter.

-We've shared many a stage

-in the past.

-That's why I turned to Clare...

-..to ask her to translate

-a few of my poems to English.

-We went for a cuppa

-to discuss her latest translation.

-It's a poem to remember the Welshmen

-who lost their lives...

-..at the battle of Mametz Wood.

-I've had a little trouble with that.

-"Lest the oaken..."

-"Lest" might be a bit historic.

-It sounds like the kind of thing

-you'd use for a Latin translation.

-But it's a good idea to use it...

-..because of the

-"Lest we forget" phrase.

-That word is used

-when speaking about...

-You're right. You're right!

-What's interesting about this

-process, it's a thankless task...

-..sometimes I say oh yes,

-try something new.

-"No, that's the word."

-It's a different poem then.

-It's my poem if I do that too much.

-It's like a bit of a negotiation.

-It can feel a bit awkward at times.

-It's small things

-like these last lines.

-I was thinking something

-about Mametz and forget.

-Yes.

-A century gone since Welshmen

-claimed Mametz.

-And their grandchildren return;

-remember that last sunset.

-The feeling is different with that.

-It's also cuts across

-the reality of the trees.

-It's so dark there.

-Have you seen Aled Rhys Hughes'

-photographs?

-If you get a chance...

-..he has an exhibition

-in the National Library of Wales.

-They are striking.

-They're very striking.

-Most of the young Welshmen killed

-taking Mametz Wood...

-..lie there to this day.

-It wasn't possible to bury them

-amongst the heat of battle.

-My poem about them was read

-for the first time...

-..when Aled Rhys Hughes' exhibition

-at the National Library opened.

-It's no surprise that Mametz Wood

-has a special place in our hearts.

-Whose wood is it?

-The Welsh or the French.

-What is the significance

-of these woods today?

-Those are some of the questions

-the poem and exhibition ask.

-"Seeking the woods today was madness

-"But we walked through

-bullet raindrop

-"Bared our heads

-beneath the vociferous oaks

-"Their leaves chattering

-"Before turning our faces

-to the damp light.

-"Ceux-ci sont des arbres galloisants

-"des chenes, des noisettes,

-des hetres

-"These trees speak Welsh

-"The oaks, the hazels, the beeches

-"Strong youths,

-straight like bayonets

-"Their leafy branches

-sieving the rain

-"Ecoute!

-"Ici, on peut, a peu pres entendre

-les racines en s'enfoncant par terre

-"Ou se couchent les Gallois

-"Under this earth

-lie the roots of Mametz

-"Cupping each helmet

-like an eggshell

-"Squeezing through the boots

-loosened from soldiers' feet

-"Tickling ribs,

-beneath the soil's embrace.

-"Their blood

-still nourishes the trees.

-"C'est ici le memorial Gallois,

-n'est-ce pas?

-"Today, walking softly

-over the bones of our forefathers

-"We retrace the memories lest the

-oaks and beeches lose their voices.

-"A century

-after the Welsh claimed the woods

-"Their grandsons and granddaughters

-meet once more."

-This is the community centre

-for Penyrheol near Caerphilly.

-That was the home last September of

-for the Durga Puja festival.

-It's one of the main

-religious festivals...

-..for the Bengali community

-in Wales.

-After the opening ritual,

-I'd been invited to address them...

-..in both Welsh and English.

-Namaste, namaskar.

-It's an honour to be invited

-to be here tonight.

-On the train on the way up here,

-I had time to think...

-..about the different ways

-in which Indian culture...

-..has influenced my life

-in the past.

-My best friend in junior school

-was from Goa.

-My father's business partner

-was Gujarati.

-Maybe the biggest thing I've got

-in common with tonight's ceremony...

-..is the fact that

-I was also raised as an exile.

-I learned about the culture of my

-own country while living in another.

-After wishing them every success...

-..I finished with a poem

-I wrote ten years ago in Delhi.

-I was in India at the time filming a

-programme for S4C about the Ganges.

-Before heading home, I was eager

-to thank the local girl...

-..who'd been helping us

-during our journey, Namrata Gupta.

-"Many keys,

-an ability to open many doors

-"Many words,

-on our journey through the land

-"Precise when questioned

-on Hindi or India

-"Polite and full of questions

-"A bridge to help us get far

-"The light and an introducer

-"Tonight in Delhi,

-tears fall without her

-"A nightmare to lose my guide

-"As an invalid, I cry for hours

-"But back in the land of my fathers,

-she could be my healer

-"Will she come before summer's end?

-"Namrata has the answer."

-Thanks very much.

-I was given a traditional scarf

-as a gift.

-While listening to the music,

-I discussed the possibility...

-..of translating more poems

-from Welsh to Bengali.

-It was a heart-warming night.

-Not least because some

-of the young people spoke Bengali...

-..but also spoke

-quite a bit of Welsh.

-I am over the moon with Durga Puja

-because it's fun.

-One thing that made me pause...

-..before taking on this job

-as National Poet of Wales.

-What if I had to write on a topic

-about which I had no opinion?

-I have to admit,

-the piece I've just finished...

-..this is the hardest piece

-I've had to write.

-It's about Aberfan.

-It's not so much that I feel I don't

-have anything to say about Aberfan.

-It's more I feel what right do I

-have to say something about Aberfan?

-In the end, I wove that uncertainty

-into the piece.

-What we have is Mam-gu...

-..trying to write a letter

-to her grand-daughter...

-..who has asked her Mam-gu

-who is from Aberfan...

-..to tell her the history.

-Mam-gu is unsure about

-what is suitable...

-..to share with her grand-daughter.

-"My dearest grand-daughter..."

-.."you've asked me to write down

-what I remember...

-.."for some project

-you have at school.

-"I don't know what I can say.

-"Silence is a hard habit to break,

-so they say.

-"The thing is,

-what hope was there...

-.."to find words

-that could describe what I'd seen?

-"Don't mention it.

-"I was, numb.

-"Like I was in a vacuum.

-The piece was performed

-for the first time in English...

-..during a special evening held

-to remember Aberfan...

-..at the Wales Millennium Centre

-in Cardiff.

-Sian Phillips presented it.

-"How much should you know?

-"It's part of your history...

-.."our family's history.

-"But I can't

-share my guilt with you.

-"For making the child I lost

-go to school that morning.

-"None of this makes sense.

-"There are pictures that

-you ought to see from afterwards.

-"The first baby,

-the first wedding, the first smiles

-"How many hundreds have there been

-since then, thank God.

-"Those photographs show you

-how we carried on.

-"We had to.

-"What can I tell you, sweet thing?

-"I don't want you to forget either.

-"I can only leave flowers

-for your little aunt.

-"But I can try to share...

-.."what I can with you."

-.

-Subtitles

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-In November, I headed to London

-for a special occasion.

-To mark Remembrance Sunday...

-..the National Poets of Scotland,

-England and Wales...

-..were asked to provide a poem each

-to do with war losses.

-From 6.00pm that night, those poems

-would be projected on to Big Ben.

-There was a bit of interest

-in the fact my poem was in Welsh.

-One of the evening's first jobs...

-..was to do an interview

-for a news crew from ITN.

-"To see our language normalised if

-you like, legitimised...

-Then I was free

-to watch my own work...

-..crawl slowly up Big Ben

-in huge letters.

-"To these tidy streets, rows of boys

-came keeping their pattern as before

-"While crossing no man's land.

-"A century has greened the earth

-that was blown up in bloody seconds

-"Sifting innards, exploding flesh.

-"It sheltered the boys

-from the steel storm.

-"The turf doors

-closing quietly behind them.

-"They came from similar

-narrow streets

-"Where the horn of battle shepherded

-friends for the big adventure

-"Before the houses winked

-their blinds one by one

-"Tonight, the stones are bone white

-"The evening sunshine

-perfectly engraving the names

-"Casting long shadows.

-"No-one disturbs

-forgotten neighbours

-"Only some strangers

-from a future denied them

-"Staring incomprehensibly

-at the Braille of their names

-"Because all the doors are locked."

-I'm really proud to be part of

-Remembrance Sunday on the Thames.

-As one of the London Welsh, someone

-who was brought up in this city...

-..seeing our language projected up

-on to...

-..one of the biggest symbols

-of London is incredible.

-I like to think that, as this is

-such a cosmopolitan city...

-..as the UK in general

-is so cosmopolitan...

-..with so many of us now speaking

-languages other than English...

-..being raised to speak languages...

-..other than English

-as our first language...

-..I like to think that including

-Welsh here acknowledges that fact.

-When I was growing up in London...

-..there was a

-trinity of institutions...

-..that kept up my Welshness

-beyond my home.

-The chapel, Old Deer Park, the home

-of London Welsh Rugby Club...

-..and this place.

-The London Welsh Centre

-or simply the club.

-This hall hasn't changed very much.

-I've appeared more than once

-on this stage...

-..in the choir

-and in different plays.

-On this stage during the Society

-Eisteddfod over 30 years ago...

-..is when my career as a poet began,

-you could say.

-It almost finished at the same time.

-I'd decided to try an englyn, that

-year's theme were "the bellows".

-The first line was

-"Tawel yw ceg y fegin".

-I don't remember the rest, I do

-remember they weren't correct!

-Because of that, my englyn came

-fourth out of three competitors.

-It came with

-the traditional encouragement...

-...from the adjudicators

-to persevere.

-I've tried to do so.

-My family had lived in London

-since 1886.

-My great grandfather is here,

-T.W. Glyn Evans.

-He was the first

-to come here to live.

-In his old age, he was made

-President of the London Welsh.

-The Glyn in my name comes after him.

-During my teens, I came here

-constantly at the weekends.

-Just as my parents did before me.

-By the time I was here,

-English was the default language.

-I remember one night in this bar.

-There were 20 of us young London

-Welsh sitting around these seats.

-Someone asked "How many of us have

-got two Welsh speaking parents?"

-We went around. 15 out of the 20

-with two Welsh speaking parents.

-The other five had one parent

-who spoke Welsh.

-Only five of us could speak Welsh.

-It's things like that which make me

-appreciate how lucky I was...

-..to have been raised

-in Welsh in London.

-Back at home in Caernarfon...

-..it was time to discuss tasks

-for Talwrn Y Beirdd.

-I've been a part of different teams

-in this radio programme since 1984.

-For years now,

-my team is Caernarfon.

-What are we trying to do?

-Every time we get a list of tasks

-for another round of the talwrn...

-..we meet at the Alex pub...

-..to collect ideas, decide

-who will take on which task...

-..and to put the world in its place.

-It's important

-that a poet's usual work continues.

-For me,

-this is a part of what's normal.

-Two weeks later, I and the rest of

-Caernarfon's team...

-..were ready to record

-at Pantycelyn Hall in Aberystwyth.

-We were facing

-a new, youthful team this time.

-They were the local team

-from the Black Lion.

-I was responsible

-for the lyric competition.

-From Team Caernarfon, Ifor Ap Glyn.

-Folly

-"She pulls her skirt lower down

-as she walks in with her friends.

-"Freezing them in a smiling trio

-"Her phone like a wand

-in front of her.

-"If there's no photo,

-it didn't happen.

-"She must share the seconds

-"Before heels and sucking drink

-through a straw

-"Creates distractions

-"The first one

-pulls her new mate's shirt

-"Dragging him like a trophy

-onto the dance floor

-There's the second, her hand making

-waves. "Hey Macarena!

-"One waves goodbye,

-the other disappears

-"The one that's left,

-in a dark corner

-"Punches messages into her phone

-"Her face pale

-in the light of the screen.

-"She tidies her tresses,

-flashes a smile

-"Another selfie

-to deny the nightmare.

-"Another exclamation

-in a monologue of pictures."

-From Radio Cymru and Aberystwyth to

-London and New Broadcasting House.

-One of the things that's been a nice

-surprise in the past year...

-..is the readiness of some

-of the British media...

-..to make space for Welsh.

-About time too, I say!

-On St David's Day, I was speaking

-to Kirsty Lang on Front Row.

-It's Radio Four's culture programme.

-What does St. David's Day

-mean to you?

-I think for some people St David's

-Day is the day they feel...

-..it's the only day they feel

-they're allowed to be Welsh.

-I hope I'm allowed to be Welsh

-every day of the year.

-To that extent, it's not much more

-important to me than any other day.

-You don't make a big deal of it?

-You don't make a big deal of it?

-

-No, not really.

-We asked you to write a poem

-especially for us...

-..to mark St David's Day.

-It's called Umbrella Welsh.

-Let's hear Umbrella Welsh.

-OK.

-Umbrella Welsh.

-"It rains so often in a stormy world

-"But your ribs always lock

-into a perfect dome above my head.

-"Under your wing,

-"I can fly with one arm

-through our lineage's imagination

-"For some, you refuse to open.

-"But rolled up tightly,

-you put a spring in our Welsh steps.

-"We hold it like a narrow flag

-to direct tourists to our history

-"And the alternative world

-that's there for all.

-"You are the umbrella

-that always completes us

-"Either open or closed

-"As long as we share you."

-It's important to use every possible

-chance to advance the language...

-..both in Wales and outside Wales.

-It's also important

-to use the language...

-..to discuss topics

-other than identity and history.

-Oxfam is a part of a coalition

-of organizations...

-..fighting global warming.

-They asked for a poem

-to support their cause.

-They wanted something simple,

-punchy.

-As Donald Trump had just started...

-..erasing information

-about climate change...

-..the poem almost wrote itself.

-But then, I needed to film it...

-..so it could be shared online

-and on social media.

-"And should we put our

-trust in those

-"Who'll swear with all their might

-"That 'water' really, still is 'ice'

-"That 'black' is really 'white'?

-"Who'll swear the smoke back into

-coal like a fairy tale?

-"And anyone who contradicts?

-that's 'fake news' without fail!

-"It's totalitarian wisdom,

-like the 'thirties with new looks

-"Surely, shutting down the web,

-is just like burning books?

-"The lesson for the rich is this:

-Our world is not a game,

-"To hand it unbankrupted to

-our children is the aim.

-"And we are not the president's men,

-our truth should hold no fear

-"Let's stand firm, for our

-unborn kids, the way ahead is clear

-"Whatever the source

-of their 'fake news'

-"The White House or Whitehall

-"We must deny that water's ice

-"That black's not white at all."

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-Subtitles

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-Literature Wales were responsible...

-..for devising the job of

-National Poet of Wales back in 2005.

-They manage the poet from

-their headquarters in Cardiff.

-It's one of the many projects

-they run...

-..to promote our country's

-literature in both languages.

-Every now and then,

-I meet up with Lleucu Siencyn.

-She's the Chief Executive of

-Literature Wales.

-We discuss the next plans

-for the role...

-..and how those can take place

-within a wider vision.

-We can do a few things.

-We can not just promote Wales...

-..in terms of co-operation

-with the Welsh Government.

-We want to raise Wales' status.

-With Brexit,

-it's even more important...

-..that we convey our different

-nation and culture...

-..all over the world.

-But also that the National Poet

-project is a positive answer...

-..to some things,

-a kind of soft diplomacy.

-It's an opportunity, isn't it?

-Soft diplomacy is trying

-to promote those links...

-..where they're at risk

-of disappearing in other contexts.

-It's important then that you

-and other poets and writers...

-..go to these big festivals

-in China or India...

-..and keep telling them

-about where we come from...

-..and what language we write in

-and why we write in that language.

-It's important to present

-that message in our own country too.

-Particularly when poets

-from other countries visit.

-That's why I headed down to the

-Volcano Theatre in Swansea in April.

-This was the first

-in a series of events.

-It gave a stage to 30 writers

-from all across the world.

-They represent

-almost 20 different languages.

-It's quite,

-there's an interesting group here.

-There are a lot of refugees

-in Swansea.

-There's a mix of

-written and projected translations.

-In amongst all this, I'm doing

-something I've never done before.

-I'm reading a translation

-of a Chinese poem.

-I'm then inviting the poet up to

-present his translation of my work.

-Can I first ask, does everyone

-have one of these booklets?

-We're going to start on page eight.

-The poem is called Gwers in Welsh.

-It's called Elevation in English.

-"To fly over Wales

-is to learn to love it

-"Hanging lazily above,

-knowing her from unfamiliar angles

-"Between the jests

-of the wispy clouds

-"There's the Lleyn Peninsula

-like a quickly rolled-up sleeve

-"Here are the unordered fields

-"The mysterious mountains,

-stitched together by hedges

-"The discarded slates like sand

-after fingers rake it through

-"Small, vibrant lakes, like hidden

-birth places in the waning sun

-"As I look out the airplane window

-"My lips insist on naming the sights

-"Dyfi junction, Cors Fochno

-"Your breath like a lover's caress

-along the body

-"Dowlais, Penrhys, Gilfach Goch

-"As she brings down the curtain

-"The airplane's shadow moves

-like a cross over the white clouds

-"A kiss

-on a love letter through the ages

-"An unwilling vote

-for her deliverance."

-Thank you.

-I'm very privileged and it's a great

-pleasure...

-..to welcome Yang Lian to the stage.

-He's translated the poem

-into Chinese.

-Thank you very much.

-Before I came to Wales, I said...

-.."the best way to meet a Welsh poet

-but also Wales...

-.."is to translate something."

-OK, here is your poem.

-It was both strange and wonderful to

-hear such a familiar poem...

-..in such an unfamiliar language.

-Yang Lian is one of the founders

-of the group Misty Poets.

-They came to prominence

-in China at the end of the 1970s.

-He and several of his contemporaries

-were exiled...

-..after the 1989 Tiananmen Square

-protest.

-His history certainly chimed

-with many of the Swansea audience.

-Many of them had to flee

-their own countries.

-Refugees from 100 years ago

-was the subject of my next work.

-Where do we put the mic? The middle?

-I'd place it about here.

-To close my first year

-as National Poet...

-..I'd been invited to create a poem

-for an event in Brussels.

-It's not too fast. There's plenty

-of room for the words to fit.

-I'd asked the musician, Osian

-Howells to write a piece of music.

-I wanted it to complement

-the new poem.

-It's a poem about Belgian refugees.

-They came to Wales

-during the Great War.

-It comes down again.

-"They came innocently

-with purple mouths."

-I wanted to record the track...

-..in the vestry of Salem Chapel

-in Caernarfon.

-Only one institution across

-Wales took in Belgians...

-..and cared for them 100 years ago.

-A few days after recording Osian's

-track, I was in Brussels.

-I was trying to organize my address

-for that evening.

-Back in 1914 when Belgium

-was conquered by the Germans.

-250,000 Belgians

-came to seek asylum in the UK.

-The way those Belgians were welcomed

-100 years ago...

-..is a lesson to us today...

-..as Westminster grumbles

-about giving asylum...

-..to people from Syria

-and Northern Africa.

-Passa Porta was the location

-for the event.

-By day, it's a bookshop.

-It's transformed into a stage

-for authors at night.

-The audience for this evening came

-to hear poetry about loss.

-It was a look at

-how the Great War...

-..affected Belgium,

-Wales and Ireland differently.

-Poets representing each of

-the three countries were attending.

-Lleucu Siencyn from Literature Wales

-was the chair.

-A warm welcome to you all

-to this special evening.

-I was the first to take the stage.

-Diolch, Lleucu.

-Thank you, Lleucu.

-Merci, Lleucu.

-Dank u wel, Lleucu.

-This first poem...

-..is about an imaginary family of

-Belgian refugees, called de Wynck.

-Less talk, more poetry.

-This is the poem, Mwyara.

-"September, 1914

-"A profusion of blackberries:

-"And that was when

-the de Wyncks came to stay.

-"Father had read out loud

-about the autumn in their land

-"How corpses collected like drifts

-of beech leaves on the streets

-"And thousands fled.

-"And so we fetched them

-from the station platform

-"A trio petrified,

-their eyes swivelling like smoke

-"Their whole world in a few armfuls

-"And their same aged son,

-holding his mother's hand.

-"Next day, without a word in common,

-I was sent blackberrying with him.

-"We picked together, mute.

-"Finger-pricked and arm-scratched,

-seeking out blackberries: braambes

-"Until we were blackberry-blind

-"Their shiny spheres filled our eyes

-"The fat ones mocked us

-from the depths of the hedge

-"And its topmost crests

-"Te hoog!; Too high!

-"And we laughed in our innocence

-with purpled mouths.

-"That was when compassion

-begat action in our house

-"And the first fruits of frustration

-"For a young girl who could not

-put her language in your mouth

-"So I put blackberries

-like sharp sweet kisses

-"On your surprised tongue

-"Four and a half years exactly

-before you and your family left

-"To rebuild a shattered country."

-That's the end of the final event

-of my first year as National Poet.

-It's quite nice that we've finished

-here in Brussels.

-As the year went on...

-..I realised how much being an

-ambassador is a part of the role.

-I've had a chance to write and note

-all kinds of events during the year.

-I've celebrated some things.

-Some other things have made me sad.

-Creating connections and dialogue

-with people...

-..both inside Wales and outside.

-It's incredibly important.

-It's even more important...

-..than I would have thought

-at the start of the year.

-Who would have thought

-we'd have voted to leave Europe.

-I myself am not leaving Europe.

-I think it's important that Wales,

-at least culturally stays in Europe.

-There we are.

-S4C Subtitles by Testun Cyf.

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