Video of the Week: Hanan Issa and Casi Wyn Read 'Dywed, beth oedd ei chyfrinach?'
Hanan Issa and Casi Wyn read their poem 'Dywed, beth oedd ei chyfrinach?' to mark the birthday of Cranogwen.
This is Video of the Week from Wales Arts Review. We’ll be showcasing some of the best art in Wales with a new video shared every week. From music to drama and everything in between, videos will not be limited by medium. Today’s video features the National Poet of Wales and Bardd Plant Cymru reading their poem ‘Dywed, beth oedd ei chyfrinach?’.
Our first Video of the Week for 2024 comes in the form of a partnership between S4C, Rondo and Literature Wales.
‘Dywed, beth oedd ei chyfrinach?’ is a commissioned poem by Hanan Issa, National Poet for Wales, and Casi Wyn, Bardd Plant Cymru 2021 – 2023. The poem was first performed as part of a bilingual collaboration on 10 June 2023 when the new statue of Cranogwen was unveiled in Llangrannog and was published simultaneously at Wales Arts Review. Now, the new video of the reading has been released to mark Cranogwen’s birthday (Sarah Jane Rees, 1839 – 1916).
The poem was commissioned by Literature Wales to celebrate three things, namely the new statue, Cranogwen’s contribution with her creative activity and raising her voice for women’s rights in Wales and the commendable work of the Cranogwen Community Sculpture organization volunteers realizing the ambition of erecting a monument to the poet from Llangrannog. The reading is set to the music of ‘Achieving the Dream’ by John Ashton Thomas.
Commissioned by the Monumental Welsh Women group, the statue is a creative and ambitious celebration that echoes elements of Cranogwen’s many innovative achievements. Cranogwen was the first woman to win a poetry prize at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The statue by the sculptor Sebastien Boyesen can be seen in the centre of Llangrannog, in the newly renovated community garden, not far from where Sarah Jane Rees was buried in the church cemetery.