Meic Stephens
Born(1938-07-23)23 July 1938
Treforest, Glamorgan, Wales
Died2 July 2018(2018-07-02) (aged 79)
Cardiff, Wales
Occupation(s)Literary editor, journalist, author, teacher, university professor
Notable workThe Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales (1986)

Meic Stephens, FLSW (23 July 1938 – 2 July 2018)[1][2] was a Welsh literary editor, journalist, translator, and poet.[3]

Birth and education

Meic Stephens was born on 23 July 1938 in the village of Treforest, near Pontypridd, Glamorgan. He was educated at Pontypridd Boys' Grammar School[1] and then studied at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, graduating in 1961, at the University of Rennes, Brittany, and the University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd.[4][5]

Career

From 1962 to 1966 he taught French at Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire. In Merthyr Tydfil he established the Triskel Press and in 1965 he began the periodical, Poetry Wales. He learnt Welsh as an adult, and became a member of the Welsh Language Society (Welsh: Cymdeithas yr Iaith Cymraeg) and of Plaid Cymru.[4][5]

After working for the Western Mail for almost a year, from 1967 to 1990 Stephens was literature director of the Welsh Arts Council. Before retiring he was professor of Welsh Writing in English at the University of Glamorgan. He was also a visiting professor in the English department of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.[4][5]

Stephens is credited as the first person to create the Cofiwch Dryweryn graffiti near Llanrhystyd, Ceredigion.[6][5] This painted slogan has come to be regarded as an unofficial "national landmark" commemorating Capel Celyn, a Welsh-speaking village near Bala, which was destroyed by the construction of the Llyn Celyn reservoir in the early 1960s.[7]

Writings

Stephens wrote many articles about literature in Wales for the Western Mail, as well as obituaries of eminent Welsh people for The Independent.[5] He took a particular interest in the life and work of Rhys Davies, the novelist and short story writer, and founded and served as secretary of the Rhys Davies Trust, which promoted the writing of short fiction in Wales.[8][9]

Stephens's works include:

Honours

In 2016, Stephens was elected as a fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.[11]

Stephens was honoured as a Fellow of Aberystwyth University in 2018.[5]

Death

Stephens died in Cardiff on 2 July 2018.[1][12] He had four children; his son Huw Stephens is a radio and television presenter.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Adams, Sam (5 July 2018). "Meic Stephens obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Prolific Welsh journalist and scholar Meic Stephens dies". BBC Wales. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  3. ^ Shipton, Martin (4 July 2018). "Tributes to the great Welsh writer Meic Stephens, who has died aged 79". WalesOnline. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Stephens, Meic, ed. (1986). Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 562. ISBN 0-19-211586-3.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "The author Meic Stephens honoured as Fellow". University of Aberystwyth. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  6. ^ Morgon, Siôn (24 February 2014). "Vandals deface famous Cofiwch Dryweryn memorial". Wales Online. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  7. ^ "'National landmark' Cofiwch Dryweryn is defaced". BBC News Online. 29 April 2010.
  8. ^ Phil Morris (4 July 2018). "Remembering Meic Stephens". Wales Arts Review.
  9. ^ "About the Trust". 'the' Rhys Davies Trust. 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Treforest man's new book". WalesOnline. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  11. ^ Wales, The Learned Society of. "Meic Stephens". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  12. ^ GRO Death Index. Stephens, Meic. DOR  Q3/2018 in Cardiff  (890-1D).  Entry Number: 517558573.

External links

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