Letters to Elwyn Davies,

Letters to Elwyn Davies (1912-1994), journalist, teacher, translator and poet, from his friends Glyn Jones (29) 1981-93, Raymond Garlick (36) 1981-93, and Leslie Norris (1) 1988, containing personal news as well as comments on their own work and that of other Anglo-Welsh writers.

Raymond Garlick (1926-2011), Anglo-Welsh poet and critic, was born on 21 September 1926 in Harlesden, London, but was sent to live with relatives in Llandudno as a schoolboy. He learnt Welsh whilst studying English at the University of North Wales, Bangor. Garlick married Elin Hughes in 1948 (they divorced in 1977); the couple adopted two children, Iestyn in 1952 and Angharad in 1958. In April 1949 he went to teach English at Pembroke Dock County School under Roland Mathias. There he was a co-founder of the literature periodical Dock Leaves (from 1958 the Anglo-Welsh Review), and its first editor, 1949-1960. In 1954 he moved to Blaenau Ffestiniog, where his neighbour was John Cowper Powys. In 1961 Garlick joined the International School at Eerde in the Netherlands. The family returned to Wales in 1967 when Garlick took up a position at Trinity College, Carmarthen. He eventually became Principal Lecturer in charge of the Welsh Studies course. He retired in 1987 but continued to live in Carmarthen. He died in Cardiff on 19 March 2011, aged 84. Garlick published several volumes of poetry including Poems from the Mountain-House (London, 1950), The Welsh-Speaking Sea (Tenby, 1954), Requiem for a Poet (Tenby, 1954), Blaenau Observed (Tenby, 1957), A Sense of Europe (Llandysul, 1968), A Sense of Time: Poems and Antipoems 1969-1972 (Llandysul, 1972), Incense (Llandysul, 1976), Collected Poems 1946-86 (Llandysul, 1987), and Travel Notes (Llandysul, 1992). Garlick's contribution as a champion of Anglo-Welsh literature includes the critical treatise An Introduction to Anglo-Welsh Literature (Cardiff, 1970), and the anthology Anglo-Welsh Poetry 1480-1980, ed. by Raymond Garlick and Roland Mathias (Bridgend, 1984).

Leslie Norris was born in Merthyr Tydfil in 1921. He served in the RAF, worked as a local government clerk, and held various teaching posts in England prior to becoming a lecturer. He was employed as Principal Lecturer in Degree Studies at the College of Education, Bognor Regis, between 1958-1973. Since then, he became a full-time writer whilst taking up residencies at various universities in Britain and the United States. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Welsh Arts Council Award, 1967 and 1968, and was awarded an Honorary D.Litt. by the University of Glamorgan in 1994. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Several volumes of his poems, including two volumes of poetry for children, and short-stories have been published. Among his prose works is a monograph on Glyn Jones as part of the Writers of Wales series (1973 and 1997 (revised ed.)).

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions noted on the 'Modern papers - data protection' form issued with their Readers' Tickets.

Elwyn Davies; Bunnik, The Netherlands; Purchase; 1993

Raymond Garlick (1926-2011), Anglo-Welsh poet and critic, was born on 21 September 1926 in Harlesden, London, but was sent to live with relatives in Llandudno as a schoolboy. He learnt Welsh whilst studying English at the University of North Wales, Bangor. Garlick married Elin Hughes in 1948 (they divorced in 1977); the couple adopted two children, Iestyn in 1952 and Angharad in 1958. In April 1949 he went to teach English at Pembroke Dock County School under Roland Mathias. There he was a co-founder of the literature periodical Dock Leaves (from 1958 the Anglo-Welsh Review), and its first editor, 1949-1960. In 1954 he moved to Blaenau Ffestiniog, where his neighbour was John Cowper Powys. In 1961 Garlick joined the International School at Eerde in the Netherlands. The family returned to Wales in 1967 when Garlick took up a position at Trinity College, Carmarthen. He eventually became Principal Lecturer in charge of the Welsh Studies course. He retired in 1987 but continued to live in Carmarthen. He died in Cardiff on 19 March 2011, aged 84. Garlick published several volumes of poetry including Poems from the Mountain-House (London, 1950), The Welsh-Speaking Sea (Tenby, 1954), Requiem for a Poet (Tenby, 1954), Blaenau Observed (Tenby, 1957), A Sense of Europe (Llandysul, 1968), A Sense of Time: Poems and Antipoems 1969-1972 (Llandysul, 1972), Incense (Llandysul, 1976), Collected Poems 1946-86 (Llandysul, 1987), and Travel Notes (Llandysul, 1992). Garlick's contribution as a champion of Anglo-Welsh literature includes the critical treatise An Introduction to Anglo-Welsh Literature (Cardiff, 1970), and the anthology Anglo-Welsh Poetry 1480-1980, ed. by Raymond Garlick and Roland Mathias (Bridgend, 1984).

Leslie Norris was born in Merthyr Tydfil in 1921. He served in the RAF, worked as a local government clerk, and held various teaching posts in England prior to becoming a lecturer. He was employed as Principal Lecturer in Degree Studies at the College of Education, Bognor Regis, between 1958-1973. Since then, he became a full-time writer whilst taking up residencies at various universities in Britain and the United States. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Welsh Arts Council Award, 1967 and 1968, and was awarded an Honorary D.Litt. by the University of Glamorgan in 1994. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Several volumes of his poems, including two volumes of poetry for children, and short-stories have been published. Among his prose works is a monograph on Glyn Jones as part of the Writers of Wales series (1973 and 1997 (revised ed.)).

Title based on contents.

Preferred citation: NLW MS 23134D

February 2009.

Description compiled by Bethan Ifans for the retrospective conversion project of NLW MSS.

Usual copyright laws apply.

See also NLW MS 21711E, which contains further letters, 1934-1981, to Elwyn Davies from literary friends, including Raymond Garlick and Glyn Jones, the contents of the letters being similar to NLW MS 23134D; see also NLW MS 23176D, which contains over sixty letters, 1969-1993, from Elwyn Davies to Raymond Garlick, the contents of the letters being similar to NLW MS 23134D. See also the papers of Glyn Jones at NLW.

Published

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales