News Archive

Dic Jones
1934 - 2009

The National Poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke has written the following englyn in memory of Dic Jones who passed away on Tuesday 18 August 2009.

Dic yr Hendre

Bard of birdsong, singer of harvest – this
eloquent elegist
of farm, field and fold, silenced
like the blackbird in August.

Dic Jones was Wales' Archdderwydd (Archdruid), and was known as Dic yr Hendre. He was 75 years old and had been suffering from illness.

Richard Lewis Jones was born in Tre'r Ddôl, Ceredigion in 1934, but he became known as Dic yr Hendre after taking over the Blaenannerch farm near Aberteifi.

Dic Jones started writing poetry after he left school and started writing in cynghanedd (the Welsh strict metre form) having started with limericks. He learnt the craft of cynghanedd from Alun Jeremiah Jones (Alun Cilie). He became a master of the craft and as a young man he won the Chair at the Urdd Eisteddfod five times in the 1950s. The world of agriculture inspired his poem 'Y Cynhaeaf' (The Harvest), with which he won his only National Eisteddfod Chair in 1966 in Aberfan. The poem is considered to be one of the best of the poems to have ever won the competition.

He won the competition again ten years later at the Cardigan Eisteddfod for his poem 'Y Gwanwyn' (Spring). However, it was decided that Dic Jones was not eligible for the competition because he was a member of the Eisteddfod Committee. Alan Llwyd was chaired instead, whose poem also merited the prize. Both poems were published in the Cyfansoddiadau - the only time this has ever happened in the history of the National Eisteddfod.

The world of agriculture was his main inspiration, but Dic Jones also wrote on various other topics - both profound and humourous. He published several collections and contributed to periodicals such as Golwg, where his weekly englyn appeared for many years.

He was one of the most talented prifeirdd (Chaired or Crowned bards) of his generation and a keen and crowd-pleasing competitor in the Talwrn y Beirdd contests. He also introduced the series on Radio Cymru for a period.

The highlight of his literary career came when he was elected to follow Selwyn Iolen as Wales's Archdderwydd in 2007. As a farmer himself, Dic Jones said he'd like to see more Royal Welsh festival-goers attend the National Eisteddfod. The National Eisteddfod in Bala this year would have been the second year that Dic Jones served as Archdderwydd since taking up the post, but he could not attend due to ill health.

Dic Jones was a Fellow of the Academi.

His publications include:

Agor Grwn (Gwasg Ty John Penry, 1960)
Caneuon Cynhaeaf (Gwasg John Penry, 1969)
Storom Awst (gwasg Gomer, 1978)
Sgubo’r Storws (Gwasg Gomer, 1986)
Os Hoffech Wybod (Gwasg Gwynedd, 1989)
Golwg Arall (Gwasg Gomer, 2001)
Golwg ar Gân (Gwasg Gwynedd, 2002)
Cadw Golwg (Gwasg Gwynedd, 2005)