Untitled - Literature Wales

The Welsh AcademyAnnual Report13The Whitchurch ProjectA creative writing partnership betweenAcademi and Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust, theWhitchurch Project marks the closure ofWhitchurch Hospital and the rearrangementand modernisation of its services. It providesa written and visual record of the long historyof the hospital and its patients, current andpast practices, and the community in whichthe hospital is based.The project contains elements of bothlocal record and literature as health care.Leaders are the writers Briony Goffin and PhilCarradice, who have extended their workto cover local mental health charities andout-patient facilities. The project will continueover the next two years, during which time itis expected that the main hospital will closeand its services be relocated.Wales Millennium CentreNow in its fifth year, the Wales MillenniumCentre has become an established partof the arts scene in Cardiff and Wales.Academi’s programme of literature eventsin the Centre has also made its mark on thecapital’s cultural calendar. Academi eventshave been held in all parts of the building,including the public Glanfa stage, thefunction rooms and the main Donald GordonTheatre itself.Following the success of the SgriptiauSydyn event at BayLit, a second eveningshowcasing new script-writing talent washeld upstairs in Bar One. Young actorsperformed work by Huw Foulkes, Llyr GwynLewis, Nia Haf Jones, Gwilym Dwyfor andLleucu Siôn.Working with publishers, the programme hasgiven new authors the chance to launch theirfirst title in an emblematic space: CinnamonPress authors Kate North, Holly Howitt andKevin Mills all presented their work first hereand performance poet Martin Daws launchedhis first collection and CD Skin Tight theSidewalk. Established authors have alsoperformed here - Mike Jenkins, Lloyd Robsonand Meic Stephens are among the roll call- and for many it has been their second orthird visit. Academi worked with Parthian onthe Cardiff leg of the launch tour for OtherLand, a collection of work by ten poets,each with an American background and anactive, creative engagement with Wales.Working with Picador, new publications fromSamantha Wynne-Rhydderch and TristanHughes were also premièred.During a visit to Wales, the Breton poet EveLerner read alongside Mererid Hopwoodand Hilary Llewellyn-Williams, two poets EveLerner had translated. Their work will appearin a forthcoming French anthology of Welshwomen poets.The work of veteran Academi Member TonyConran was celebrated at an event in theSony Room. His What Brings You Here SoLate? (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch), a singleautobiographical poem divided into fourmovements, tells the story of Tony Conran’semotional and intellectual life, from thecomplications of growing up with cerebralpalsy to his engagement with the world asan adult. This event was introduced by poetNigel Jenkins, who also gave readings fromthe text.Academi has continued to work with theCardiff-based Somali Integration Societyand the Arabic Cultural Society, by hostingevents at WMC to celebrate SomalilandIndependence Day. The Arabic CulturalSociety celebrated the work of the EgyptianNobel prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz,and hosted a performance by Choman Hardi.As already reported larger-scale events wereheld in WMC during the BayLit festivalin October 2008.Opportunities to work with other residentcompanies and Wales Millennium Centrehave continued. Academi was a memberof the planning group for the Stories in Musicproject, a partnership between WMC andGaleri in Caernarfon and produced by MusicTheatre Wales. Academi recommendedGwyneth Glyn to translate Stravinsky’sSoldier’s Tale into Welsh. The piece hassince been performed in WMC and Galerito critical acclaim.The facilities available within WMC alsopresent opportunities for Academi. WhenGwyn Thomas’s period as National Poet cameto an end, Academi invited him to the TŷCerdd studio to record a selection of his work.These readings now appear on his Writers ofWales profile on the Academi website.