Members Committee

Arwel Jones (Chair - Welsh Section)
Originally from Rhosybol, Anglesey, he now lives in Aberystwyth where he works as Acquisitions Archivist at the National Library. He is a poet and author who has published widely in periodicals such as Taliesin, Tu Chwith and Barddas. He has published two volumes of travel writing, Diolch i ’Nhrwyn (Y Lolfa, 2002) and Jambo Caribw: Taith i Borth Uffern (Y Lolfa, 2004).

Catherine Merriman (Chair – English section)
Short-story writer and novelist. Born in London and educated at Kent University, Canterbury. One-time statistician, women’s studies lecturer and environmental worker. Now tutor on the University of Glamorgan’s MA in writing. Work published in New Welsh Review, Everywoman, Essentials, etc. and broadcast on Radio 4. Winner of British Book Award 1992, Ruth Hadden Memorial Award and short-listed for Welsh Arts Council Book of the Year Award 1992. Publications include Silly Mothers (Honno) and Brotherhood (The Collective Press).

Damian Walford Davies
Academic, literary critic and editor. Damian is a lecturer in the English Department of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he specialises in English Romanticism, literature and politics in the age of the French Revolution, nineteenth and twentieth–century poetry, and the literatures of Wales. In 2002/03 he won the Ellis Griffith and L.W. Davies Awards for his scholarly edition of the prose writings of Waldo Williams; his edition of Hopkins’ poetry is forthcoming from Penguin in 2004. He is the television columnist for Planet.

Gillian Clarke
Poet, writer, playwright, editor, translator (from Welsh), occasional broadcaster and current National Poet of Wales. President of Tŷ Newydd writers’ centre in Gwynedd, which she co–founded in 1990. Tutor on M.Phil studies course in Creative Writing, University of Glamorgan. Freelance tutor of creative writing. She is an Honorary fellow of Aberystwyth, Cardiff and Swansea Colleges of the University of Wales. Her most recent projects include Bioverse, poems for the Welsh National Botanical Gardens 1999-2000; The Blue Man (play for BBC Radio 4); and One Bright Morning, a translation of the Welsh novel Tegwch y Bore by Kate Roberts (Gomer, 2008).

Dafydd John Pritchard
Poet brought up in Nant Peris, Arfon. Educated at Dolbadarn Primary School Llanberis and Brynrefail School Llanrug. Studied at Trinity College Carmarthen and the University of Aberystwyth. He is an Assistant Archivist at the National  Screen and Sound Archive for Wales at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. He is a member of his local Welsh poetry team, Talwrn y Beirdd Y Cwps and the Ceredigion team. He won the Crown in the National Eisteddfod in Bro Dinefwr in 1996.

Ifor Thomas
Performance poet, Ifor was born in Pembrokeshire and now lives in Cardiff. He has won the John Tripp Award for spoken poetry and has been a prizewinner in the Cardiff International Poetry Competition. Ifor has published a number of poetry collections including Giving Blood, Bogwiser, The Stuff of Love, Pubic (Red Sharks Press) and Unsafe Sex (Parthian, 1999). Body Beautiful (Parthian, 2005) was on the 2006 Wales Book of the Year Short List.

Ann Drysdale
Born Cheshire, grew up in London. Grammar School, York University. Has worked as parent, journalist, poet and hill farmer. MA in Teaching and Practice of Creative Writing (Cardiff). Winner of the Dylan Thomas Award for poetry in performance. Her work has appeared in many anthologies, including Thoughts Like an Ocean (Pont) and Twentieth–Century Anglo Welsh Poetry (Seren).

Aled Lewis Evans
Poet and writer in various media. Born in Machynlleth and now lives in Rhosllanerchrugog. His first volume of poetry was published by Barddas in 1989. He was a broadcaster on local radio (Sain y Gororau) from 1983–1993, then taught at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, Wrexham. He has won prizes in the National Eisteddfod three times: in 1991 for his volume of poetry for young people, in 1998 for his monologue and in 1999 for his anthology of poetry for young people 12-14. His most recent volume of poetry, Dim Angen Creu Teledu Yma, was published in 2006.

Diana Griffiths
Diana Griffiths is an established radio playwright who also writes for stage. Born in Neath, educated at Neath Grammar School, University of Sheffield and University College, Cardiff, she was for many years an English teacher in various comprehensive schools (Head of Department for 6 years). She has been creative writing tutor at Arvon, Ty Newydd, Yorkshire Arts schemes, the Ilkley Festival and to various schools, colleges and writing–groups in Yorkshire and in Wales.

Cary Archard
Cary Archard was born in South Wales, close to Aberdare. The editor of Poetry Wales from 1980–86, and founder of Poetry Wales Press, he is the general editor of the uniform edition of Alun Lewis’s works. Until recently he taught English and Philosophy in Bridgend.