The Writers of Wales Database

EVANS, JOHN

Tel: 01443 406743
Website: http://www.johnevans.org.uk/
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Born in Pontypridd, he was educated at Pontypridd Boys’ Grammar School, and Bournemouth and Poole College of Art. He started his career as the frontman for a punk rock band, The Tax Exiles, in 1976. He then followed a solo career as a singer and songwriter, and signed to the 4AD/Situation 2 record label. John is now a full-time writer, artist and publisher. Author and editor of a number of books and magazines, he is also an occasional columnist for newspapers in the South Wales Valleys. His life and work has been featured on TV, radio, and in numerous magazines and newspapers at home and abroad. He has also appeared in various online literary magazines and journals, including collaborations with Lydia Lunch.

Reviews:
With respect to The Acid Real (Underground Press, 2009)

"…Like Pere Ubu did for Cleveland in the Seventies, Joy Division for Manchester, and Nirvana for Seattle in the early Nineties, Evans has that rare gift of capturing a time, place and culture in his writings about his native South Wales Valleys…"
Kulture Vulture

"…For 22 years I’ve waited for the emergence of this man..."
Chris Torrance

"...Evans is being hailed as Wales' answer to Irvine Welsh. Some would say he's more talented..."
Y Faner Goch

"...John Evans is a hot and necessary particle in an evidently grim landscape..."
Iain Sinclair

"...Writer John Evans demolishes the daffodil imagery of the Valleys at a stroke...His writing appears frighteningly realistic…"
The Big Issue

"...Some observers believe he leads the way of New Wave urban writing in Wales, while others feel his gritty realism is too profane..."
Observer

"...John Evans is the voice of the disaffected, alienated youth of the south Wales valleys, the street voice of post-industrial Britain rattling to its death..."
Morning Star


Selected Publications:
Less (Underground Press, 1990)
The Red Kite in Wales (Christopher Davies, 1991)
Out (Underground Press, 1992)
How Real Is My Valley? (Underground Press, 1994)
Industria (Underground Press, 1995)
G.B.H. (Underground Press, 1996)
Giants (Underground Press, 2000)
The Acid Real (Underground Press, 2009)

Contributed to:
Black Harvest: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the South Wales Valleys (editor) (Underground Press, 1992)
Out of the Coalhouse: New Writing from the South Wales Valleys (editor) (Underground Press, 1994)
Mogg Williams: Selected Works (editor) (Underground Press, 1996)



The Acid Real (Underground Press, 2009)

A collection of prose, poetry and essays which covers such issues as the War on Terror, global warming, vivisection, the credit crunch, youth unemployment and the malaise in present day political and cultural Welsh life.

To purchase this title from gwales.com, click on its front cover. Priced £5.99, it is also available from all leading high street and online book retailers