A member of the Farmers' Union of Wales has collected the work of nearly 150 Llandovery and district poets and rhymers in an attractive book to raise money for the Carmarthenshire National Urdd Eisteddfod, which will be held in Llandovery in 2023.
The book, Diferion Dyfri*, edited by Handel Jones, Rhandir-mwyn, also contains information about each poet - and a picture if available - as well as dozens of drawings and photographs by local artists and photographers.
Handel, author of A Family Affair, The Story of the Farmers' Union of Wales, has been preparing the book for three years. He said: “I thought it was important to include as wide a range as possible to reflect what was being written and read in the area over the centuries.
“The work of winners of the National Eisteddfod Chair or Crown will be seen alongside verses about local characters and events. Among the earliest pieces of work are fifteenth-century poems by Lewys Glyn Cothi, and the latest poets include Endaf Griffiths, born in 1994.
"The artists include the late Aneurin Jones, Peter Kettle, Beryl Morgan, Lon Owen and Marilyn Evans."
Naturally, a high proportion of the poetic work is owned by farmers and others closely associated with the land, for example John Rhys Evans, who farmed in the Pumsaint area until his retirement.
*Diferion Dyfri. Edited by Handel Jones. Published by Gwasg Llech Ddu. Price: £20 (+ £2.70 p&P). Copies available from Dai Dyer. Telephone number: 01550 720 956 / 07977 913 637. Email:
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