Famous Welsh Writers

Dylan Thomas was a Welsh writer and poet who published popular poems, such as Do not go gentle into that good night, which was popularized in the 2014 movie, Interstellar, where Michael Caine's character recites the poem throughout the film. Dylan Thomas achieved tremendous popularity during his lifetime and remains popular after his untimely death at the age of 39.

George Herbert was an orator, poet, and priest of the Church of England. Although he is regarded as one of the most important British devotional lyricists, Herbert's poetry is often associated with the works of popular metaphysical poets. He was also a collector of proverbs and his collection was published in 1640.

After losing his father at age 3, Georgian poet W. H. Davies was raised by his grandparents. He later spent moving from place to place in the US and Canada, taking up odd jobs, and even lost his right foot while trying to jump a freight train.

Welsh writer Arthur Machen was a master of science-fiction and horror. He soared to fame with his novella The Great God Pan, which later achieved cult status. However, in spite of his literary fame, he continued to live in poverty, working as a journalist, a clerk, and a teacher.

British author Sarah Waters soared to fame with her debut novel, Tipping the Velvet, and is known to include lesbian protagonists in her writings. Three of her books have been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Initially an academic, she also has a PhD in LGBT fiction. She is herself openly lesbian.

Acclaimed British screenwriter and novelist Andrew Davies is known for his adaptations of novels such as Bridget Jones’s Diary, House of Cards, and Pride and Prejudice. His original screenplays include A Poet In New York. Initially a grammar school teacher, he had later also been an English lecturer.

One of the most prominent modern Welsh poets, R. S. Thomas is remembered for his cold style of depicting the reality of his country. Born to a sailor, he grew up in port towns and grew up to become an Anglican priest. Many of his poems contain the character Iago Prytherch.

Actor, author, and raconteur Victor Spinetti initially gained fame with his appearances in films of The Beatles. He later appeared in many comic roles in films such as The Taming of The Shrew. He was also a Tony Award-winning Broadway performer. He eventually succumbed to pancreatic cancer.

Anglo-Welsh metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan was a major literary figure of the Commonwealth period and is best remembered for Silex Scintillans. While he initially studied law, the Civil War disrupted his studies and he was called back home to serve Sir Marmaduke Lloyd. He was also a practicing physician.

A close associate of Samuel Johnson, Hester Thrale was married to an affluent brewer named Henry Thrale but, following Henry’s death, got married to her daughter’s Italian music teacher. A renowned diarist, she released volumes of letters and anecdotes of Samuel Johnson after Johnson’s death.

One of the most influential poets in the history of Welsh literature, Dafydd ap Gwilym is remembered for his odes and rhymed couplets. His poems, such as Morfudd like the sun, mostly explore themes of nature and romantic love, and showcase a prominent influence of troubadours.

An Oxford alumnus, Dennis Howard Marks was an aspiring teacher before chose the world of drugs. He went from consuming cannabis to selling it, and was eventually jailed for 7 years. He used numerous pseudonyms, such as Mr. Nice and Marco Polo, and also penned a bestselling memoir.

Author Kate Roberts was perhaps the first woman to make a significant impact in Welsh literature. The poverty and harsh living standards of Welsh villages was the predominant theme of most of her writings. She was mostly known for her short story collections, such as Tea in the Heather.

Best remembered for her book The Descent of Woman, author Elaine Morgan was a 2-time BAFTA-winning TV write, who had penned many adaptations, and a scientific theorist. She propagated the aquatic ape theory of human evolution, suggesting that all other theories had been negligent of a woman’s role in evolution.

Best known for his 4-volume Epistolae Ho-Elianae, James Howell had been a British historiographer royal, a post specifically made for him during the Restoration era. His works, however, are mostly plagiarized and historically inaccurate. He was also imprisoned for a few years, probably due to debts or his political criticism.

Apart from establishing himself as one of the most prominent Welsh poets of his time, Dannie Abse also worked full-time as a physician. The Cholmondeley Award-winning poet, known for volumes such as Pythagoras, White Coat, Purple Coat, and Running Late, was also a memoirist and an editor.

Though Welsh author Howard Spring had quit studies at age 11, he was able to start his career as a journalist due to his evening classes, while working as an office boy. He later soared to fame with his bestselling novel O Absalom!, later released as My Son, My Son.

Welsh author and filmmaker John Evans had begun his career with the punk band The Tax Exiles. He later became a leading figure of the Welsh New Wave literary movement. Apart from novels such as Giants, he has also penned non-fiction. He also launched the environmental organizations Save The Badger and Raptor Watch.

The national novelist of Wales, Daniel Owen was born to a coal miner who died when his mine was flooded. Growing up amid poverty, he was initially trained as a tailor but later focused on literature. He is remembered for his novels such as Y Dreflan and his numerous poems and short stories.

Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant is remembered for his extensive research on zoology, especially ornithology. Known for his books such as British Zoology and History of Quadrupeds, he traveled to Scotland and remote parts of Britain, writing about his expeditions in his travelogues and treatises.

Born to school teacher parents, Welsh poet Alun Lewis had shown his interest in poetry since childhood. After failing in his journalism career, he began teaching. During World War II, he joined the army and later began penning his war experiences as poems and short stories. He later accidentally shot himself to death.

James Beattie was a Scottish philosopher, moralist, educator, and poet. His philosophical writings and poetry, which opposed slavery, are widely viewed as the primary source of Immanuel Kant's knowledge of David Hume. James Beattie, who was among the members that established the Royal Society of Edinburgh, is one of the 16 personalities depicted on the famous Scott Monument.

Welsh poet Vernon Watkins was a close associate of poet Dylan Thomas and is remembered for his published volume of letters that Thomas had written to him. A Cambridge alumnus, he later worked as clerk in a bank and simultaneously wrote poems. His themes mostly revolve around Welsh legends.

Welsh warrior prince Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd was also a talented poet who introduced the Welsh to courtly love songs. The son of Owain the Great, the king of North Wales, Hywel was instrumental in the occupation of Ceredigion. His poems were later released in The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales.

Welsh poet and painter John Dyer is best remembered for his iconic poem Grongar Hill, which is held by many as a precursor of the Romantic movement in English literarure. He was a master of the Miltonic blank-verse. He had also been a priest in Catthorpe for 9 years.

Welsh poet John Ceiriog Hughes initially worked odd jobs, as a grocer’s assistant, a clerk, and a railway station master. After winning several poetry prizes, he published his first volume, Evening Hours. Often compared to Robert Burns due to his impact on poetry, he explored Welsh folk tunes extensively.

Welsh poet Ann Griffiths is remembered for her scriptural and spiritual themes in her works. It’s believed she would often recite her poems to her maid. Following her death after childbirth at age 29, her maid and the maid’s husband, who was a Calvinistic Methodist minister, published her poems.

Owain Cyfeiliog, a warrior prince from the Welsh kingdom of Powys, was also a talented poet. Only one poem penned by him, Hirlas Owain, remains preserved to this day, but it is considered one of the finest in Welsh literature. He spent most of his life supporting the king of England.

Welsh academic John Morris-Jones was closely associated with the faculty of what is now known as Bangor University. Initially a student of math, he switched his focus to Welsh language and literature later. His efforts at infusing classical standards into Welsh poetry got him knighted later.

Though not much is known about Welsh poet Siôn Cent, it’s believed he disliked the flattery of nobles that was prominent in the verses of the bards of his time. He infused a freshness in the treatment of spiritual themes in Welsh poetry. A poem in praise of Brecknockshire remains his best-known work.

Eighteenth-century Welsh poet Goronwy Owen is remembered for his mastery of the bardic tradition, including the meters cywydd and the awdl, thus contributing to the Welsh literary renaissance. A clergyman by profession, he also taught at various schools throughout his life. He also owned a tobacco and cotton farm.

Twelfth-century Welsh poet Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr was chiefly known as a court poet for Madog ap Maredudd of Powys. He later also worked for Owain Gwynedd and Owain Cyfeiliog. Apart from the usual archaic form of traditional bards, he also infused spirituality and religion in his works.

Better known by his pseudonym, Islwyn, Welsh poet William Thomas was also a clergyman. Two of his most-loved poems are both titled The Storm, penned as tributes to his fiancée who had died abruptly. He was the only known author who used the long Welsh poem format in the 19th century.

Remembered for his 2-part The Book of the Three Birds, which later became a Welsh classic, author Morgan Llwyd was born into a gentry family. He had also been a chaplain in the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. He is also known as Wrexham’s first Nonconformist minister.

Welsh bard Lewys Glyn Cothi mostly infused a sense of national pride and patriotism among the Welsh people, with his works. He was apparently thrown out of his native town of Carmarthenshire for marrying a widow without the permission of the burgesses. He is remembered for his use of the cywydd metric.

Remembered as the last MP from the University of Wales seat, William John Gruffydd had also been a professor of Celtic all his life. He was also a renowned poet, known for his volumes such as Telynegion. His initial works showcased a revolt against Victorian standards in literature.

Anglican bishop William Morgan went down in history as the first to translate the Bible into Welsh. The bishop of Llandaff and St. Asaph, Morgan virtually added to the work already done by Welsh author William Salesbury, who had translated the New Testament and The Book of Common Prayer.

Welsh poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr was the son of a poet and later served as a court poet, praising Owain Gwynedd in most of his works. Gorhoffedd Gwalchmai remains one of his best-known poems and one of the greatest Welsh poems from the medieval era.

Known as the nightingale of Ceiriog, Huw Morus was one of the greatest 17th-century Welsh poets. Distinguished by his signature internal rhyme and complicated structure, his works also showcased a strong influence of Cavalier poets. He spent most of life in the Llansilin parish, where he was eventually buried.

Best remembered for his classic Visions of the Sleeping Bard, based on a translation of Francisco de Quevedo's Sueños, Welsh poet Ellis Wynne is remembered for his use of colloquial language. An Oxford alumnus, he initially studied law but later gave it up to become a rector.

Better known by his pseudonym, Alun, Welsh bard John Blackwell is regarded as the pioneer of Welsh secular lyric. Initially a shoemaker, he later won many prizes in competitive art festivals. He also served as a rector and edited the Welsh illustrated magazine Y Cylchgrawn.