'Joseph Clancy has achieved a tour de force in this volume, conveying the mood, resonances and meanings of most of the poems very faithfully.' (Planet)
'Joseph Clancy has achieved a tour de force in this volume, conveying the mood, resonances and meanings of most of the poems very faithfully.' (Planet)
'Joseph Clancy . . . has translated, faithfully and evocatively, more of the poetry of Saunders Lewis, thus rendering it open to English scrutiny. It is altogether earthy, honest, forthright and memorable for students of English, as well as Welsh.' (Contemporary Review)
Saunders Lewis is unquestionably Wales's most important literary figure of the twentieth century. Although he is best known as a dramatist, what underlies his plays and his literary criticism is his understanding of the rhythm and sound of words, the understanding of a poet; and if his poetic output was small by comparison with his other writings, the quality of his best poems assures his place among the major Welsh-language poets of this century. Joseph P. Clancy's translations of these poems enable the English-language reader to enjoy the power and beauty of Saunders Lewis's work, and to experience the poems as moments in a multi-faceted life. Clancy adds an introduction where he treats the three strands of nature, society and religion as central to the range, development and final achievement of Saunders Lewis as a poet. The poems are followed by comprehensive notes. This volume therefore offers a unique insight into one aspect of the work of Saunders Lewis, modern Wales's foremost man-of-letters.