The evocative journal of a poet, playwright and translator recording one idyllic summer spent with artist wife Daisy at the Mynydd Bach, Cardiganshire family home, with an introduction and biography by daughters Teleri and Lowri. 7 colour illustrations, 7 black-and-white photographs and 2 maps.

Dyddiadur atgofus bardd, dramodydd a chyfieithydd yn cofnodi un haf hudolus a dreuliodd gyda'i wraig o artist Daisy yn trin tir y cartref teuluol ar y Mynydd Bach, Ceredigion, gyda chyflwyniad a bywgraffiad gan eu merched Teleri a Lowri. 7 llun lliw, 7 ffotograff du-a-gwyn a 2 fap.

If, like me, you are attracted to writing which evokes both a sense of place and a vanished way of life, then you may well enjoy this beautifully produced paperback.

Gwyn Williams, who died in 1990, was a writer and scholar and also a pioneering translator of Welsh-language poetry. After some years spent in Egypt, he returned to Wales to spend a summer at his ancestral home in Ceredigion in 1951. This was spent at Mynydd Bach, a lonely hinterland region of unspoilt moorland and a special place even for those without local roots. Living in a cottage which was devoid of running water, electricity or any other conveniences, he and his American wife, Daisy, cut peat, fished, helped in the hay harvest and spent convivial evenings with friends and relatives. At the same time he was translating, writing and broadcasting. He would frequently make excursions to Aberystwyth to work at the National Library.

Quite obviously, any journal has to be extremely interesting if it is going to appeal to even ten readers and Gwyn Williams’s certainly is. The painstaking editorial work was carried out by Williams’s daughters, Teleri Williams and Lowri Gwilym, and there are delightful illustrations which were executed by both Gwyn and Daisy Williams. Although ‘Planet’ have quite a small number of publications, compared with certain other Welsh presses, what they do produce is always eagerly awaited.

Dewi Roberts

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgement should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio’r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatad Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.