The University of Wales Press is delighted to receive two nominations for Wales Book of the Year 2019. Congratulations to Gethin Matthews and Lisa Sheppard, whose books have been shortlisted in the Creative Non-fiction category.
Having a Go at the Kaiser: A Welsh Family at War
by Gethin Matthews
This book is based on more than a hundred letters sent home by three Swansea brothers during the First World War, almost all of which relate to the period 1916–18 when Richard, Gabriel and Ivor Eustis were serving in different theatres. The run of letters written to different members of the family allow us to build a picture of what the brothers thought about a range of different issues as the war was being waged, and of how their beliefs and ideas evolved as situations changed. In common with other soldiers’ letters to their families, information on the battles fought is scarce – they are rather concerned with keeping the family bonds strong during the men’s absence. The dynamics of the family are revealed in letters full of sibling rivalry and affection.
Available in paperback and ebook formats, £14.99
Y Gymru ‘Ddu’ a’r Ddalen ‘Wen’: Aralledd ac Amlddiwylliannedd mewn Ffuglen Gymreig, er 1990
by Lisa Sheppard
Dyma’r gyfrol Gymraeg gyntaf i drafod y portread o amlddiwylliannedd yng Nghymru mewn ffuglen Gymraeg a Saesneg gyfoes. Mae’n astudiaeth gymharol sy’n dod â gwaith rhai o awduron Cymraeg a Saesneg mwyaf blaenllaw Cymru yn y degawdau diwethaf ynghyd – gan gynnwys Angharad Price, Llwyd Owen, Tony Bianchi, Charlotte Williams a Dannie Abse. Mae’n ein cyflwyno hefyd i waith awduron nad ydynt wedi derbyn llawer o sylw beirniadol hyd yn hyn, awduron megis Nikita Lalwani a Joe Dunthorne. Er mwyn ystyried y portread o amlddiwylliannedd, rhoddir ar waith ddamcaniaethau am ‘aralledd’ – term sy’n dynodi gwahaniaeth a ystyrir yn israddol i’r brif ffrwd gymdeithasol neu ddiwylliannol. Trwy archwilio ffurf y nofel Gymreig gyfoes, ynghyd â themâu megis ystrydebau, amlieithrwydd, a mudo a mewnfudo, awgryma’r gyfrol hon sut y gall darllen ffuglen ar draws ffiniau ieithyddol Cymru gyfrannu at ddatblygu cymdeithas Gymreig fwy cynhwysol – cymdeithas lle y mae’r Gymraeg yn ganolog i fywyd y genedl, ond lle yr ymwrthodir â seilio hunaniaeth Gymreig ar allu’r unigolyn yn yr iaith honno; a chymdeithas lle y mae’r dwyieithrwydd sylfaenol hwn yn herio cysyniadau am oruchafiaeth, ac angenrheidrwydd, un brif ffrwd ddiwylliannol.
Available in paperback and ebook formats, £24.99