The Peacemakers

Waldo Williams (1904–1971) is considered one of the most important Welsh poets of the twentieth century and has been much discussed by literary critics, who find his poems some of the most rewarding and challenging of the century. He was a folk poet who celebrated the way of life and people of his local area, but also wrote on universal themes of pacifism, faith, the brotherhood of humankind, belonging and understanding one another. This edition of his collection The Peacemakers comprises his most famous poems in the original Welsh, plus translations into English by esteemed poet and translator Tony Conran. It was first published by Gomer Press in 1997 but has been out of print for many years. It is a facsimile edition with a new cover and, with its parallel English translations of Waldo’s most famous poems, is the perfect entry-point to his work for non-Welsh speakers. -- Publisher: Y Lolfa
Waldo Williams was undoubtedly one of the finest Welsh poets of the twentieth century. His work has a passion and intensity which continues to resonate, over fifty years after his death. Several of his poems, such as ‘Cofio’, ‘Y Tangnefeddwyr’, and ‘Brawdoliaeth’, have wormed their way into the subconscious of Welsh speakers, to the extent that they are quoted naturally in the course of conversation. If poetry is that which is lost in translation, translating Waldo’s work is extremely challenging. Often superficially simple, it reveals layers of meaning when studied carefully, and for that reason its richness is very difficult to convey in English. Nevertheless, the late Tony Conran, an incomparable translator of Welsh poetry, succeeded, and this reissue of his versions of Waldo’s poems, first published in 1997, is to be warmly welcomed. The reader is provided with the original Welsh text with the English version in parallel, and those who read both languages are able to admire the subtlety of Conran’s work. The collection is enhanced by a thoughtful introduction in which the translator discusses the development of Waldo’s writing and the themes which constantly underpin it: land, community and peace. Waldo went to prison for not paying income tax in protest at the sending of troops to fight in the Korean War, and campaigned to stop the army taking over land in Pembrokeshire for military purposes. It is in his poem ‘Y Tangnefeddwyr’ (‘The Peacemakers’) that he articulates the brutality of war contrasted with the eternal values of truth and forgiveness which he sees embodied in his mother and father. Likewise, in ‘Brawdoliaeth’ (‘Brotherhood’) he appeals to that which binds people together: Each man alive is knit Within God’s secret net; The full web’s unity Of I, Thou, He … What value ends up other Than mocked, if man kills his brother? His poems for children show a light touch and a warm appreciation of the child’s world – some said of Waldo that he was most at home in the company of children, whose direct simplicity appealed to his reserved nature. His strong belief in brotherhood is reflected in his adherence to the Quakers, but Waldo remained an individualist, whose work, like the man himself, resists conventional labels. As Conran says in his introduction, he seems in some ways to be ‘a throw-back to the great English Romantics’ and yet one of the most contemporary of Welsh poets: ‘the patron saint of the Language movement and of Pacifism in our time.’ In his ‘A note on the translations’ Conran explains some of the complexities of translating Welsh poetry, particularly poems such as Waldo’s which are so densely crafted and economical of expression. He explains how a simple adjective such as ‘gwyn’ (‘white’) in the poem ‘Eirlysiau’ (‘Snowdrops’) carries connotations of holiness, so that the translation ‘White, white / The crowd’s early down the vale’, though accurate, does less than justice to the force of the original. Perhaps Conran is being too modest. Few have shown his skill and fluency in the translating of Welsh poetry, and this fine volume is testament not only to his gifts as a translator but also to the depth of his sympathy for one of Wales’s greatest modern poets. -- Rhidian Griffiths @ www.gwales.com