Rhys Owain Williams

Bit of a thick head this morning though #iblameblod twitter.com/rhys_owain/sta… — Rhys Owain...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:48:00 +0100

Bit of a thick head this morning though #iblameblod twitter.com/rhys_owain/sta…
— Rhys Owain Williams (@rhys_owain) July 27, 2012

Great time reading @DTCSwansea last night. Thanks to Jo for letting us do it & for all the nice...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:46:00 +0100

Great time reading @DTCSwansea last night. Thanks to Jo for letting us do it & for all the nice things that were said. Great open mic too!
— Rhys Owain Williams (@rhys_owain) July 27, 2012

Poets at the DTC, Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea - July 26th 2012

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:41:00 +0100

Poets at the DTC, Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea - July 26th 2012

Poets at the DTC with Adam Sillman and @rhys_owain takes place on Thursday 26 July at 7.30pm....

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 15:17:00 +0100

Poets at the DTC with Adam Sillman and @rhys_owain takes place on Thursday 26 July at 7.30pm. bit.ly/NrupDq
— Dylan Thomas Centre (@DTCSwansea) July 23, 2012

South Wales Evening Post - July 23rd 2012

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0100

South Wales Evening Post - July 23rd 2012

Blood and Thunder, Rough and Tumble

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:31:00 +0100

My poem ‘Vetch Field Elegy’ has been included in a recently published history of the Sandfields area of Swansea.

Blood and Thunder, Rough and Tumble, published by the Sandfields Community Association, is the first ever attempt at getting the story of the Sandfields down in print. When recently interviewed by the South Wales Evening Post, the book’s author Andrew Vollans said “there is evidence to suggest that the area we know as Sandfields has been populated for thousands of years…[and although] Sandfields, Swansea does not exist officially as a geographical area, nor does it have a specific postcode…it clearly exists in the minds of its inhabitants and in the hearts of those who hail from the area.”

My emotional connection with the Sandfields (and Swansea City Football Club) began as a 10 year old, when my stepfather took me down to the Vetch Field for a less-than-glamorous FAW Cup cup tie against Barry Town. The game finished 1-1, but I decided that the raw emotion displayed by an air-punching Tony Bird after he scored the equalising goal that night was reason enough for me to start calling myself a Swans fan.

The poem included in Blood and Thunder, Rough and Tumble is my elegy to the now-demolished Vetch Field, vacated by the club when they moved to the shiny new Liberty Stadium in Landore in 2005. Although I have many other great Sandfields memories, formed during the five years I lived at No. 18 Bond Street, none compare to those 90-minute segments spent at that beloved old tin-shed.

The book is available now, priced £10, from Uplands Bookshop (27 Uplands Crescent, Swansea, SA2 0NX). Alternatively you can order a copy by emailing avhsmargam@gmail.com. Swansea Museum will host an accompanying exhibition from the 12th June to 31st July.

Photo

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:30:16 +0100

Photo

Sat, 12 May 2012 12:14:03 +0100

“When I die I will return to seek the moments I did not live by...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:51:09 +0100

“When I die I will return to seek the moments I did not live by the sea”

- Sophia de Mello Breyner

Square Issue 10 - May 2011

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100

I have two prose poems (We Weren’t Interested In Girls and Lunch at the Coffee Shop) included in what could possibly be the last ever issue of Square.

Extract from squaremag.net;

Featuring poetry from Nick Fisk, Shelagh Middlehurst, Nicholas Francis, Ceri Thomas, Matthew Duggan, Lance Nizami, Chris Jackson, Peter Finch, Flo Fflach, Phillip Burton, Ifor Thomas & Zoe Warren.

Short stories from Mark Howard Jones & Dave Lewis.

Microfiction from Rhys Owain Williams and Amy Mackleden.

+ Book reviews, Dave Duke reviews his own tour, Fisk reviews The Communist Manifesto (only 163 years late)
+ a Square Crossword!

PLUS! As well as ALL THAT, this final issue comes with a fantastic audio CD of poetry!

The magazine is available now at a cost of only £5 inc. postage and a back issue of your choice from squaremag.net.

Square Issue 10 Launch - 22/05/11

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

The tenth, and possibly last ever, issue of Cardiff-based poetry magazine Square will be launched on Sunday May 22nd at the Poet’s Corner Pub, City Road, Cardiff. I have two poems featured in this Revolution-themed issue, and will hopefully be reading at the launch, so please come along and support what is possibly the final instalment of a magazine that have been very kind to me over the years, and who were the first to place my poetry in print back in 2008 (Square Issue 3). The event starts at 6.30pm with readings from contributors past and present and live music from The Pine Barons. Entry is free.

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130948820313600

Nigel Jenkins, co-editor of Another Country, speaks to BBC Radio...

Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Nigel Jenkins, co-editor of Another Country, speaks to BBC Radio Wales’ Roy Noble about the haiku form and the country’s first ever national anthology of haiku poetry.

Another Country Launch - 18/03/11

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I am one of forty poets to be featured in Wales’ first ever national anthology of haiku poetry. Another Country, published by Gomer, will be launched at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea on Friday 18th March, with free wine and readings from contributors. The event starts at 7pm.

“Join us at the Dylan Thomas Centre for the launch of Another Country, the first ever Welsh national anthology of haiku poetry. Published by Gomer Press and edited by Nigel Jenkins, Ken Jones and Lynne Rees, it features haiku, tanka, haibun and somonka – in both English and Welsh – by forty poets, from Wales’s haiku pioneers such as Chris Torrance, Tony Conran, Peter Finch, Caroline Gourlay, Arwyn Evans, Matt Morden and John Rowlands, to an exciting younger generation, among them Sarah Coles, Alan Kellermann, Eloise Williams, Rhys Owain Williams and Stephen White. There will be readings from the book and music, before and after, from the pianist and haiku poet Marion Carlisle.”

Entry is free but if you would like to attend then you need to RSVP by Wednesday 16th March at the latest. To book your place email Lowri Walters at Gomer: lowriwalters@gomer.co.uk

And if you can’t attend the Swansea launch, they will be doing it all again at Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Friday 25th March.

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=109806819100269

Buy the book:http://www.gomer.co.uk/gomer/en/gomer.ViewBook/isbn/9781848513068

Stuff Happens 5 and The Fugitives (Dylan Thomas Festival) @ The...

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Stuff Happens 5 and The Fugitives (Dylan Thomas Festival) @ The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea - November 9th 2010 [Rhys Jones - for the complete set go here]

Three quarters of the Oxslam! wooden-spoon-winning team pictured...

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Three quarters of the Oxslam! wooden-spoon-winning team pictured upon their return to Swansea.

(L-R) Rhys Owain Williams, Liza Penn-Thomas, Adam Sillman (Simone Mansell Broome not pictured).

Final Score: Cardiff - 1120 - Swansea -1050, with over £300 raised in aid of Oxfam.

urban autumn –coloured leaves caughtin take-away cartons

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100

urban autumn –
coloured leaves caught
in take-away cartons

PiNBACK Issue 5 - September 2010

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100

I have a prose poem featured in Issue 5 of PiNBACK magazine. “PiNBACK is a new literature, art and graphic design magazine based in Dublin, Ireland and Cardiff, UK by Damien O Reilly. The idea is to create a platform of expression both literary and visually for anybody willing to get their voice out there.”

The magazine is available from:

Forbidden Planet-
5/6 Crampton Quay, Dublin 2

The Winding Stair -
40, Lower Ormond Quay Dublin 1

Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)
Royal Hospital
Military Road
Kilmainham
Dublin 8

Milkwood Gallery and Shop
41 Lochaber street, Roath,
Cardiff, Wales
CF24 3LS

I picked my copy up from the Milkwood Gallery in Cardiff, well worth a visit if you ever find yourself in Roath, although I would recommend you use some sort of GPS to find it if you aren’t familiar with the area. http://www.milkwoodgallery.com/

For more information about PiNBACK and Damien O Reilly go here or here

Graffiti Issue 6 - September 2010

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0100

I have a haibun and two haiku published in the latest issue of Graffiti. Based in Cirencester, the magazine is a relatively new publication from the Catchword Writer’s Group, edited by well-respected haibunist Rona Laycock. Published quarterly at a price of only £2 per issue,Graffiti is a mix of poetry, fiction and features, often based around a theme (the theme for issue 6 is ‘Travel’ - with some great writing on offer).

For more info, including how to submit or subscribe, email graffiti.magazine@yahoo.co.uk or visit their Facebook fan page here

The Crunch Feature - 11/11/10

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100

I am very happy to say that, along with my good friend Adam Sillman, I will be headlining The Crunch open mic night at Mozart’s, Swansea on the 11th November.

I have much love for The Crunch - it provides a fantastic platform for a vast array of local writers to read their work and has proved to be an energising addition to Swansea’s literary scene since its first edition in December 2008. Without the support of the community of writers who meet twice monthly at Mozart’s, I don’t think I would be anywhere near as comfortable with reading my own work to an audience as I am, and for that I must thank them.

“This week, the Crunch is represented by 50% of the Swansea OXSLAM team — and they’re not so much Crunch regulars as Crunchstitutions.

RHYS OWAIN WILLIAMS was described by Swansea laureate Nigel Jenkins as “intelligent and sensitive.” Bestowed with gravitas beyond his years, Rhys’ poems touch something deep but never lose their sense of humour.

YOU KNOW ADAM. He runs the Crunch. It’s his show, and he writes funny, sweet-natured, biting poems too. He’s taking a break from hosting (mystery guest host ahoy) to share the poem-reading limelight. It’s been a long time coming.

Before Rhys and Adam do their thing, we have the inevitable open mic”

For more information go to the Facebook event page

Stuff Happens 5 (Dylan Thomas Festival Edition) - 09/11/10

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Finale of The 2010 Dylan Thomas Festival @ The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea

“A fabulous double-bill to end the Festival, with readers from the regular collaborative poetry performance evening the Dylan Thomas Centre runs with The Crunch poetry night at Swansea’s Mozart’s. Those performing are Marcel Fanara, Emily Vanderploeg, Rhys Owain Williams and Adam Sillman.

They will be followed by a welcome return for Canadian poetry & music collective The Fugitives, who wowed the crowd at the DTC in 2005.”

Tuesday 9th November, 7.30pm, FREE ENTRY

http://www.dylanthomas.com/index.cfm?articleid=8653

http://www.fugitives.ca/