Nerys Williams’ new collection questions what makes a
Republic? Machinations of power? The speeches of politicians? The
broad sweep of official histories? This sequence of 80
prose-poems, each constructed in 20 sentences, has arisen from the
author’s need to tell a more intimate history, to commit an
untold oral history to paper. Williams returns to the meaning of
“republic” in its Latin origins which meant “wealth of the
people”. The poems tell the story of a young Welsh
woman growing up and coming of age in the 1980s and 90s, a time
that culminated with new devolutionary powers in Wales. The
explosion of the arts and culture looms large, through bands from
New Order to my bloody valentine, but it is explored specifically
through Cŵl Cymru’, and the power of Welsh-language bands like
Datblygu. This story is also about class, as we explore a family
history of hard work in jobs from retail to caregiving. The poems
introduce us to family influences, from a father who urges the
narrator as a child to ‘own the stage’ in an early school
Eisteddfod, to a grandmother who worked long hours in her rural
shop, and a mother who was the local midwife. There are stories
told, overheard, handed down, sometimes translated from Welsh.
Together, they create an expansive portrait of the era, including
the challenges for women, Welsh-speakers, and other marginalized
groups. Ferocious remarks about the Welsh in the popular media are
dissected with satirical humour and appalled fascination, while
other poems describe being a token woman and political outsider on
a TV current affairs show panel, tolerated but ostracized. From
her more recent home, the republic of Ireland, Williams poses the
possibilities of a nation looking at itself and its history from
afar. Wales has not been allowed to be a republic, but is subject
to a state that has military claims on its landscape and a second
home explosion which has a severe impact on its communities. There
is rebellion to be found in the older meaning of “republic”:
since the wealth of the people is a wealth of sounded stories,
culture, art, and history.
General
Imprint: |
Seren Books
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
February 2023 |
Authors: |
Nerys Williams
|
Dimensions: |
216 x 138 x 12mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
90 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-78172-696-9 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-78172-696-5 |
Barcode: |
9781781726969 |
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