GWION TAKES CROWN ON MAES
GWION Hallam was declared the winner of this year’s National Eisteddfod Crown.
The crown was presented on the Pavilion stage yesterday for a free verse poem titled Trwy Ddrych – Through a Mirror.
Gwion almost turned his back on composing poetry following the birth of his first child 14 years ago, but a recent project working as a poet with dementia patients changed everything.
This work, the opportunity to encourage residents in dementia homes to create poetry, and getting to know them, was enough to reignite his passion for writing, and yesterday he stood to receive the crown.
Originally from Ammanford, Gwion lives in Y Felinheli, Gwynedd, with his wife Leri and their children, Noa, Moi, Twm and Nedw.
The adjudicators were M Wynn Thomas, Glenys Mair Roberts and Gwynne Williams, and, presenting the adjudication on behalf of the three from the stage, M Wynn Thomas said: “The three of us agree that an unusually large number of poems managed to reach a very high standard this year.”
With 34 entries in the competition, eight managed to reach the top class, and the adjudicator said that the “general standard of the competition may well outclass previous competitions”.
The crown’s band represents the Menai Suspension Bridge, the iconic structure linking Anglesey with the rest of Wales. But it also represents the concept of ‘bridging’ in a wider context – the bridging between communities, and the fact that the Eisteddfod is a link between Welsh speakers across the country, nonWelsh speakers and learners.
Every arch includes a small fresco, with each one representing different elements. The daffodil, emblem of the crown’s sponsors Merched y Wawr, is in one arch, with Dwynwen and the Isle of Llanddwyn depicted in another, representing Anglesey’s link with the sea and religion. There are two triple harps in another fresco, representing the Harpists of Llannerch-y-medd, and the link with music over the years.
One of the island’s attractions, Melin Llynnon, is depicted within one arch, representing ‘Môn Mam Cymru’ – or Anglesey, the mother of Wales – the island which once produced food for the whole of Wales.
The Anglesey National Eisteddfod is held in Bodedern until Saturday. Visit www.eisteddfod.wales for more information.
Why politics could learn from the Eisteddfod: Page 28