David Gwyn Williams

Professor David Gwyn Williams, usually known simply as Gwyn Williams (1904-1990) was a Welsh poet, novelist, translator and academic.

He was born in Port Talbot and educated at the University College of Wales and Jesus College, Oxford.^[1] As an academic he taught at Cairo, Alexandria, Benghazi, and Istanbul, eventually becoming Professor of English Literature. While in Egypt he befriended a number of expat writers including Lawrence Durrell.^[2] On his retirement in 1969 he returned to Wales and concentrated on writing, producing a series of novels, translations of Welsh poetry into English, four travel books (including one in Welsh), and numerous other works. A fluent Welsh-speaker, he was a committed member of Plaid Cymru.^[2]

Thanks to his friendship with John Ormond, Williams also carried out work for the BBC, presenting a well-regarded 1972 and 1974 series on Welsh history, The Land Remembers, and writing its accompanying books.

His autobiography, ABC of (D.) G. W, was published in 1981, while his Collected Poems, 1936-86 were published in 1987. Williams died in 1990 in Aberystwyth.

References

1. ^ Prof. Gwyn Williams Papers, Archives Wales]
2. ^ ^{a b} Gwyn Williams, BBC Wales

External links

• Clips from Williams' 1972 series The Land Remembers, BBC Wales