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Emyr HumphreysEmyr HumphreysBack | Genres | Bibliography | Prizes and awards | Author statement | Contact details | Related links | Printer-friendly version
BiographyEmyr Humphreys was born in Prestatyn, Wales, in 1919 and now lives on Anglesey. He is a writer of novels, poetry, short stories, and non-fiction, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
He studied History at the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth, registering as a conscientious objector in 1939, during the war first working on Welsh farms, then as a relief worker in the Middle East and Italy. After a period of teaching, he became a BBC Drama Producer for ten years, before moving to Bangor University as a lecturer in drama. In 1972, he became a full-time writer.
His first novel was Little Kingdom (1946), and this was followed by many others, including the Somerset Award-winning Hear and Forgive (1952) and A Toy Epic (1958), published in Welsh and English, and winner of the 1958 Hawthornden Prize. His cultural history of Wales, The Taliesin Tradition (1983), explores how literature in Wales has reshaped Welsh identity and considers the effect of a literary tradition that begins with the sixth-century poet Taliesin. He has also written and directed films for television in Welsh and English.
In 2004 Emyr Humphreys won the first Siān Phillips Award, for his contribution to radio and television in Wales. His latest collection of stories is Old People are a Problem (2003). The late R.S. Thomas named him as 'the supreme interpreter of Welsh life'.
His latest book is The Woman in the Window (2009).
Genres (in alphabetical order)Drama, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Screenplay
BibliographyThe Little Kingdom Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1946 The Voice of a Stranger Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1949 A Change of Heart: a comedy Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1951 Hear and Forgive Gollancz, 1952 A Man's Estate Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1955 The Italian Wife Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1957 A Toy Epic Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1958 Y tri llais: nofel Llyfraur' Dryw, 1958 The Gift Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1963 Outside the House of Baal Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1965 Natives Secker and Warburg, 1968 Ancestor Worship: a cycle of eighteen poems Gwas Gee, 1970 Dinas: drama gyfoes (with W. S. Jones) Llyfrau'r Dryw, 1970 National Winner Macdonald & Co, 1971 Flesh and Blood Hodder & Stoughton, 1974 The Best of Friends Hodder & Stoughton, 1978 Bwrdd Datblygu Teledu Cymraeg Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, 1979 Landscapes: a sequence of songs (illustrated by Keith Holmes) Chimaera Press, 1979 Penguin Modern Poets (with John Ormond and John Tripp) Penguin, 1979 Theatr Saunders Lewis Cymdeithas Theatr Cymru, 1979 The Anchor Tree Hodder & Stoughton, 1980 Etifedd y Glyn (translation of 'A Man's Estate') Gwasg Gomer, 1981 Miscellany two Poetry Wales Press, 1981 The Taliesin Tradition: a quest for the Welsh identity Black Raven Press, 1983 Jones: a novel Dent, 1984 Salt of the Earth Dent, 1985 An Absolute Hero Dent, 1986 Darn o dir (translation of 'The Little Kingdom') Gwas g Dwyfor, 1986 Open Secrets Dent, 1988 The Triple Net: a portrait of the writer Kate Roberts, 1891-1985 Channel 4 Television, 1988 Bonds of Attachment Macdonald, 1991 Unconditional Surrender Seren, 1996 The Gift of a Daughter Seren, 1998 Collected Poems University of Wales Press, 1999 Dal pen rheswm (with R. Arwel Jones) Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, 1999 Ghosts and Strangers Seren, 2001 Conversations and Reflections (edited by M. Wynn Thomas) University of Wales Press, 2002 Old People are a Problem Seren, 2003 The Rigours of Inspection: poems and stories Carreg Gwalch Cyf, 2005 The Shop Seren, 2005 The Woman in the Window Seren, 2009
Prizes and awards1953 Somerset Maugham Award Hear and Forgive 1958 Hawthornden Prize A Toy Epic 1979 Society of Authors Travel Award 1992 Arts Council of Wales Book of the Year Award Bonds of Attachment 1998 Arts Council of Wales Book of the Year Award The Gift of a Daughter 2003 Cymrodorion Medal 2004 Siān Phillips Award 2004 Welsh Books Council Book of the Year (shortlist) Old People are a Problem
Author statementI write to keep the wolves of time at bay; to entertain, inform, and, who knows, even educate in the best public broadcasting tradition; to say something that hasn't been said before; to explore the mystery of what man has made of man; to please myself.
Contact information
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