🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🏴 PRIDE EVENTS IN WALES IN 2026 - DIGWYDDIADAU BALCHDER YNG NGHYMRU YN 2026 🏴🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
April/Ebrill:
25 - Balchder Aberystwyth Pride @project.luna
May/Mai:
9-10 - Pride Bae Colwyn, Colwyn Bay Promenade
16 - Balchder Machynlleth Pride, Owain Glyndwr Centre, 11am-late
16 - Swansea Pride, Swansea Guildhall/Brangwyn Hall, 11am-7pm @swanseapride
June/Mehefin:
6 - Barry Pride @barry.pride
6 - Bridgend Pride, Llangewydd Arms @bridgend.pride
6 - Monmouth Pride Trefynwy, Robin Hood Inn, from 12pm @monmouth.pride.trefynwy
6-7 - Pontardawe Pride, Pontardawe Inn, from 11am @pontardawepride
7 - Hay Pride, Penpont, @hay.pride
13 - Big Queer Picnic, Sophia Gardens (Cardiff), 1-6pm @thebigqueerpicnic
13-14 - Pride Cymru, Cardiff Castle @lgbtpridecymru
20 - Llandeilo Pride @llandeilo_pride
27 - Abergavenny Pride y Fenni, @abergavennypride
26-28 - Chepstow Pride @chepstowpride
July/Gorffennaf:
4 - Pride Caerfilli, in town centre from midday @pridecaerffili
18 - North Wales Pride/Balchder Gogledd Cymru, Holyhead/Caergybi @northwalespride
25 - Brecon Pride, King George V Playing Fields @breconpride
25 - RCT Pride, Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd @rctpride
August/Awst:
15 - Caldicot Pride/Balchder Cil-y-Coed, Caldicot Castle @caldicotpride
23 - Glitter Pride 10th Anniversary @glittercymru
29 - Carmarthen Pride @carmarthenpride
September/Medi:
5 - Pride in the Port x UK Pride, Newport @ukpride @prideintheport.newport
26 - Trans Pride Cardiff @cardifftranspride
October/Hydref:
17 - NPT Pride Fest, Skewen Park @nptpride
John Davies - LGBT History Month Cymru Speech 2012
John Davies, the highly influential Welsh historian, came out in 1998 and turned his attention to look at LGBT History before his death in 2017. He gave his first speech on LGBT History at the first LGBT exhibition in Wales, at the Senedd in 2012.
Davies speaks of the ‘mute centuries’ of LGBT history. He applies this phrase particularly to LGBT people in Wales, who did not develop a ‘subculture until the late 20th century,’ and previously found refuge in London’s gay subculture.
The 18th century couple, the Ladies of Llangollen, are an exception to this, ‘the most famous lesbian couple in Europe.’ Davies notes, however, how the guides around their house, Plas Newydd, were forbidden from uttering ‘the L word,’ until ‘recent years.’
In the mid-twentieth century, Cardiff’s Ivor Novello composed ‘Gay’s the Word’ and reputedly popularised ‘gay’ as the synonym for homosexual.
Wales’ greatest contribution to the ending of the ‘mute centuries’, Davies says, came in 1967 with the decriminalisation of male homosexuality. (Leo Abse, MP for Pontypool, promoted the bills to decriminalise.)
Other developments included Jan Morris becoming one of the most famous trans women when she published Conundrum in 1974, an autobiography that told the story of her transition. Others were the development of CYLCH and Stonewall.
Davies concludes: ‘Waldo Williams also wrote the line “Gobaith fo'n meistr: rhoed Amser i ni'n was.” “Hope is our master: time was given to us as a servant.” And I’m sure that through the mute centuries there were those who lived in hope. At last, time has fulfilled some of those hopes but, as everybody’s stressed, much more needs to be done…
There is only one community and we are all members of it, but within that one community there should be a myriad of multiple identities: that is the way ahead.’
Nina Hamnett (1890-1956) was born on the 14th of February, 1890 – on St Valentine’s Day in Tenby, as it says on the plaque marking the place of her birth.
Like Gwen John, who also grew up in Tenby, Nina was bisexual - openly, unlike many other queer people of the time. Affairs with women such as Vanessa Bell are rumoured (rumours possibly started by Nina) while she also had affairs with male artists who she modelled for, such as Roger Fry and Modigliani. As well as portraits by Fry, and one portrait by Modigliani, she was painted by Walter Sickert with her husband and posed for a sculpture of her nude torso by Gaudier Brzeska.
Her autobiography published in 1932 was named in reference to this sculpture: The Laughing Torso. The tale of her bohemian life was a bestseller in the US and UK, where her reputation was growing. In it she recounts growing up in Wales, unhappily - of her birth, she writes:
“Everybody was furious, especially my Father, who still is. As soon as I became conscious of anything I was furious too, at having been born a girl; I have since discovered it has certain advantages.”
In her adult life, she writes of her own becoming an artist, the people she met, from members of the Bloomsbury Group to other Welsh artists and writers (Dylan Thomas, Augustus John, Cedric Morris), and of her many love affairs. Though Nina and Norwegian artist Edgar de Bergen married in 1914, she was relieved when their relationship ended three years later- they never saw each other again but did not get a divorce. Nina continued to be prolific in Parisian society, dancing on a Montparnasse cafe table for the ‘hell of it.’
Her bohemian life, and infamous autobiography depicting it, would overshadow her art, however. Nina was an extremely talented artist, and successful too, as one of the most respected women artists of her period. Other artists saw her talent but Nina was more drawn to the bohemian life of Paris and London. Her life, however, went downhill after she was sued by Aleister Crowley for having written in Laughing Torso that he was involved in black magic.
Nina died on the 16th of December, 1956, after falling from her apartment window. Whether accidental or intentional is unclear - her last words are said to be ‘Who don’t they let me die?’ On the last page of The Laughing Torso, she had written, ‘I wish I could have jumped out of the window.’
Nina Hamnett was known as the 'Queen of the Fitzroy’ in her life and is now also known as the 'Queen of Bohemia.’
[Images: 1. Portrait of Nina Hamnett by Roger Fry, in a dress designed by Vanessa Bell, made at Omega Workshops, 1917. 2. ‘Dolores’ by Nina Hamnett, 1931.]
For #DyddMiwsigCymru - Welsh Language Music Day - here is one LGBT+ themed Welsh-language track.
In 2014, the band Clinigol released ‘Ymlaen’ (Forward) with this video to celebrate marriage equality.
Clinigol was made up of Aled and Geraint Pickard - Aled married his partner Robert in 2013, which he created this song for - before Aled left, to be replaced by sisters Carys Eleri and Nia Medi, who is also gay.
The video for ‘Ymlaen’ (#Forward was used to promote equal rights) follows a bride, played by Carys Eleri, before her wedding, to the other bride played by fellow Welsh actress Tara Bethan.
Geraint translated some of the lyrics as: “I’ve had a feeling from the beginning. A feeling that our souls were on fire. So there is no need to be afraid, as long as we keep on running forward. Hold my hand and we’ll go on a distant journey. Hold tight and we will fly. Hold my hand and we will go to somewhere better. Moving forward, forward, forward.”
Kate Roberts (1891-1985) was born on this day, 13th February, 1891 in Rhosgadfan, Caernarfonshire.
Known as ‘Brenhines ein Llên’ (Queen of our Literature), Kate published novels such as Traed Mewn Cyffion (Feet in Chains) in 1936, which depicted poverty and the hardships of women in the slate quarries in North Wales. She was also known for short stories such as in the collection ‘Ffair Gaeaf a storïau eraill’ (’Winter Fair and other stories’), published in 1937.
Through her political activism with Plaid Cymru, she met Morris T. Williams, who she married in 1928. They bought the Gwasg Gee publishing house in Denbigh by 1935, which published books, pamphlets and Y Faner (The Banner). Kate and Morris both were close to the editor of Y Faner, E. Prosser Rhys, a poet who broke ground in 1924 by winning in the Eisteddfod with ‘Atgof’, which depicted heterosexual sex, masturbation and gay sex. Morris and Prosser’s relationship was particularly close, and they are thought to have had an affair.
Morris died in 1946 (Prosser Rhys in 1945) but Kate continued at the press for another decade. Her later short stories reflected her isolation and her autobiography was published in 1960. Kate is also known for her politics, carrying on a correspondence with the Welsh Nationalist Saunders Lewis for 40 years and herself contributing to Y Faner. Kate retired to Denbigh and died in 1985, at the age of 94.
The image of Kate Roberts is that of a powerhouse of a Welsh novelist, writer and political campaigner, but also of a lonely and childless widow later in life. This image is sadder if her husband was gay, had an affair, and died from his alcoholism in his 40s. The traditional images of Kate Roberts can be challenged, however. Morris’s sudden death was devastating - in an interview with Lewis Valentine, Kate told him how her world had fell to pieces, leading to write of ‘the struggle of a woman’s soul’ in Stryd y Glep (Gossip Row). The affair, however, she understood.
Kate’s own literature has more recently been analysed as itself having examples of homoerotic writing between women. Relationships between women can be intense, erotic, such as in the 1929 short story ‘Nadolig’ (’Christmas’), which explores a relationship between two teachers with coded queer subtext, and the 1972 short story ‘Y Trysor’ (’The Treasure’). Not only did lesbian relationships seem to appear in her short stories (similarly to the writer Margiad Evans, who is thought to be bisexual, who Kate also corresponded with) but in Alan Llwyd’s biography, he writes that her letters to Morris hint at her own feelings for women:
“Yr oedd gwraig y cigydd lle’r arhoswn yn un o’r merched harddaf y disgynnodd fy llygaid arni erioed. Dynes lled dal, heb fod yn rhy dew nac yn rhy denau, gwellt gwineu - real chestnut a thuedd at donnau ynddo. Croen fel alabaster a’r gwddf harddaf a welais erioed - llygaid heb fod yn rhy brydferth ond yn garedig. Yr oedd yn hynod gartrefol ei ffordd - Cymraes iawn. Bore trannoeth, hebryngai’r mab fi mewn cerbyd i Gastellnedd - cychwyn tua 7.15a.m. a hithau’n oer. Mynnodd y wraig roi clustog o’r ty odanaf, a lapiodd rug am fy nhraed, rug arall am fy nghorff, a rhoes glamp o gusan ar fy ngwefus. Nid oedd dim a roes fwy o bleser imi. Os byth ysgrifennaf fy atgofion, bydd y weithred hon yno, a’r noson ar lan afon Ddyfi.”
“The butcher’s wife where we stayed was one of the most beautiful girls I have ever laid eyes on. A broad, tall woman, not too fat or too thin, brown(?) hair - real chestnut, with a tendency to waves. Skin like alabaster and the most beautiful neck I’ve ever seen - eyes not too beautiful but kind. She was very homely - a real Welshwoman. The next morning, the son escorted me in a vehicle to Neath - starting at 7a.m. and it cold. The wife insisted on putting a cushion from the house under me, wrapped a rug around my feet, and another on my body, and put a clamp of a kiss on my lips. There was nothing that gave me more pleasure. If I ever write my memoir, this deed will be there, and that night on the banks of river Dyfi.”
The implication is she was aware of Morris’s homosexuality before they married and felt comfortable her own sexuality to him, and, as she was in love with Morris, was bisexual. This interpretation of her writing, both personal and published, was treated as controversial however - the ‘sensational’ ‘claim’ of the biography, rather just one part of Llwyd’s portrayal of Kate’s life. The queer readings of her writing already existed and certainly are not so far-fetched or shocking. Kate’s history does not generally include her queerness, so have these interpretations been entirely dismissed as unbelievable?
Through her writing and her personal life, if not through her own sexuality, Kate Roberts certainly is a part of the LGBT+ history of Wales - she already is a part of the LGBT+ literature of Wales. So what makes a historically queer view of Kate Roberts so far unacceptable? For some, it’s still to unbelievable that figures in Welsh history may be queer - for others, too disrespectful to repeat that ‘Brenhines Ein Llên’ was attracted to women. The image of her is respectable, does same-sex attraction not fit in with that? Or does same-sex attraction not fit in with her Welshness even?
It is however not a slur on her legacy to believe her to be queer. When it’s treated as such, by ignoring the queer interpretation, by not speaking of it (like we for so long did not speak about queer people in our society, through shame) - it sends the message to LGBT+ people in Welsh society today that a Welsh identity and LGBT+ identity are still mutually exclusive. This puts Welsh LGBT+ people in the position of needing to choose between the two identities, needing to compartmentalize these two parts of themselves. That Welsh historical figures, Welsh heroes even, could have been queer validates our identities - when even the possibility is dismissed, Welsh LGBT+ people are dismissed. When LGBT+ people do exist in our history, when Kate Roberts (such a Welsh figure) is a part of a Welsh LGBT+ history, this needs to be recognised, to recognise that Welsh LGBT+ people are a permanent part of Wales, and even of Welsh-speaking Wales.
Sources:
-‘“A queer kind of fancy”: Women, Same-sex Desire and Nation in Welsh Literature’ by Kirsti Bohata in Huw Osborne ed. Queer Wales.
- ‘Coded Sexualities and Outside Views’ by Gwen Davies.
- Kate Roberts (Writers of Wales) by Katie Gramich.
- Kate: Cofiant Kate by Alan Llwyd.
- ‘From Huw Arwystli to Siôn Eirian: Representative Examples of Cadi/Queer Life from Medieval to Twentieth-Century Welsh Literature,’ by Mihangel Morgan in Queer Wales.
- ‘Cultural Translations: A Comparative Political Study of Kate Roberts and Virginia Woolf,’ PhD thesis by Francesca Rhydderch.
Steve Strange (1959 - 2015) was born Stephen John Harrington in Caerphilly on the 28th of May, 1959. His early life was spent in Hampshire and Rhyl, before moving back to Newbridge with his mother, where he went to Newbridge Grammar School, which then became Newbridge Comprehensive School.
By 1976, Steve and others were known as the ‘first punks in Wales’. Steve left for London, where he formed the band ‘The Moors Murderers’ with Soo Catwoman - other members were Chrissie Hynde (later of The Pretenders), Vince Ely (later of Psychedelic Furs), Topper Headon (later of the Clash), Mark Ryan (formerly of Adam and the Ants) and Anthony Doughty (later of Transvision Vamp). They recorded the bootlegged ‘Free Hindley’ - with a B-side of The Ten Commandments to show they did not condone murder. The band were obviously still controversial and disbanded when Steve Strange and Anthony Doughty were beaten up in 1978.
Steve Strange was then briefly vocalist of The Photons, before forming the synthpop supergroup Visage. Steve Strange was frontman, until their break up in 1985, while other members included Rusty Egan, Midge Ure and Billy Currie, amongst others. It was through Visage that Steve became linked with the New Romantic movements of the 1980s, after appearing in the Bowie video ‘Ashes to Ashes,’ which also helped lead to the success of Visage, and their second single ‘Fade to Grey.’
Again with Rusty Egan, Steve Strange became a nightclub host in the late 1970s, organising ‘Bowie Nights’ on Tuesdays at Billy’s (later Gossips) in Soho, and then in the ‘Blitz’ club in 1979. Strange was essential to the New Romantics movement, a luxurious and androgynous fashion movement particularly popular in the 1980s, as he only admitted the ‘weird and the wonderful’ to his nightclubs. Strange and Egan fronted the “Club for Heroes” on Tuesdays and Thursdays in 1981, then ‘Camden Palace’ from 1982 to 1984, then one of the most famous nightclubs, and then ‘The Playground.’ Later, he was part of the trance club movement in Ibiza.
From 100 Ideas that Changed Fashion, by Harriet Worsley:
When Steve Strange and Rusty Egan designated Tuesday nights as Bowie Nights at a club in London’s Soho in 1978, it attracted a new fashion following. Consisting largely of former punks, these were young people who had enjoyed the sartorial aspect of punk but shied away from the movement’s violent and anarchistic lifestyle. They formed a glamorous, colourfully dressed crowd, whom the press first dubbed the Blitz Kids (after the Blitz nightclub, a favourite haunt), and then the New Romantics. Other clubs sprang up to cater for the movement’s growing popularity, playing music from the new electronic pop/synthesizer bands such as Duran Duran, Adam and the Ants and Spandau Ballet.
Steve Strange fronted a new version of Visage in the 2000s, was portrayed in ‘Taboo’ for his part in the New Romantics movement (along with other New Romantics figures such as Marilyn), released the autobiography ‘Blitzed’ and appeared in tv show ‘Ashes to Ashes’. Strange also, in the 2000s, publicly discussed his sexuality, being openly bisexual. Visage released their first new album in 29 years, ‘Hearts and Knives’ in 2013, then the third, and final, incarnation of Visage.
Steve Strange died of a heart attack, aged 55, on the 12th of February, 2015.
Mark Ashton died on this day, the 11th of February, in 1987.
Mark was born on the 19th of May, 1960 in Oldham, but grew up in Portrush, Northern Ireland. He moved to London in 1978, where he worked in a bar in King’s Cross, in drag as a barmaid with a blonde beehive.
In the 1980s, he volunteered for London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard, campaigned for CND and joined the Communist Party, becoming the first gay secretary of the Young Communist League. Though Mark transformed the Party’s approach to LGBT rights, he and Mike Jackson, who he’d met through Switchboard, wanted to be active as openly gay people. They formed Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) when they collected donations for miners on strike at 1984 Gay Pride.
In the evening of 1984 Pride, a miner spoke at a rally, and they were struck by the similarities between the two struggle, of LGBT rights and the Miners’ Strike. Having collected about £150, they advertised a meeting in Capital Gay. 11 people turned up and from the meeting they made a leaflet to launch LGSM - the leaflet was accepted except with an amendment to ‘one in ten miners is gay.’
As LGSM, they supported the miners as lesbian and gay people. At the second meeting, they decided to focus on one community, of the Dulais Valley, as one of the members, Hugh Williams, was from there. They then met David (Dai) Donovan, who also had thought through the similarities of their struggles and how LGSM could help. A month later, 27 lesbians and gay men, arrived at Onllwyn village in Dulais Valley.
Other than some hostility (and confusion towards vegetarianism), they experienced warmth, friendship and solidarity. LGSM raised £20,000 for families of miners on strike, and based on The Sun writing that “a group of perverts” were “supporting the pits,” they organised the Pits and Perverts concert in December, 1984, headlined by Bronski Beat. The miners marched with LGSM at Gay Pride in 1985.
Mark was admitted to hospital on 30th January, 1987, and died 12 days later from pneumonia, aged 26. At his memorial, there were banners from the Communist Party, Anti-Apartheid, anti-nuclear, Caribbean and community groups, as well as from LGSM. The Mark Ashton Trust was created to support individuals diagnosed with Aids; Mark is also remembered on the UK Aids Memorial Quilt and by Terrence Higgins Trust, with the Mark Ashton Red Ribbon Fund and a plaque at their London headquarters. In 2017, on what would have been his 57th birthday, he was honoured with a blue plaque above Gay’s The Word bookshop.
[Images: 1. Mark Ashton at Gay Pride 1981. 2. Mark Ashton at Gay Pride 1985, wearing a LGSM t-shirt and holding a pink “Communist Party” banner with the words “pinko commie queers.” 3. Blue plaque reading: “Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners. Mark Ashton 1960-1987. Political and Community Activist. LGSM met at Gay’s the Word bookship on this site 1984/5.”]
🏴 Mis Hanes LHDTC+ 2026 - LGBTQ+ History Month 2026🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Dyma post rwy'n creu yn flynyddol o ddigwyddiadau Mis Hanes LHDTC+ yng Nghymru - Here's my annual post of LGBTQ+ History Month events in Wales!
Chwefror/February:
1- Transdiff @ University of South Wales
3- Iris Prize On The Move tour starts 7pm at Pontardawe Arts Centre @pontardawearts @irisprize
4- Iris Prize 7:30pm @munipontypridd
5- Llyfrau Lliwgar Aberystwyth 6pm @ Medina @llyfraulliwgar (same in March)
6- Out of the Valleys: LGBTQ+ History in Pontypridd @ymaarlein with @norenashopland
7- Gwen John: Strange Beauties exhibition opens @museumwales Cardiff
7- Celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month from 1:30pm @welfare.ystradgynlais with Iris Prize, Jonathan Blake & more
10- Iris Prize at 7pm @maestegtownhall
12- Glitter Siblings meet at 4:30pm @ Cardiff Central Library @glittersiblings @central_library_hub
12- Aberration 'Off the Wall' event from 6:30pm @ National Library of Wales @aberrationcymru @librarywales
13- The Monocle 7:30pm (+a class at 12:30pm) @ Aberystwyth Arts Centre @aberystwytharts
15- Pembrokeshire Pride 'Holding the Torch for Pride'/'Yn Dal y Torch ar Gyfer Balchder' @torchtheatrepembs @pembspride
15- Iris Prize at 2pm @chapterartscentre Cardiff
15- Queer Story Space from 4:30pm at @thequeeremporium with @sara_huws & @adam.zmith
16- Iris Prize at 1pm for Cardiff & Vale College @cavcinsta
16- @Queertawe Creative social, 6-9pm @ Founders & Co (in the Potting Shed), Swansea
16- Paned with Tash Walker & Adam Zmith at Queer Emporium @panedoge @tashwalker85
17- GoodVibes (LGBTQ+ Youth Group) YMCA Swansea 5pm First Online Meetup
19- LGBTQHM Community Celebration at YMa @ymaarlein
20- Celebrate LGBTQ+HM @ Neath Civic Centre, 1-3pm
20- Gayberystwyth Books' Queer Lit Quarterly from 7pm @ Aberystwyth Arts Centre @gayberystwyth_books with @racheldawsonwrites
21- Glitter Cymru Meet-up, 2pm @ Cardiff Central Library @glittercymru
23- Iris Prize at 5pm @ Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea
24- Iris Prize, 7pm @theatrclwyd Mold
24- Llyfrau Lliwgar Bangor 7yh @ Caffi Blue Sky
25- Iris Prize, 7pm @Pontio Bangor
26- LGBTQ+ History Month talk at Conwy Culture Centre, 2-3pm @conwylibraries
26- Llyfrau Lliwgar Caerdydd 7yh @ Slizza @llyfraulliwgarcaerdydd
28- Swansea Queer Book Club at 3pm in Elysium Gallery & Bar @queerbookclubswansea with a Nofela @nofelalgbtqia book-selling stall
28- Iris Prize, 4:30pm @ Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Plis gadewch i fi gwybod os mae unrhyw beth ar goll!
Cedric Morris was born in Sketty, Swansea on the 11th of December, 1889, to a Welsh industrialist father, George Lockwood Morris, and Wilhelmina Cory. After spending some of his youth working in Ontario and New York, Cedric returned to South Wales and eventually started painting and studied in Montparnasse, Paris, until the First World War.
After he was discharged in 1917, Cedric went to Cornwall and studied plants, where he was friends with painter Frances Hodgkins. At the end of the war, Cedric met Arthur Lett-Haines in London, where they fell in love and became lifelong partners. They planned to move to America together with Arthur’s then wife, Gertrude Aimee Lincoln, who then left for America on her own. They lived together in Newlyn, in Cornwall, in Paris and London, where Cedric continued his painting with success.
In the 1930s, they moved to ‘a pink-coloured house’ in Higham, Suffolk and started the East Anglian School of Painting in 1937. Students of Cedric’s included Vivien Gruble, Lucian Freud, Maggi Hambling and Joan Warburton.
Though Cedric had relationships with John Aldrigde and Paul Odo, and Arthur had his own affairs, they spent their lives together, until Cedric’s death on the 8th of February, 1982. Arthur died in 1984 and they are both buried at Friars Road Cemetery, Hadleigh - Cedric’s gravestone was made in Welsh slate.
Images: Self Portrait by Cedric Morris (c. 1930), via NPG; Cedric Morris by Frances Hodgkins; Self Portrai (1919), at National Museum Wales; Portrait of Arthur Lett-Haines by Cedric Morris (1925).
E. Prosser Rhys was born on this day, on the 4th of March, 1901.
Born near Mynydd Bach, Ceredigion, a monument on Mynydd Bach celebrates 4 local poets who found success in the National Eisteddfod.
Prosser Rhys won the Crown in the National Eisteddfod in 1924 with ‘Atgof,’ a poem which explored a young man’s relationship to sex, including with another man. This certainly shocked some at the time, though Prosser Rhys was already a part of the young blood in Welsh poetry and literature (his volume published in 1923 was titled ‘Gwaed Ifanc,’ literally ‘Young Blood,’ showing that this was how he saw himself.)
It is thought this part of the poem was about Morris T. Williams, the husband of Kate Roberts (known as Brenhines Ein Llen - Queen of our Literature - who was herself possibly queer), who Prosser is known to have had a relationship with.
Prosser also had a successful career as an editor of Y Faner, founder of Gwasg Aberystwyth and he published Cerddi Prosser Rhys (a volume of his poems, some others of which had a queer tone) in 1950.
Prosser married Mary Prudence Hughes in 1928 and they had one daughter together, so Prosser is thought to have been bisexual. He suffered ill health from a young age and died on the 6th of February, 1945. Morris Williams died in 1946, which was more likely due to his alcoholism.
Atgof can be read here and Memory, the translation, can be read here.
Images, not mine, of Prosser Rhys and of his grave in Aberystwyth.
Enillodd E. Prosser Rhys y Goron yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Pontypŵl gydag ‘Atgof’ yn 1924.
Yn ddylanwadol yn ei fywyd fel bardd, golygydd, newyddiadurwr a chyhoeddwr, mae Prosser Rhys yn cael ei gofio heddiw am gipio’r Goron yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru 1924. Mor ddylanwadol ag oedd ei gerdd fuddugol, ‘Atgof,’ a’n parhau i fod, cafodd Prosser mwy fyth o effaith ar lenyddiaeth Gymraeg yn ei fywyd nag a gofir heddiw.
Ganed Edward Prosser Rees ar y 4ydd o Fawrth 1901 yn Nhrefenter, Mynydd Bach yng Ngheredigion, a'i fedyddio ar y 9fed o Fawrth yng Nghapel Bethel. Gof (blacksmith) oedd ei dad, David Rees, a'i fam oedd Elizabeth Rees. Daeth Prosser o deulu o ofaint (blacksmiths), a symudasant yn ddiweddarach i’r Morfa Du yn Nhrefenter (wedi i Prosser symud i ffwrdd, ym mis Mawrth 1918). Cyn hyn, buont yn byw yn Llainffwlbert hyd 1900, lle bu iddynt eu chwe phlentyn blaenorol.
Aeth Prosser Rhys i Ysgol Gynradd Cofadail yn Nhrefenter ac yna Ysgol Ramadeg Ardwyn yn Aberystwyth yn 1914. Aeth llenorion, academyddion a gwleidyddion eraill yma, a elwid yn 'Hen Ardwyniaid'. Cafodd ei lwyddiant academaidd cynnar ei atal wedyn gan afiechyd - cafodd ddiagnosis o dwbercwlosis yn ifanc, yn 1915, a effeithiodd arno am weddill ei oes, ond ar unwaith fe'i cadwodd adref am y 3 blwyddyn nesaf.
Dechreuodd ei enw ymddangos ym myd ysgrifennu Cymraeg mor gynnar â 1916, gyda'r gerdd 'Y Fam a'i Baban' yn y Baner ac Amserau Cymru, lle cyhoeddwyd fel E. Prosser Rees (o dan y ffugenw Eiddwenfab) o Drefenter, Llangwyryfon, Ceredigion. Yn 1917, ysgrifennodd lythyrau huawdl at ‘Y Darian’, papur radicalaidd, lle ysgrifennodd am ymuno ag undeb gwladgarol a’r Eisteddfod. Roedd hyn yn addas gan iddo ymddangos nesaf yn Y Darian yn 1918 oherwydd ei fuddugoliaethau cynnar yn yr Eisteddfod, yna yn Eisteddfodau lleol, a restrwyd o fewn yr enillwyr o Geredigion. Ymddangosodd yn aml yn Y Darian fel rhan o ‘Aelwyd y Beirdd,’ lle caiff ei ddisgrifio fel bardd ifanc â photensial mawr, ond yn 17 oed, a brawd y Parchedig Wyre Rees.
Yn amlwg, roedd Prosser yn aml yn ysgrifennu, cystadlu a’’n perfformio ei farddoniaeth yn ei arddegau. Ceir un o’i gerddi cynnar yn ‘Cymru,’ cylchgrawn misol a sefydlwyd gan O.M. Edwards yn 1891. Yn 1919 ymddangosodd ‘Canu’r Merched’ gan E. Prosser Rhys yn y cylchgrawn ‘Cymru’. Dyma'r tro gyntaf, mae’n debyg, o'i farddoniaeth i ymddangos dan yr enw hwn. Roedd ‘Prosser Rees,’ ei enw genedigol, yn ymddangos hefyd. Fel Prosser Rees, cyhoeddodd hefyd gerdd yn 1917 yn The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard i gydymdeimlo â Mr a Mrs Thomas Evans, Penbont, a gollodd eu mab, David Morgan, yn Ffrainc yn y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf.
Gweithiodd Prosser fel clerc yn Western Ocean Colliery yn Nant-y-Moel, Cwm Ogwr, cyn dychwelyd yn ôl o’r ‘sowth’ fel newyddiadurwr. Yn Nantymoel yr oedd, yn ôl pob tebyg yn byw gydag un o'i frodyr, John, a oedd yn löwr. Roedd yn dal i dderbyn triniaeth ar gyfer twbercwlosis ac mae'n debyg wedyn wnaeth dychwelyd i'r teulu yn eu cartref newydd ym Morfa-Du. Gweithiodd wedyn ym mhapurau Rhyddfrydol y Welsh Gazette yn Aberystwyth a'r Herald Cymraeg yng Nghaernarfon yn 1919 (lle cyfarfodd Morris T. Williams). Symudodd yn ôl i Aberystwyth yn 1921 a daeth yn olygydd Baner ac Amserau Cymru yn 1923, pan symudasant eu swyddfeydd o Ddinbych i Aberystwyth.
Ym 1923, cyhoeddwyd barddoniaeth Prosser mewn llyfr am y tro yn Gwaed Ifanc gyda bardd arall, J.T. Jones (John Tudor Jones). Fel mae’r teitl yn awgrymu, roedden nhw’n falch o fod yn ‘waed newydd’ i farddoniaeth ac ysgrifennu Cymraeg, gyda Prosser bryd hynny yn 22 a J.T. Jones yn 19 oed. Yn sicr bu bu cryn ddadlau am y gyfrol, hefyd am fod eu barddoniaeth yn fwy rhywiol na beirdd hŷn y cyfnod. Roedd traddodiad o’r math newydd o ysgrifennu Cymraeg eisoes, a ddechreuwyd gan fuddugoliaeth T H Parry-Williams yn Eisteddfod 1915 gyda ‘Y Ddinas,’ ac roedd Prosser yn ymwybodol o’r syniadau newydd hyn o herio ysgrifennu Cymraeg, yr Eisteddfod ac felly cymdeithas iaith Gymraeg, y cafodd ei ysbrydoli ganddi a cheisiodd bod yn rhan ohoni - a llwyddo. Ymgais oedd hon i herio ysgrifennu beirdd hŷn, yn ogystal â thynnu sylw at y cnwd mwy newydd o lenorion iau, y dynion oedd wedi goroesi’r Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf ac yn mynnu sylw.
Wrth gwrs, heriodd yn arbennig status quo yr Eisteddfod pan enillodd y Goron yn 1924 yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Pont-y-pŵl gyda’i gerdd ‘Atgof’. Mae’r pryddest yn dilyn taith ‘llanc synhwyrus’ sy’n profi ei rywioldeb, o weld ‘Rhyw’ yn difetha perthynas ei rieni, i archwilio ei rywioldeb gyda merched, ac yna gyda dyn hefyd (Morris T. Williams, mae’n debyg), tra yn ymdrechu yn erbyn moesau a rhinweddau cymdeithas a chrefydd Cymru. Roedd beirniaid yr Eisteddfod yn groes, yn ei chael hi'n anfoesol a’n ei chanmol.
Wrth gwrs, pan enillodd Prosser, roedd yr ymateb yn sgandal a daeth ‘Atgof’ yn bur ddadleuol, oherwydd ei drafodaethau amlwg am ryw ac wrth gwrs y rhan cyfunrywiol o’r gerdd. Ers hynny, mae wedi cael ei galw’n ‘homoerotig’ gan lawer o lenorion, acheddiw yn cael ei hystyried yn fwy fel cerdd ddeurywiol, neu gerdd cwiar. Mae Mihangel Morgan, yn ysgrifennu yn Queer Wales, yn gweld ‘Atgof’ yn ddarlun negyddol o gyfunrywioldeb ac yn bychanu ei arwyddocâd fel cerdd hoyw.
A’n cael ein hunain yn cofleidio ‘dynn;
A Rhyw yn ein gorthrymu; a’i fwynhau;
A phallu’n sydyn fel ar lan y llyn…
Mae’r llinellau hyn yn disgrifio’r rhan cyfunrywiol ac mae’n wir nad yw’n cymryd llawer iawn o’r gerdd, ond mae’n ymddangos bod siom Mihangel Morgan yn deillio o’r ffaith nad yw’r gerdd yn ddigon hoyw. Ac yn wir nid yw, ond mae’n darllen fel cerdd ddeurywiol sy’n mynd â ni drwy holl daith Prosser o sylweddoli a brwydro yn erbyn ei rywioldeb yn yr oes hon. Mae’n dal i atseinio gyda llawer o’r gymuned LHDTC+, yn enwedig wrth sylweddoli pa mor amlwg ydoedd ar gyfer 1924 (neu ni fyddai wedi bod mor ddadleuol), 40 mlynedd cyn dad-droseddoli cyfunrywioldeb, ac roedd ei fuddugoliaeth yn yr Eisteddfod ymhell o blaen ei amser.
Ar y llaw arall, yn ddiweddarach ym mywyd Prosser, awgrymwyd ei fod wedi cael cymaint o sioc gan sodomiaeth yn ysgrifen rhywun arall i beidio â’u cyhoeddi. Mae’n bosibl y newidiodd safbwyntiau Prosser a’i rywioldeb ei hun yn ei fywyd, er mai dim ond dyfalu yw hyn bod Prosser wedi’i ‘syfrdanu’ wrth ysgrifennu am gyfunrywioldeb. Mae yna lawer o bosibiliadau yma o ran teimladau a rhywioldeb Prosser ei hun, ond mae’n sicr eu bod wedi cael dylanwad mawr ar ysgrifennu LHDTC+ a’r gymuned yng Nghymru ac yn enwedig yn y Gymraeg.
Soniwyd hefyd am ‘Atgof’ a Prosser yn Time yn 1924, gan ychwanegu at dystiolaeth o ddylanwad ac etifeddiaeth y gerdd hon. Yn rhyngwladol, gwelwn gysylltiadau yn y cerddi â rhywoleg a seiciatreg y cyfnod – soniodd y seicdreiddiwr (ac o bosibl gŵr sarhaus y gyfansoddwraig Morfydd Llwyn Owen) Ernest Jones am y gerdd mewn llythyr at Sigmund Freud, er nad yw’n glir bod y naill na’r llall wedi darllen y gerdd.
Ysgrifennodd Caradog Pritchard yn ei hunangofiant y credai mai’r gŵr yr ysgrifennodd Prosser amdano oedd Morris Williams, fel ffrind i’r dau, ac mae hyn wedi’i dderbyn fel y gwir tebygol ers hynny. Roedd Morris T. Williams yn agos i Prosser, pan oeddynt yn gyd-letywyr yn Twthil ger Caernarfon tra yn gweithio yn yr ‘Herald Cymraeg,’ a chyfnewidiasant lythyrau wedi hynny sy’n dangos eu perthynas agos — roedd hyn cyn i Morris briodi Kate Roberts a phrynu Gwasg Gee gyda’i gilydd. Arhosodd y tri yn agos, gan fod yn ffrindiau ac yn yr un cylchoedd cymdeithasol â llenyddol, yn ogystal ag ym myd cyhoeddi Cymraeg. Yn fwy diweddar, damcaniaethwyd bod Kate Roberts hefyd yn cwiar, yn seiliedig ar ei hysgrifennu personol â'i straeon byrion am berthnasoedd rhamantus rhwng merched (fel ‘Nadolig' a 'Y Trysor'). Bu farw Morris T. Williams ym 1946, flwyddyn ar ôl Prosser Rhys, ar ôl brwydr hir ag alcoholiaeth.
Cyhoeddwyd ‘Atgof’ fel llyfryn, gyda chyfieithiad o’r enw ‘Memory’ gan Hywel Davies hefyd wedi’i gyhoeddi fel llyfryn. Mae'r gerdd yn darllen yn llai amlwg na'r fersiwn Gymraeg, er ei bod yn cael ei chanmol ar y pryd. Gellir ei ddarllen yma - er bod angen cyfieithiad Saesneg modern.
Ym 1928, priododd Prosser â Mary Prudence Hughes yn Aberystwyth, a dyna pryd y cymerodd ef a hi y cyfenw ‘Rhys’. Bu iddynt un ferch, Eiddwen Rhys. Sefydlodd Wasg Aberystwyth hefyd yn 1928 a dechreuodd gyhoeddi llyfrau, gyda Gwasg Aberystwyth yn tyfu'n sylweddol yn y blynyddoedd i ddod.
Fel golygydd Baner ac Amserau Cymru, anogodd Prosser fwy o feirdd i ysgrifennu a chyhoeddi eu gwaith. Sefydlodd Y Clwb Llyfrau Cymraeg yn 1937; tanysgrifiad o lyfrau Cymraeg, lle byddai darllenwyr yn derbyn 4 llyfr y flwyddyn am hanner coron, ac a gyhoeddodd 45 o gyfrolau hyd at 1945. Mor llwyddiannus ag y bu o dan Prosser, wedi ei farwolaeth, penderfynwyd nad oedd digon o lenorion iaith-Cymraeg i'w barhau.
(Pwyllgor gwaith Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru, 1927- Lewis Valentine, Ambrose Bebb, D. J. Williams, Mai Roberts, Saunders Lewis, Kate Roberts, H. R. Jones, Prosser Rhys.)
Roedd Prosser Rhys yn un o aelodau sylfaenol Plaid Cymru, a sefydlwyd yn 1925. Ef hefyd oedd golygydd ‘Y Ddraig Goch’ gyda Saunders Lewis ac Iorwerth C. Peate - y bu Prosser hefyd yn gymorth i’w ffurfio gyda H. R. Jones, er ei fod yn wrthwynebus i ddechrau oherwydd diffyg arian. Daeth Prosser yn lleisiol yn erbyn safbwyntiau adain dde Saunders Lewis. Ysgrifennodd yn Y Faner fod llawer o aelodau Plaid Cymru wedi dod o'r blaid Lafur neu'r blaid Ryddfrydol, neu'n radicaliaid a ddaeth o ddim plaid wleidyddol, lle nad oedd yr un yn gefnogol i'r safbwyntiau a ymddangosodd yn y Daily Mail, gan awgrymu bod barn Saunders Lewis yn rhy agos at y mater, ond bod y rhan fwyaf o gefnogwyr Plaid Cymru yn rhy deyrngar i leisio eu pryderon am hyn. Trafodwyd ac awgrymwyd diarddel Prosser o'r blaid ond roedd Saunders Lewis yn gwrthwynebu hyn.
Yn dilyn ei lwyddiannau niferus, symudodd Prosser a’i deulu i 33 North Parade, Aberystwyth, lle bu’n byw hyd ei farwolaeth.
Wedi i'w iechyd ddirywio eto o 1942, bu farw Prosser Rhys yn 1945 - yn 43 oed, a llai na mis cyn ei ben-blwydd yn 44 oed. Fe’i claddwyd ym Mynwent Llanbadarn Fawr, a’i fedd yn dyfynnu T. Gwynn Jones: “Gwyrodd êfo î’r drugaredd fawr, Ni wyr namyn Duw ddirgelwch ei wên.” Yma hefyd y claddwyd Mary Prudence Rhys, ei wraig, a fu farw yn 1991, yn 87 oed. Maent hefyd wedi eu claddu gyda William Dewi Morris Jones, a fu farw yn 1983, yn 56 oed. Bu marwolaeth Rhys yn sicr yn golled i gyhoeddi ac ysgrifennu Cymraeg.
Prynwyd Gwasg Aberystwyth gan J. D. Lewis & Sons o Landysul ar ôl marwolaeth Rhys, sylfaenydd Gwasg Gomer, a barhaodd â’r Clwb Llyfrau Cymraeg a chymerodd drosodd y gwaith o gyhoeddi llyfrau’r clwb hyd 1952. Daeth hyn, fodd bynnag, yn dilyn anghytundeb cyfreithiol rhwng Mary Prudence Rhys a Morris T. Williams, a oedd i fod i gael y cynnig cyntaf a’r cyfle o wrthod i Wasg Aberystwyth, yn ôl dogfennau cyfreithiol y cytunodd Prosser a Morris arnynt - nad oedd Morris Williams yn teimlo ei fod wedi’i gael.
Cyhoeddwyd Cerddi Prosser Rhys yn 1950 gan Wasg Gee, casgliad cyntaf Prosser yn gyfan gwbl o’i gerddi ei hun – a gyhoeddwyd 5 mlynedd ar ôl ei farwolaeth. Wedi’i olygu gan J.M. Edwards, cyd-fardd a fu’n cystadlu mewn Eisteddfodau ac a oedd o ardal debyg i Rhys, mae Edwards hefyd yn ysgrifennu cyflwyniad y casgliad barddoniaeth. Mae'n nodi iddo benderfynu bod 4 blynedd ar ôl marwolaeth Rhys yn ddigon o amser i gyhoeddi o'r diwedd gasgliad cyfan o gerddi gorau Rhys (ysgrifennwyd y rhagymadrodd ym mis Gorffennaf, 1949, a chyhoeddwyd y llyfr ym mis Chwefror, 1950.) Mae'n ysgrifennu bod ei farddoniaeth flaenorol casgliad, yn ‘Gwaed Ifanc’, yn gyfrol a ddenodd gryn dipyn o sylw ac a ddaeth hefyd â nodyn newydd, beiddgar i fyd barddoniaeth Gymraeg y cyfnod, rhywbeth yr oedd dirfawr ei angen. Ei atgofion o Rhys wrth dyfu i fyny dangos ei fod yn fardd adnabyddus hyd yn oed yn ei ieuenctid, y clywodd Edwards ac eraill yn ei ysgol ei hun amdano cyn cyfarfod, a oedd yn adnabyddus am gystadlu a chael llwyddiant mewn nifer o Eisteddfodau.
O’i farddoniaeth a geir yn Cerddi Prosser Rhys, noda Edwards fod ‘Y Gof’ yn deyrnged i’w rieni a’i fywyd cynnar yng nghefn gwlad Cymru. Ei ddau soned y mae’n eu canmol fwyaf yw ‘Y Pechadur’ a ‘Duw Mudan’. O 'Atgof,' noda Edwards yn arwyddocaol ei bod yn gerdd feiddgar a greodd gryn gyffro ac a ganmolwyd gan rai ond a gafodd ei damnio gan eraill, a’i nodwedd tristaf yr holl ddigwyddiad oedd ei bod yn adlewyrchu agwedd meddwl yng Nghymru sef rhy barod i farnu gwerthoedd byd y celfyddydau yn ôl y safonau anghywir. Mae’r rhagymadrodd yn gorffen drwy ailadrodd yr hyn y mae llawer o bobl eraill wedi’i ddweud am golled gynamserol Rhys i fyd ysgrifennu a chyhoeddi Cymraeg. Roedd Edwards hefyd yn gobeithio y byddai yna hefyd gasgliad o ryddiaith Rhys, nad yw wedi dod i fod, yn anffodus.
Mae ‘Mab ei Fam’ i “M.T.W,” Morris T. Williams mae’n debyg – fel Strancio: ‘I’d disgwyl a fu’n cyd-letya â mi.’
Do, bûm yn flin. Ond weithian gwybydd di
Fod Fflam yn llosgi ynof, ac aml dro
Yn llamu ar draws fy nghorff materol i,
A’m hysu hyd fy nghyrru i maes o’m co’,
A strancio a wnaf eto rhag fy ffawd
Nes torro’r Fflam ei ffordd o’i charchar cnawd.
Fel yn achos ‘Atgof,’ mae Mihanel Morgan yn bychanu Strancio drwy ddatgan ei fod yn cryptig a gochel - tra byddwn yn dadlau bod cyfaddefiad ei deimladau tuag at ddyn yn y 1920au, yn enwedig yn dilyn y farddoniaeth Fictoraidd honno oedd yn boblogaidd cyn y 'Gwaed Newydd'. Tra y dywed Mihangel Morgan y tybir mai am Morris T. Williams, y mae’r cysegriad ar ddechrau’r gerdd yn ddigon clir, yn hanesyddol, i Morris T. Williams, yn enwedig pan gyflwynir cywydd blaenorol iddo hefyd.
Nid tan 1980 y dathlwyd Prosser Rhys gyda llyfr am ei fywyd, gan Rhisiart Hincks. Ysgrifennodd T. Robin Chapman yn Y Traethodydd yn 2006 fod Hincks yn ôl pob tebyg yn gwybod am natur perthynas Prosser â Morris ond eto fe gadodd allan - o unig gofiant cyfan Prosser Rhys. Mae hyn yn arwydd o'r amserau y cafodd ei ysgrifennu a'i gyhoeddi ond mae'n dangos yr angen nawr i ysgrifennu cofiannau Rhys sy'n cynnwys yr hyn a eithriwyd yn flaenorol, ei hunaniaeth cwiar. Mae Hincks yn sôn, fel y daeth Morris yn gyflym ‘ei gyfaill pennaf’i pan gyfarfuant yng Nghaernarfon, iddynt symud gyda'i gilydd i 15 Stryd Eleanor ac mai Prosser a gyflwynodd Williams i lenyddiaeth. ‘Cyfeillgarwch clos’. Mae hefyd yn crybwyll bod agosrwydd o'r fath wedi arwain at cwympo mas, unwaith pan oeddent yn cwympo mas drwy'r nos, sy'n dangos dwyster eu perthynas. Efallai, yr is-destun hwn y gobeithiai Hincks ei ddeall gan gynulleidfa’r oes. O ‘Atgof,’ noda Hincks fod Prosser wedi mynegi o’r blaen fod diffyg rhyw yn y Gymraeg mewn barddoniaeth ddiweddar, rhywbeth y mae’n ei feio ar y capel. Mae'r cofiant hwn yn parhau i fod y mwyaf manwl ar fywyd Prosser.
Dadorchuddiwyd cofeb ar y Mynydd Bach, yn edrych dros Lyn Eiddwen ger Trefenter, lle cafodd Rhys ei eni a byw yn ei blentyndod, yn 1992, yn ystod yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yn Aberystwyth. Gan gynnwys Prosser, mae ‘Cofeb i Feirdd y Mynydd Bach’ yn dathlu 4 bardd o’r ardal leol. Enillodd J.M. Edwards o Lanrhystud y Goron yn yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol hefyd, yn 1937, 1941 ac yn 1944, ac ysgrifennodd y rhagymadrodd i Cerddi Prosser Rhys. Bu pob un o'r 4 bardd a enwir ar blac y gofeb yn llwyddiannus yn yr Eisteddfod. Bardd llwyddiannus o Geredigion oedd B. T. Hopkins (Benjamin Thomas Hopkins), a oedd yn byw ac yn ffermio ar y Mynydd Bach. Bardd a llenor Cymraeg o Geredigion oedd T Hughes Jones (Thomas Hughes Jones) a enillodd fedal yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol 1940 am stori fer, ‘Sgwier Hafila,’ a feirniadwyd yn rhannol gan Kate Roberts.
Mae diddordeb yn Rhys, ei fywyd a’i yrfa, wedi’i adnewyddu gan ymchwil i hanes ac ysgrifennu LHDTC+ Cymru. Yn nodedig, ym 1998, darlledwyd dogfen hanesyddol o’r enw ‘Atgof’ ar S4C, a gyfarwyddwyd gan Ceri Sherlock, a oedd yn darlunio Prosser yn ysgrifennu’r gerdd a’i berthynas â Morris T. Williams, a gynrychiolwyd fel un rhywiol a rhamantus. Bu dadlau o gwmpas y ffilm, fel ‘Atgof’ y gerdd, gyda rhai’n cwestiynu sut yr oedden nhw’n darlunio’r berthynas (gyda rhai manylion ffuglennol) a rhai hefyd yn cwestiynu a ddylid ei darlunio neu ei ddyfalu o gwbl. Er gwaethaf y disgwrs, roedd Prosser Rhys eisoes wedi dod yn ysbrydoliaeth i gymuned LHDTC+ Cymru.
Yn 2019, perfformiwyd y sioe ‘Corn Gwlad’ yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Llanrwst, a grëwyd gan Seiriol Davies, a oedd yn dathlu buddugoliaeth Prosser yn yr Eisteddfod ac yn darlunio ei deimladau tuag at Morris T. Williams. Roedd hi wedyn yn sioe waith ar y gweill, gyda chomedi a cherddoriaeth, ac yn rhan o raglen o ddigwyddiadau ‘Mas ar y Maes’ yn yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, sy’n arbennig ar gyfer y gymuned LHDTC+, neu a allai fod yn berthnasol i’r cymuned LHDTC+. Cafodd Prosser sylw hefyd mewn digwyddiadau ‘Mas ar y Maes’ gyda ‘Cariad yw Cariad,’ ac wrth gwrs mae’n cael sylw mawr yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Pontypridd 2024, ar ganmlwyddiant i Prosser ennill y Goron gydag Atgof. ‘Atgof’ oedd hefyd eto pwnc barddoniaeth i’r Goron - a enillwyd gan Gwynor Dafydd.
Etifeddiaeth barhaol Prosser Rhys yw bod yn llais i’r gymuned hon o Gymru’r 20fed ganrif, ac yn eicon yn arbennig i bobl LHDTC+ Cymraeg eu hiaith, dynion queer a phobl ddeurywiol. Dyma sydd wedi dod â Prosser Rhys yn ôl i lygad y cyhoedd yn y 1990au, gyda’r ffilm Atgof, ac yn y 2010au gyda Mis Hanes LHDTC+, ac yn y 2020au tua 100 mlynedd ers iddo ennill Coron yr Eisteddfod gydag ‘Atgof’. Cafodd Prosser hefyd effaith sylweddol ym myd cyhoeddi yng Nghymru, y gymdeithas Gymreig, yn ei ysgrifau erthyglau, mewn gwleidyddiaeth. Roedd Prosser Rhys yn berson hynod ddiddorol, cymhleth, yn eiriolwr brwd dros farddoniaeth, ysgrifennu a chyhoeddi Cymraeg ac mae’n arwr y cymunedau y perthynai iddynt, gan gynnwys y gymuned leol yng Ngheredigion a Gorllewin Cymru.
E. Prosser Rhys won the Crown in Pontypool National Eisteddfod with 'Atgof' in 1924.
Influential in his life as a poet, editor, journalist and publisher, Prosser Rhys is remembered today for winning the Crown in the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1924. As influential as his winning poem, ‘Atgof’ was, and continues to be, Prosser even more profoundly affected Welsh-language writing in his life than is remembered today.
Edward Prosser Rees was born on the 4th of March 1901 in Trefenter, Mynydd Bach in Ceredigion, and christened on the 9th of March at Capel Bethel. His father was a blacksmith, David Rees, and his mother was Elizabeth Rees. Prosser came from a family of blacksmiths, and they later moved to Morfa Du in Trefenter (after Prosser had moved away, in March 1918). Previously, they had lived in Llainffwlbert until 1900, where they had their previous six children.
Prosser Rhys attended Cofadail Primary School in Trefenter then Ardwyn Grammar School in Aberystwyth in 1914. Other writers, academics and politicians were educated here, who were known as 'Old Ardwynians'. His early academic success was then marred by ill health - he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis at a young age, in 1915, which affected him for the rest of his life, but immediately kept him home for the next 3 years of his life.
Still, his name started appearing in Welsh writing as early as 1916, with the poem ‘Y Fam a’i Baban’ (The Mam and her Baby) in Baner ac Amserau Cymru, where he was published as E. Prosser Rees (under the pseudonym/ffugenw Eiddwenfab) from Trefenter, Llangwyryfon, Ceredigion. In 1917, he wrote eloquent letters to ‘Y Darian,’ a radical Welsh-language paper, where he first wrote briefly about joining a patriotic union, and the Eisteddfod. The latter was fitting as he next appeared in Y Darian in 1918 for his early Eisteddfod wins, then in local Eisteddfodau, listed within the winners from Ceredigion. He then appeared several times in Y Darian as a part of ‘Aelwyd y Beirdd,’ where he’s described as a young poet with great potential, at only 17, the brother of Reverend Wyre Rees.
Clearly, Prosser wrote, competed and performed his poetry quite a lot as a teenager. One of his early poems appears in ‘Cymru,’ a monthly Welsh-language journal founded by O.M. Edwards in 1891. It was in 1919 that ‘Canu’r Merched’ by E. Prosser Rhys appeared in the journal ‘Cymru’. This is the earliest (that I found) of his poetry appearing published under this name. Note that there are occasionally mentions of ‘Prosser Rees,’ his birth name, as well. As Prosser Rees, he also published a poem in 1917 in The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard in sympathy to Mr and Mrs Thomas Evans of Penbont, who lost their son, David Morgan, in France during the First World War.
Prosser worked as a clerk at Western Ocean Colliery in Nant-y-Moel, Ogmore Valley, before his community saw him coming back from the ‘sowth’ (south) as a journalist. He was at Nantymoel, apparently living with one of his brothers, John, who was a coal miner. He was still receiving treatment for tuberculosis and apparently then returned to this family in their new home in Morfa-Du. He then worked at the Liberal newspapers of the Welsh Gazette in Aberystwyth and Herald Cymraeg in Caernarfon in 1919 (where he worked with Morris T. Williams). He moved back to Aberystwyth in 1921 and became the editor of Baner ac Amserau Cymru in 1923, when they moved their offices from Denbigh to Aberystwyth.
In 1923, Prosser's poetry was first published in a book - Gwaed Ifanc - with another poet J.T. Jones (John Tudor Jones). As the title suggests, they were proud of being the ‘new/young blood’ of Welsh poetry and writing, with Prosser then being 22 and J.T. Jones being 19 years old. There was certainly some backlash to that and the book was met with some controversy, also for their poetry being more sexual than older poets of the time. There was already a tradition of the new kind of Welsh writing, started by T H Parry-Williams’ win in the Eisteddfod in 1915 with ‘Y Ddinas,’ and Rhys was aware of these new ideas of challenging Welsh writing, the Eisteddfod and therefore Welsh-language society, which he was inspired by and sought to be a part of - and succeeded. This was an attempt to challenge the writing of older poets, as well as bring attention to the newer crop of younger writers, the men who’d survived the First World War and demanded attention.
He of course especially challenged the status quo of the Eisteddfod when he won the Crown in 1924 in the Pontypool National Eisteddfod with his poem ‘Atgof’ (Memory - or also sometimes translated as Reminiscence). This long ‘pryddest’ poem, follows a ‘llanc synhwyrus’/‘sensible lad’s journey into exploring his sexuality, from seeing ‘Sex’ ruin his parents’ relationship, to exploring his sexuality with women, and then with a man as well (who was likely Morris T. Williams), while struggling against the morals and virtues of Welsh society and religion. The judges of the Eisteddfod were at odds, one finding it to be immoral and the others praising it.
Of course, when Prosser won, the reactions were scandalized and ‘Atgof’ became quite controversial, for its explicit discussions of sex and of course the same-sex part of the poem. It has since been called ‘homoerotic’ by many writers, while today may be seen more as a bisexual poem, or queer one. Mihangel Morgan, writing in Queer Wales, finds this to be a negative depiction of homosexuality and downplays the significance of ‘Atgof’ as a gay poem.
A’n cael ein hunain yn cofleidio ‘dynn;
A Rhyw yn ein gorthrymu; a’i fwynhau;
A phallu’n sydyn fel ar lan y llyn…
And finding ourselves in a tight embrace
With Sex overwhelming us; and enjoying it;
And suddenly stopping as above the lake…
These lines describe the same-sex interaction and indeed it doesn’t take up a large amount of the poem, but Mihangel Morgan’s disappointment seems to come from the poem not being homosexual enough. And indeed it isn’t, but reads as a bisexual poem that takes us through Rhys’s whole journey of realising and battling with his sexuality at this age. It still resonates with much of the LGBTQ+ community, especially when realising how explicit it was for 1924 (or it wouldn't have been so controversial), 40 years before the decriminalization of homosexuality, and its win in the Eisteddfod was well, well ahead of its time.
On the other hand, later on in Prosser’s life, it was suggested that he was so shocked by sodomy in the writing of someone else to not publish them. There is the possibility of Prosser’s viewpoints and own sexuality changing in his life, though this is merely speculation that Prosser was ‘shocked’ by writing of homosexuality. There are many possibilities here when it comes to Prosser’s own feelings and sexuality, but it is certain that they have had a great influence on LGBTQ+ writing and the community in Wales and particularly in Welsh.
‘Atgof’ and Prosser were also mentioned in US Time Magazine in 1924, adding to evidence of the influence and legacy of this poem. Internationally, we see links in the poems to the sexology and psychiatry of the time - the psychoanalyst Ernest Jones (and possibly abusive husband of the composer Morfydd Llwyn Owen) mentioned the poem in a letter to Sigmund Freud, though it’s unclear that either actually read the poem.
Caradog Pritchard wrote in his autobiography that as a friend of Prosser’s and Morris T. Williams’ that he believed the man Prosser wrote about was Morris Williams, and this has been accepted as likely the truth since then (though there were always rumours about this). Morris T. Williams was close to Prosser, when they were roommates in Twthil near Caernarfon, while working at 'Herald Cymraeg,' and they exchanged letters after which show their close relationship - this was before Morris married Kate Roberts and they together bought Gwasg Gee. All three remained close, being friends and remaining in the same social circles as poets, as well as in Welsh publishing. More recently, it has been theorized that Kate Roberts also was queer, based on her own personal writing, as well as her short stories which are about romantic relationships between women (such as 'Christmas' and 'The Treasure'). Morris T. Williams died in 1946, a year after Prosser Rhys, after a long struggle with alcoholism.
‘Atgof’ was published as a booklet, with a translation ‘Memory’ by Hywel Davies also published as a booklet. The poem reads less explicitly than the Welsh version, though it was praised at the time. It can be read here - though a modern English translation is definitely needed. 'Atgof' can also be read here.
In 1928, Prosser married Mary Prudence Hughes in Aberystwyth, which was when both he and she took the surname ‘Rhys’. They had one daughter, Eiddwen Rhys. He founded Gwasg Aberystwyth also in 1928 and began publishing books, with Gwasg Aberystwyth growing significantly in years to come.
As editor of Baner ac Amserau Cymru, Prosser encouraged more poets to write and publish their work. Rhys founded Y Clwb Llyfrau Cymraeg/The Welsh Books Club in 1937. This was a subscription of Welsh books, where readers would receive 4 books a year for half a crown, and which published 45 volumes up until 1945. As successful as it was under Prosser, after his death, it was decided that there were not enough Welsh-language writers to continue it.
(Executive committee of 'Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru,' 1927- Lewis Valentine, Ambrose Bebb, D. J. Williams, Mai Roberts, Saunders Lewis, Kate Roberts, H. R. Jones, Prosser Rhys.)
Prosser Rhys was a founding member of Plaid Cymru, founded in 1925. He was also the editor of ‘Y Ddraig Goch’ with Saunders Lewis and Iorwerth C. Peate, which Prosser also helped to form with H. R. Jones, though he was initially opposed to the idea due to lack of funds. However, Prosser became vocally opposed to Saunders Lewis’ right wing views. He wrote in Y Faner that many of Plaid Cymru’s members had come from the Labour party or Liberal party, or were radicals who came from no political party, where none were supportive of the views appearing in the Daily Mail, implying that Saunders Lewis’ views were too close to the matter, but that most Plaid Cymru supporters were personally too loyal to voice their concerns over this. The expulsion of Prosser from the party was discussed and suggested but Saunders Lewis opposed this.
Following his many successes, Prosser and his family moved to 33 North Parade, Aberystwyth, where he lived until his death.
After his health had deteriorated again from 1942, Prosser died in 1945 - at the age of 43, and less than a month before his 44th birthday. He is buried at Llanbadarn Fawr Cemetery, with his grave quoting T. Gwynn Jones: “Gwyrodd êfo î’r drugaredd fawr, Ni wyr namyn Duw ddirgelwch ei wên.” Here Mary Prudence Rhys, his wife, is also buried, who died in 1991, at the age of 87. They are also buried with William Dewi Morris Jones, who died in 1983, aged 56. Rhys’s death was certainly a loss to Welsh publishing and writing.
Gwasg Aberystwyth was bought by J. D. Lewis & Sons from Llandysul after Prosser’s death, the founder of Gwasg Gomer, who continued the Welsh Books Club and took over publishing of the club’s books until 1952. This, however, did follow a legal disagreement between Mary Prudence Rhys and Morris T. Williams, who was supposed to get the first offer and chance at refusal for Gwasg Aberystwyth, according to legal documents that Prosser and Morrisagreed upon, which Morris Williams did not feel like he had gotten.
Cerddi Prosser Rhys was published in 1950 by Gwasg Gee, Morris’s first collection entirely of his own poems - published 5 years after his death. Edited by J.M. Edwards, a fellow poet who competed in Eisteddfodau and was from a similar area to Rhys, Edwards also writes the introduction of the poetry collection. He notes that he decided that 4 years after Prosser’s death was enough time to finally publish a whole collection of Prosser’s best poems (the introduction was written in July, 1949, with the book published in February, 1950.) He writes that his previous poetry collection, in ‘Gwaed Ifanc’, was ‘a volume that attracted a lot of attention and also brought a new, daring note to the world of Welsh poetry of the period, something that was urgently needed.’ His memories of Prosser while growing up show he was a well-known poet even in his youth, who Edwards and others in his own school had heard of before meeting, who was known for competing and finding success in many local Eisteddfodau around Wales.
Of his poetry found in Cerddi Prosser Rhys, Edwards notes that ‘Y Gof’ (The Memory) is a tribute to his parents and his early life in rural Wales. His two sonnets he most praises are ‘Y Pechadur’ (The Sinner) and ‘Duw Mudan’ (Mute God). Of ‘Atgof,’ Edwards significantly notes that it was "a bold poem that created a lot of excitement and was praised by some but damned by others. The saddest feature of the whole event was that it reflects an attitude of thought in Wales which is too ready to judge the values of the world of the arts by the wrong standards." The introduction finishes by repeating what many others have said about the premature loss of Prosser to the world of Welsh writing and publishing. Edwards also hoped that there would also be a collection of Prosser’s prose, which unfortunately has not yet come to be.
‘Mab ei Fam’ (His Mother's Son) is to "M.T.W," likely Morris T. Williams - similarly to Strancio, which was translated by Mihangel Morgan as ‘Fooling About,’ which is to: ‘I gyfaill annwyl a fu’n cyd-letya â mi’ (To a dear friend who lodged with me)
Do, bûm yn flin. Ond weithian gwybydd di
Fod Fflam yn llosgi ynof, ac aml dro
Yn llamu ar draws fy nghorff materol i,
A’m hysu hyd fy nghyrru i maes o’m co’,
A strancio a wnaf eto rhag fy ffawd
Nes torro’r Fflam ei ffordd o’i charchar cnawd.
Yes, I was angry. But sometimes you must know
That a Flame burned within me, and often
Sprang from my material body
Plaguing me until it drove me mad
And I would taunt my fate
Until the Flame broke free of its prison of flesh.
-Mostly translated by Mihangel Morgan.
As with ‘Atgof,’ Mihanel Morgan downplays Strancio by stating it to be cryptic and guarded - while I'd argue that the confession of his feelings towards a man in the 1920s is explicit for its time, especially following on from the Victorian poetry that was popular before the ‘New blood’. While Mihangel Morgan says it is ‘assumed’ to be about Morris T. Williams, the dedication at the start of the poem is clear enough, at least historically, to Morris T. Williams, especially when a previous poem also is dedicated to him.
It wasn’t until 1980 that Prosser Rhys was celebrated with a book about his life, by Rhisiart Hincks. T. Robin Chapman wrote in Y Traethodydd in 2006 that Hincks probably knew of the nature of Rhys’s relationship with Morris T. Williams yet it was omitted, from the only whole biography of Prosser Rhys. This is a sign of the times in which it was written and published but shows the need now to write biographies of Rhys that include what was previously excluded, his queer identity. Hincks mentions how Williams quickly became Prosser's best friend ('ei gyfaill pennaf') when they met in Caernarfon, that they moved together to 15 Eleanor Street and that it was Prosser who introduced Williams to literature. ‘Cyfeillgarwch clos’. He also mentions that such closeness led to spats, once when they fought all night, which does show the intensity of their relationship. Perhaps, this subtext Hincks hoped to be understood by the audience of the time. Of ‘Atgof,’ Hincks notes that Prosser had previously expressed that there was a lack of sex in Welsh in recent poetry, which he blamed on the chapel. This biography remains the most detailed on Prosser’s life.
A monument on Mynydd Bach, overlooking Llyn Eiddwen near to Trefenter, where Prosser was born and lived in his childhood, was unveiled in 1992, during the National Eisteddfod in Aberystwyth. Including Rhys, the monument, ‘Cofeb i Feirdd y Mynydd Bach’ celebrates 4 poets from the local area. J.M. Edwards from Llanrhystud also won the Crown in the National Eisteddfod, in 1937, 1941 and in 1944, and wrote the introduction to Cerddi Prosser Rhys. All 4 of the poets named on the plaque of the monument were successful in the Eisteddfod. B. T. Hopkins (Benjamin Thomas Hopkins) was a successful poet from Ceredigion, who lived and farmed on Mynydd Bach. T Hughes Jones (Thomas Hughes Jones) was a Welsh poet and writer from Ceredigion who won a medal in the National Eisteddfod of 1940 for a short story, ‘Sgweier Hafila,’ which was partly judged by Kate Roberts.
Interest in Prosser, his life and career, has been renewed by research into Welsh LGBTQ+ history and writing. Notably, in 1998, a historical docudrama called ‘Atgof’ aired on S4C, directed by Ceri Sherlock, which depicted Prosser writing the poem and his relationship with Morris T. Williams, which was represented as a sexual and romantic one. There was controversy around the film, similarly to 'Atgof' the poem, with some questioning how they depicted the relationship (with some speculated, fictional details) and some also questioning whether it should be depicted or speculated about at all. Despite the discourse, Prosser Rhys had already become an inspiration to the Welsh LGBTQ+ community.
In 2019, the show ‘Corn Gwlad’ was performed at the National Eisteddfod in Llanrwst, created by Seiriol Davies, which celebrated Prosser’s win at the Eisteddfod and depicted his feelings towards Morris T. Williams. It was then a work-in-progress show, with comedy and music, and part of the ‘Mas ar y Maes’ programme of events at the National Eisteddfod, which are especially for the LGBTQ+ community, or which may be relevant to the LGBTQ+ community. Prosser was also featured in ‘Mas ar y Maes’ events with ‘Cariad yw Cariad,’ and is of course heavily featured in the 2024 National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd, on the centenary of Prosser Rhys winning the Crown with 'Atgof.' 'Atgof' was also the theme of the poems submitted to the 'Coron' - which was won by Gwynfor Dafydd.
The lasting legacy of Prosser Rhys is to be a significant voice of this community from 20th century Wales, and an icon especially for Welsh language LGBTQ+ people, queer men and bisexual people. This is what has significantly brought Prosser Rhys back into the public eye in the 1990s, with the film Atgof, and in the 2010s with LGBTQ+ History Month, and in the 2020s around the 100th anniversary of his Eisteddfod Crown winning with ‘Atgof’. Prosser also had a significant impact in Welsh publishing, Welsh society, in his article writings, in politics. Prosser Rhys was a fascinating, complicated person, a passionate advocate for Welsh poetry, writing and publishing and is a hero of the communities to which he belonged, including the local community in Ceredigion and West Wales.
Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies was an actress of the screen and stage whose career spanned decades.
Born Gwen Lucy Ffrangcon-Davies on the 25th of January, 1891, her parents were Welsh baritone David Ffrangcon-Davies, who was born David Thomas Davies, and Annie Francis Rayner. The surname ‘Ffrangcon’ came from ‘Nant Ffrancon,’ a valley in Snowdonia.
Her career began on the stage in 1911 - she played roles such as Juliet, Queen Anne and Lady Macbeth, and appeared in ‘Henry V’ with Ivor Novello. When she retired from the stage in 1970, her career continued on TV and radio. She also appeared in films such as ‘The Tudor Rose’ in 1936, ‘The Witches in 1966′ and ‘The Devil Rides Out’ in 1968.
In London, Gwen met actress Marda Vanne (born Margaretha van Hulsteyn in Pretoria in 1896). They became partners - professionally, they toured a theatre company around 44 towns in South Africa and personally, they were life partners until Marda’s death in 1970.
Gwen’s final role was at the age of 100, in a teleplay of the ‘The Master Blackmailer.’ She also received a damehood at the age of 100, the oldest at the time to have received the honour. Gwen died, aged 101, on the 27th of January, 1992, and is buried at Stambourne, Essex.
Sources:
Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies by Harold Knight @museumwales (of Gwen’s portrayal of Etain in ‘The Immortal Hour,’ possibly from 1923)
National Portrait Gallery - portraits of Gwen by Yvonne Gregory, 1923, plus other portraits by Gregory and by Angus McBean
Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Twentieth-Century Actress by Helen Grime, Routledge, 2016.
‘The Private Life of Gabrielle Enthoven’ by Eva Smith, V&A Blog, 2015 - article on Gabrielle Enthoven’s lesbianism mentions Marda Vanne as ‘the long-term partner of fellow actress Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies’
Queer Welsh Stories @queerwelsh - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
