Books from the library of Evan Roberts, Llandderfel,

A copy of John Ceiriog Hughes, Caneuon Ceiriog ([Newtown], 1925), a selection of Ceiriog’s poems presented to John Cowper Powys on his birthday, 8 October 1954, by Redwood and Gwyneth [Anderson], including a letter from Phyllis Playter, 1966, to Evan Roberts, giving the book to him. There is also a copy of Llewelyn Powys, The cradle of God (London, 1949), presented by John Cowper Powys to his 'friend of many years' Evan Roberts, in 1949.

John Cowper Powys, novelist and playwright, was born in Shirley, Derbyshire. A Cambridge history graduate, Cowper Powys nevertheless devoted his time primarily to literature. He taught and lectured in England and on the Continent and undertook several lecturing tours of the United States, where he soon gained a reputation as an inspired and interpretative speaker in both literature and philosophy. Cowper Powys moved to Wales in 1935 and learnt to read Welsh, through which he broadened his knowledge of Welsh history and mythology. His numerous works include anthologies of poetry, novels and philosophical discussions. Cowper Powys met Phyllis Playter whilst in the United States in 1921; she became his lifelong companion, exerting a powerful and inspiring influence upon his work.

Phyllis Playter was born in 1894 in Kansas City, Missouri, to Canadian-American parents. She first met John Cowper Powys in March 1921 during a lecture tour of the United States and subsequently became Powys's long-term companion from 1923 until his death forty years later. Herself a gifted writer and poet, Playter's own career was largely subsumed in that of Powys's, upon whose work she nevertheless exerted significant influence. In his letters and diaries Powys commonly refers to Playter as 'the T.T.' (the 'Tiny Thin' or 'The Tao'). Following Powys's death in 1963, Playter continued to live in their last home at 1 Waterloo, Blaenau Ffestiniog, until her own death in 1982.

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Dafydd Timothy; Rhyl; Purchase; February 2006; 004444007.

John Cowper Powys, novelist and playwright, was born in Shirley, Derbyshire. A Cambridge history graduate, Cowper Powys nevertheless devoted his time primarily to literature. He taught and lectured in England and on the Continent and undertook several lecturing tours of the United States, where he soon gained a reputation as an inspired and interpretative speaker in both literature and philosophy. Cowper Powys moved to Wales in 1935 and learnt to read Welsh, through which he broadened his knowledge of Welsh history and mythology. His numerous works include anthologies of poetry, novels and philosophical discussions. Cowper Powys met Phyllis Playter whilst in the United States in 1921; she became his lifelong companion, exerting a powerful and inspiring influence upon his work.

Phyllis Playter was born in 1894 in Kansas City, Missouri, to Canadian-American parents. She first met John Cowper Powys in March 1921 during a lecture tour of the United States and subsequently became Powys's long-term companion from 1923 until his death forty years later. Herself a gifted writer and poet, Playter's own career was largely subsumed in that of Powys's, upon whose work she nevertheless exerted significant influence. In his letters and diaries Powys commonly refers to Playter as 'the T.T.' (the 'Tiny Thin' or 'The Tao'). Following Powys's death in 1963, Playter continued to live in their last home at 1 Waterloo, Blaenau Ffestiniog, until her own death in 1982.

Preferred citation: NLW ex 2406.

Published

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales