Waldo Goronwy Williams is regarded as a mythical figure, here in Wales. No one who knew him bore a grudge towards him , and to many he is seen as one of the greatest Welsh language poets of the twentieth century.
He was also a Quaker, a notable pacifist , anti-war campaigner and Welsh Nationalist. Born on the 30th September 1904 in Haverfordwest the third of five children of John Edwal Williams (1863-1934) and
Angharad Williams (née Jones, 1875-1932). His father was headmaster of
Prendergast School in Haverfordwest and English was the language spoken
within the family. Following periods of nervous illness which left a
lasting impression on his young son, in 1911 J. Edwal Williams was
appointed headmaster of Mynachlog-ddu School, located in the same county
but in a Welsh-speaking community in the shadow of the Preseli hills.
This move was of great significance in Waldo Williams's development.
Waldo (he is often referred to by his first name only) stated that he
learnt Welsh playing on Mynachlog-ddu schoolyard, an experience recorded
in an early poem, 'Yr Iaith a Garaf' (The language I love). The family
moved again in 1915 to Clunderwen on the border with Carmarthenshire; a
few months later the family's eldest child, Morvydd Moneg, died.
At some point after this and during the Great War Waldo had an
experience or vision in the gap between two fields, Weun Parc y Blawd
and Parc y Blawd, on Cross farm, Clunderwen. He later described it as a
realisation 'sudden and vivid, that men were above all things brothers
to each other'. This event would have confirmed the pacifist convictions
held and expressed by his parents and inspiring one of his most loved poems ‘The Two Fields’/‘Mewn dau gae’.Waldo
Williams was brought up Baptist but became a Quaker in the 1950s,
joining Milford Haven Meeting..
Towards the end of his life he
recollected listening to his father in 1916 reading T.E,Nicholas's
anti-war poem 'Gweriniaeth a Rhyfel' (Democracy and War) to his mother
in their home. It seems that the young boy began to write poetry in
Morvydd's company; in doing so he was following in an uncle's footsteps.
His father's brother William 'Gwilamus' Williams (1867-1920) published a
volume of poetry and was a pioneer of vers libre in Welsh.
Waldo
went to Narberth County School and from there to the University College
of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1923 to study English and History. He played
an active part in student life, editing The Dragon during the
1926-7 session. As well as writing editorial pieces he published his own
English and Welsh poems anonymously in the magazine. After graduating
he worked as a supply teacher in his native county for some years,
without ever constructing an orthodox and successful professional
career. This can be attributed in part to periods of mental illness, and
later in his career to his pacifist commitments.
He was a conscientious objector during the Second World War which led to his dismissal from a headmastership. . The strength of his convictions also led to him breaking the law by refusing to pay his income tax in protest against the role of the British Government in the Korean War. He continued his protest until the end of compulsory military service. During this period his campaigning earned him time in prison.
His work was touched by romanticism but also often carried a political message.The horror of war is evident in his poems during World War 11 and he wrote his most poignant poetry during the years that followed the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Williams belonged first of all to the Welsh tradition of the Cerdd Gwlad (folk poets) a poet who served his locality by celebrating its life and people in verse. A poet of considerable ability in Cynghaned and free verse, with delicate use of alliteration,a delicate weaver of wisdom . But he was also inspired by the mystical revelation he had as a youth about the unity of the whole of mankind.His faith in the brotherhood off all men. This revelation was realised in the cooperative and harmonious living he witnessed among the farming communities in the Preseli Hills and reflected in the feeling of belonging, knowing and desire that people should live together in peace expressed in his memorable poetry. It was also a threatened society the Governments establishment of a firing range (so reminiscent of the decision to set up a bombing school at LLyn in the late 30's) was the catalyst for the production of a small group of powerful poems about Welsh nationhood, with the will to resist as the central theme
Personal tragedy marked his life too following the death of his wife Linda from tuberculosis in 1943, and the strength of his convictions would lead to periods of intense mental suffering, his questioning of humanity's frequent inhumanities. He never remarried. Later he would describe his two-year marriage as "fy mlynyddoedd mawr" – "my great years"
He stood as the Plaid Cymru candidate for Pembrokeshire in 1959, where he won a 4.52% share of the votes and and used his poetry to express his nationalism, which had considerable influence on the younger generation of activists in particular. His major volume of poetry is Dail pren/The leaves of the tree, published in 1956.
He died on tthe twentieth of May in 1971 at St Thomas's Hospital Haverfordwest and is buried at Blanconin Chapel Burial ground in Llandisillio. Known for his kindness and unassuming manner, this visionary pacifist leaves a moral and cultural legacy that is immense. A poet who remains of national importance. Blessed are the peacemakers.
Many of Waldo's poems can be read in translation. The most comprehensive being ' The Peacemakers : Selected Poems , Gomer, 1997, in which I reproduce the following poems. There is a memorial monolith dedicated to him and the upright bluestone is situated on Rhos Fach near Mynachlogddu..
Pa Beth yw Dyn?
Beth yw byw? Cael neuadd fawr
Rhwng cyfyng furiau.
Beth yw abnabod? Cael un gwraidd
Dan y canghennau.
Beth yw credu? Gwarched tref
Nes dyfod derbyn.
Beth yw maddau? Cael fford trwy'r drain
At ochr hen elyn.
Beth yw canu? Cael o'r creu
Ei hen athrylith.
Beth yw gweithio ond gwneud can
O'r coed a'r gwenith?
Beth yw trefnu terynas? Crefft
Sydd eto'n cropian.
A'i harfogi? Rhoi'r cyllyll
Yn llaw'r baban.
Beth yw bod yn genedl? Dawn
Yn nwfn y galon.
Beth yw gwladgarwch? Cadw ty
Mewn cwmwl tystion.
Beth yw'r byd i'r nerthol mawr?
Cylch yn treiglo.
Beth yw'r byd i blant y llawr?
Crud yn siglo.
What is Man ?
To live, what is it? It's having
A great hall between cramped walls.
To know another, what's that? Having
The same root under the branches.
To believe, what is it? Guarding a town
Until acceptance comes.
Forgiveness, what's that? A way through thorns
To an old enemy's side.
Singing, what is it? The ancient
Genius of the creation.
What's work but making a song
Of the trees and the wheat?
To rule a kingdom, what's that? A craft
That is crawling still.
And to arm it? You put a knife
In a baby's hand.
Being a nation, what is it? A gift
In the depths of the heart.
Patriotism, what's that? Keeping house
In a cloud of witnesses.
What's the world to the strong?
Hoop a-rolling.
To the children of earth, what is it?
A cradle rocking.
Rememberance/Cofio
Un funud fach cyn elo’r haul o’r wybren,
Un funud fwyn cyn delo’r hwyr i’w hynt,
I gofio am y pethau anghofiedig
Ar goll yn awr yn llwch yr amser gynt.
Fel ewyn ton a dyr ar draethell unig,
Fel cân y gwynt lle nid oes glust a glyw,
Mì wn eu bod yn galw’n ofer arnom –
Hen bethau anghofiedig dynol ryw.
Camp a chelfyddyd y cenhedloedd cynnar,
Aneddau bychain a neuaddau mawr,
Y chwedlau cain a chwalwyd ers canrifoedd
Y duwiau na ŵyr neb amdanynt ‘nawr.
A geiriau bach hen ieithoedd diflanedig,
Hoyw yng ngenau dynion oeddynt hwy,
A thlws i’r clust ym mharabl plant bychaìn,
Ond tafod neb ni eilw arnynt mwy.
O, genedlaethau dirifedi daear,
A’u breuddwyd dwyfol a’u dwyfoldeb brau,
A erys ond tawelwch i’r calonnau
Fu gynt yn llawenychu a thristáu?
Mynych ym mrig yr hwyr, a mi yn unig,
Daw hiraeth am eich ‘nabod chwi bob un;
A oes a’ch deil o hyd mewn Cof a Chalon,
Hen bethau anghofiedig teulu dyn?
One fleeting moment as the sun is setting,
One gentle moment as the night falls fast
To bring to mind the things that are forgotten,
Now scattered in the dust ages of the past.
Like white-foamed waves that break on lonely beaches,
Like the win's song where no one hears the wind,
They beckon us, I know, but to no pupose-
The old forgotten things of humankind..
The artistry and skills of early peoples,
Small dwelling-places and enormous halls,
Old well-told tales that have been lost for ages,
The gods that now no mortal could recall.
And little words of languages long-vanished,
Lithe words once lively on the lips of men,
And pretty in the prattle of small children,
No tongue will ever utter them again.
Oh, earth’s innumerable generations,
Their sacred dreams and fragile sanctity,
Is the heart silent that was once acquainted
With sadness and with gladness and with glee ?
Often at close of day, when I am lonely,
Ilong to know you all, bring all to mind;
Is there a heart or memory still to cherish
The old forgotten things of humankind?
One fleeting moment as the sun is setting,
One gentle moment as the night falls fast,
To bring to mind the things that are forgotten,
Now scattered in the dust of ages past.
Like white-foamed waves that break on lonely beaches,
Lke the wind’s song where no one hears the wind,
They beckon us, I know, but to no purpose –
The old forgotten things of humankind.
The artistry and skills of early peoples,
Small dwelling-places and enormous halls,
Old well-told tales that have been lost for ages,
The gods that now no mortal could recall.
And little words of languages long-vanished,
Lithe words once lively on the lips of men,
And pretty in the prattle of small children,
No tongue will ever utter them again.
Oh, earth’s innumerable generations,
Their sacred dreams and fragile sanctity,
Is the heart silent that was once acquainted
With sadness and with gladness and with glee ?
Often at close of day, when I am lonely,
I long to know you all, bring all to mind;
Is there a heart or memory still to cherish
The old forgotten things of humankind?
translated by Alan Llwyd
