CHAIR AT FIRST ATTEMPT
Llŷn poet triumphs at National Eisteddfod:
A YOUNG poet has won the National Eisteddfod Chair, the festival’s most prestigious prize for poetry, at the first attempt.
Gruffudd Eifion Owen, originally from Pwllheli, was awarded the Chair in a close competition with three poets said to be worthy of the prize.
His success in the chair was not his first at the Eisteddfod in Cardiff Bay. He won the Super Stomp on the same Pavilion stage on Monday evening and the Stomp Werin in Tŷ Gwerin on Thursday.
And to complete a remarkable hat-trick the Archdruid revealed Gruffudd works as an editor on the popular S4C drama series Pobol y Cwm.
The winner of the Crown, Catrin Dafydd, is a scriptwriter on the series. The Eisteddfod’s Drama Medal winner, Rhydian Gwyn Lewis, is also a script editor on the longrunning series (see story, right).
The 32-year-old described himself as a “keen competitor” and feels having the opportunity to perform his poetry in front of an audience has been a great help to him as he develops his poetic skills.
Poets were asked to write a poem in strict metre of no more than 250 lines on the theme of Porth (Gateway or Entrance).
Delivering the adjudication on behalf of his fellow judges, Ceri Wyn Jones said of Gruffudd’s winning entry: “This poem took our breath away, not because it’s refined or rich, not because it’s extremely elaborate and multi-layered, but because it is so trenchant in the way it deals with experiences which are a way of life for the digital generation.
“But his greatest triumph may be the fact he has done this in such an accessible way, thanks to his fast-moving colloquial style where brand names and swear words are as natural and common to him as strict metre poems.
“And as writing poetry comes so easily to him he hits the target every time, changing his style without affecting the story.”
Gruffudd attended cynghanedd (strict metre) lessons with Ifan Prys and Meirion MacIntyre Hughes as a teenager.
He is a member of the Llŷn and Eifionydd and the Ffoaduriaid poetry teams.
He published his first collection of poems, Hel Llus yn y Glaw, in 2015, reaching the shortlist in the poetry category of the Welsh Book of the Year competition in 2016.
The Chair, made by sculptor Chris Williams, was sponsored by Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales to celebrate the 70th anniversary of St Fagans National Museum of History.
The museum was keen to see a connection with St Fagans in the design and he was inspired by the form of the stick chairs in the museum collection.