Welsh Journals

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THE extent of the literary output in Wales since the appearance of the "Welsh Out- look" twenty years ago would probably compare favourably with that of the preceding twenty, but there have been some significant changes which may be briefly summarized at the outset. Some of the literary organs formerly con- spicuous as media for the publication of new work have disappeared, including Y Geninenf Cymru and Y Beirniad. Others, such as Y Traethodydd, and Yr Eurgrawn, still appear, but to some ex- tent modified in character. New journals of the period include Y LLenor, differing mostly from its predecessor, Y Beirniad, in the inclusion of con- tributions dealing with a wider variety of subjects, and Y Ford Gron, a weekly journal of distinctly modern type. The methods of the older type of publisher seem to have become less common. Strictly modern methods have been adopted, with improvement in the character and appearance of books, by some of the older houses. One new venture seems to conduct its business, with appar- ent success, on lines advocated by some quite modern critics of the methods generally followed in this kingdom. The issue of a large number of books, not only designed for the use of scholars, but also of a more or less popular character, by the University Press Board, has been an innova- tion of the last twenty years. These facts alone indicate the type of change which has come over the literary activities of Welsh-speaking people in Wales. Some critics of this development claim that it leads to the dis- appearance of the folk literature which has for some centuries been the type of literature most prevalent in Wales. It may be admitted that it seems to suggest the evolution of a literary class, but it must also be admitted that what changes there have been are due mostly to the somewhat belated realisation by the educational authorities that Welsh is even yet not negligible as a medium for serious instruction, in spite of the undeniable fact that many of its_professed lovers still seem to regard it as an instrument fit only for a certain type of verse and a somewhat sentimental appeal to a kind of antiquarian interest. Luckily, perhaps, there does not seem to be any immediate chance that this change will lead to the evolution of a class of writer depending for a living upon the taste for mere 'fiction giving what must be a view of life more distorted than that of the earlier fiction, against the unreality of which it is claimed to be a protest. For some reasons, mostly of a historical char- acter perhaps, literary interest in Wales seems Still to be most active in the realm of verse, and LITERATURE by T. Gwynn Jones the mass of poetry is still produced for the purpose of competition. Eisteddfodic activity seems to flourish in spite of the disappearance of conditions which made some such outlet necessary. If this ac- tivity is taken seriously, one must be prepared to admit the possibility of the yearly production of at least two long poems of fairly even attain- ment. Taking the last twenty years as a test period, one would be obliged to admit that no such result can reasonably be expected. Within the period there have been few of the odes and longer poems-barely half a dozen-which stand above the level of the barren rhetoric so common during the last century, but it must be admitted that there has been an improvement in the hand- ling of the language and that quite a facility for alliteration and versification is found among com- petitors. It may be held that much more cannot be expected, especially from competitors who must generally be young, and some critics have openly declared that in such competitions one can hardly look for anything beyond exercises showing vary- ing degrees of promise. Even so, there can be little doubt that this activity is better than what follows its disappearance. The more or less general absence of originality only indicates per- haps that, in Wales as in most countries, really good poets are rare, even though mere metrical facility be quite common. If we examine the record of the twenty years in competitive lyricism, we must admit a similar lack of character, side by side with an improvement in style. The evidence of individuality discovered by critics is too often to be found in the occasional choice of a suitable adjective, or the use of a slang expression. The vision and synthesis of Hedd Wyn, for instance, have not been repeated. Things change, of course, but the habit which Thomas Edwards in the 18th century spoke of as "cadw nad am eu heneidiau" seems still to cling to the poets who, when one deals with a compar- atively short period, must yet be relatively young. But youth, of course, should be no matter of re- proach, even when it must re-preach. There has appeared a somewhat small number of books of verse of the period in which the work seems to have owed its inspiration to motives other than that of competition. It is true that, on the whole, the contents of these collections attain a higher level of performance, amounting to dis- tinction in Roger Hughes' sane, virile directness. Others show the influence of a type of English lyricism, even to the point of unintelligibility and a certain rawness. There have also been efforts in which motives tend to recur with a somewhat tiresome effect.