2022: A Literary Farewell

Hilary Mantel - what a loss this year and Dr Alan Kent, a dear friend in his 50s. Cornish scholar, dramatist, novelist and poet, we were students in Cardiff together and ran a theatre show out of the back of his van. A hole wrought in the literary life of Cornwall to be sure. Sobering too. The old farmers' saying, 'There're taking them out of our pen now' resonating uncomfortably.

At last things are live again, with film and literature already reflecting back on the pandemic eg. Glass Onion with Daniel Craig and Louise Erdrich's The Sentence. After having been postponed twice, The National Eisteddfod of Wales came to Ceredigion and I was there all day, every day. What a treasure trove of all types of Art! There I met up with friends from all over Wales and our American friends from NAFOW we'd met on tour in Rochester and Milwaukee. The pleasure of seeing live faces we'd been looking at only on screen for years was exquisite - I still can't get over the simple pleasure of actually sitting around a table with people again!

More opportunities opened up. I was able to perform live again to audiences and it was as though readers were discovering my latest novel Nanteos: The Dipping Pool for the first time. I was invited to join the joint Cymru/Ireland project Celtic Routes celticroutes.info and started working with Rhiannon Evans from Tregaron who'd long been a hero of mine. We're planning a series of events at the Rhiannon Welsh Gold Centre for the 2023 season and, on hearing that I'd had to cancel a weekend of celebrations at Plas Nanteos to launch my book in 2020, she offered the centre. Thus, on a filthy night in November, she and her team hosted the 'baptism' of The Dipping Pool, complete with homemade buffet, bar and private shopping amongst her Celtic collection, art gallery and museum. I hadn't realised how much not being able to go through the 'rite of passage' activities back in 2020 had been shackling me but, looking up at the faces on the balcony and out across the atrium of Rhiannon's lovely building, there was at last a sense of peace and I'm now writing again. Hooray!

I do hope that 2022 was a year more of happiness than sadness for you and your family and to be in touch soon.

Kind regards,

Please use the link below to access the launch/baptism online

Jane @ Rhiannon Welsh Gold... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pC2bYvz3AA