Welsh (Plural)

2022 anthology about Wales

Welsh (Plural): Essays on the Future of Wales

Editor| Darren Chetty, Hanan Issa, Grug Muse, and Iestyn Tyne
Genre| Non-fiction

Publication date

| 2022

Welsh (Plural): Essays on the Future of Wales is a 2022 Welsh non-fiction book. Edited by Darren Chetty, Hanan Issa, Grug Muse, and Iestyn Tyne, the book gathers an anthology of essays about Welsh identity and its future.[1]

## Summary

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The book contains 19 essays from various Welsh writers, including Hanan Issa, Joe Dunthorne, Mike Parker, Niall Griffiths, Marvin Thompson, Morgan Owen, Iestyn Tyne and Cerys Hafana.[2][3] In an interview with the BBC, Issa stated that book originated in part from "frustrations of how narrow the perception of Welshness is"[4] while Chetty stated in an interview with The Bookseller that "the three Cs of castles, coal and choirs are all important to thinking about present-day Welshness, but they are far from the whole story."[5]

## Reception

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Jude Rogers of The Guardian wrote that the essays in the book "stress that Wales is no utopia" and that "reading these voices under the label of Welshness is an energising experience, nevertheless, reminding us of how far the country has come and, also, how far it has to go."[6] Emma Schofield of the Wales Arts Review wrote that the essays "are thoughtful and reflective, but made personal by the honesty of the stories told by the contributors" and that the book "does not dismiss the decades of discussion about Welsh identity which preceded it, but throws down a challenge to anyone still clinging to the idea that outdated notions of identity can still applied to contemporary Wales."[7] Jon Gower of Nation.Cymru described the anthology as "eminently readable and energetic" with "some exceedingly powerful pieces of writing."[8] Kirill Kobrin of Tribune said that the essays "bear witness about Welsh identity of their authors, about their involvement in this identity, about their attitude to it and—of course!—about how they struggle to construct it" and that "these evidences of the experience of belonging to the entity called Wales are priceless."[9]

## References

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1. ^ "In Conversation with the Editors of Welsh [Plural]". Wales Arts Review. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
2. ^ Griffiths, Niall (16 March 2022). "Welsh [Plural] | Darnau Cymraeg by Niall Griffiths". Wales Arts Review. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
3. ^ Raymond, Gary (28 January 2023). "Cerys Hafana in Conversation". Wales Arts Review. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
4. ^ Bryan, Nicola (6 March 2022). "Identity: What does it mean to be Welsh?". BBC News. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
5. ^ Sanderson, Caroline (2 May 2022). "Q&A: Darren Chetty, Grug Muse, Hanan Issa & Iestyn Tyne, editors of Welsh (Plural)". The Bookseller. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
6. ^ Rogers, Jude (7 March 2022). "Brittle With Relics by Richard King; Welsh (Plural): Essays on the Future of Wales – reviews". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
7. ^ Schofield, Emma (15 March 2022). "Welsh [Plural]: Essays on the Future of Wales". Wales Arts Review. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
8. ^ Gower, Jon (12 March 2022). "Review: Welsh (Plural) – Essays on the Future of Wales". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
9. ^ Kobrin, Kirill (14 July 2022). "A Bus Journey to a New Wales". Tribune. Retrieved 11 February 2023.