WILLIAMS, ELISEUS (Eifion Wyn; 1867 - 1926), poet
Pseudonym: Eifion Wyn
Date of birth: 1867
Date of death: 1926
Spouse: Ann Williams (née Jones)
Gender: Male
Occupation: poet
Area of activity: Eisteddfod; Poetry
Author: Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams
His parents came from the Eifionydd countryside, but he himself was born at Portmadoc 2 May 1867 and spent the last thirty years of his life as clerk and accountant in the office of the North Wales Slate Co. in that town. He had been a schoolmaster for a short time - at the Board School, Portmadoc, and at Pentrefoelas. About 1889 he began to preach in Independent chapels but refused all calls to the ministry. In 1907 he married Ann Jones of Efail Bach, Aber-erch. He wrote a great deal of poetry both in the classical and 'free' forms - awdlau, cywyddau, englynion, lyrics, hymns, and satires - and won a number of chairs in local and provincial eisteddfodau, as well as prizes at the national eisteddfod, at which he also acted as an adjudicator. His best known work in the classical form is an awdl, ' Y Bugail ' (the best entry in the opinion of one adjudicator, Tafolog, for the chair competition at the Liverpool national eisteddfod, 1900), and his host of englynion, many of which were successful at the national eisteddfod. As far as the 'free' forms were concerned, his reputation as a lyricist was established by his ' Maes a Môr ' lyrics. He published Ieuenctid y Dydd, 1894; Awdl y Bugail, 1900?; and Telynegion Maes a Mor, 1906; Caniadau'r Allt, 1927, and O Drum i Draeth, 1929, were posthumously published under the editorship of Harry Edwards of Portmadoc. Eifion Wyn was the author of the words in a children's hymn-book, Tlws y Plant, published at Llanwrtyd, 1906? In 1919 the University of Wales gave him the degree of M.A., honoris causa. His hobbies were fishing, politics (Liberal), and billiards. He died 13 October 1926 at Portmadoc, and was buried in Chwilog cemetery, Eifionydd.
Author
- Sir Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams, (1887)
- Yr Ymwelydd Misol, March 1912
- Y Genedl Gymreig, 18 October 1926
- Yr Herald Cymraeg, 19 and 26 October 1926
- Baner ac Amserau Cymru, 21 October 1926
- Yr Athro, June 1935
- D. Myrddin Lloyd, 'Eifion Wyn a Barddoniaeth Natur,'
Sources
- Wikipedia Article: Eliseus Williams
Further Reading
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
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