Arriving Barefooted / Glanio’n Droednoeth —
Gwen Williams
ISBN: 9781788648585
£9.99
In this bilingual collection, Arriving Barefooted—Two Rough Journeys, Glanio’n Droednoeth—Dwy Daith Arw, Gwen Williams traces the journey of the Welsh settlers in Patagonia and a journey in the their footsteps. The first settlers arrived at Bahia Nueva in an old tea schooner, The Mimosa, in 1865. They had few farming or engineering skills and met with immediate hardship, sleeping in caves, shooting birds for food—metaphorically barefooted. But they were escaping oppression in their homeland, much like many modern day migrants and the determination to preserve their language and culture drove them on.
In 2015, the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Y Wladfa, the poet travelled to Patagonia, welcomed by the descendants of the settlers. She carried a sketchbook and journal, discovering that her modern group of Welsh travellers were much less stoical than those first settlers, despite, or perhaps, because of modern advantages.
The bilingual poems—they had to be in Welsh as well as English and would have been in Spanish too if Williams could have managed it—convey the essence of Chubut, its characters and rugged nature. Ranging from a Celtic festival on the banks of Afon Fawr to the noisy visitors showing off, Gogs and Hwntws (North and South Walians) competing to impress with their singing, these poems, by turns moving and filled with wit and warmth, immerse us in a unique place and culture. And along the way we might even meet the shy Patagonian Killer Bunny.
You can read a review of Arriving Barefooted in the London Grip
Author biography
Gwen Williams was born and raised in Salford in a Welsh home where three generations spoke Cymraeg and socialised in chapel. After studying Natural Sciences at Newcastle University, she trained as a social worker and later worked as an inspector of Care Services for the Welsh Assembly Government. Her writing has appeared in Poetry Wales and The North and various anthologies and has been listed and commended in multiple competitions. In 2023 her unpublished debut novel Somewhere to Go was longlisted for the Bridport Prize (the Peggy Chapman Award). As a long term member of Gymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg she was included in the anthology of experiences, Merched Peryglus/Dangerous Women (pub; Honno 2023). She earned a Masters degree in Art and Psychotherapy from Sheffield University and is obsessed with daily therapeutic journalling in words and images especially on travels. She lives in Llanfairfechan.
(instagram; @gwenwilliamsartist)
Ganwyd a magwyd Gwen Williams yn Salford mewn teulu Cymraeg lle’r oedd tair genhedlaeth yn siarad Cymraeg yn y cartref ac yn y capel. Ar l raddio mewn Gwyddoniaeth Naturiol o Brifysgol Newcastle hyfforddiodd fel Gweithiwr Cymdeithasol. O’r diwedd aeth i weithio efo’r Cynulliad yng Nghymru fel Arolygwr Gwasanaethau Gofal. Mae ei gwaith ysgrifenedig wedi ‘i gyhoeddi yn Poetry Wales a The North ac mewn ambell casgliad lenyddol ac wedi cyrraedd rhestrau bur a hir mewn lawer cystadleuaeth. Cyrrhaeddodd ei nofel cyntaf (heb ei gyhoeddi hyd yn hyn) rhestr hir y gwobr Bridport (Gwobr Peggy Chapman) yn 2023. Fel aelod ers amser o Gymdeithas yr Iaith roedd h’n rhan o’r casgliad o brofiadau Merched Peryglus (Honno 2023). Mae ganddi hi radd M.A o Brifysgol Sheffield mewn Celf a Seicotherapi ac yn cadw ddyddlyfr yn dyfal mewn geiriau a luniadau.yn enwedig wrth teithio. Mae hi’n byw yn Llanfairfechan.
(instagram; @gwenwilliamsartist)