Glyn Jones
Glyn Jones was a notable Welsh author and educator, born in 1905 in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. He grew up in a Welsh-speaking family but received an English education, which informed much of his literary career. After teaching in Cardiff, where he was deeply affected by the challenging conditions of his students, Jones faced professional setbacks due to his conscientious objection during World War II. He resumed teaching in 1952 and continued until retirement while pursuing his writing.
Jones's literary contributions began with poetry and short stories, notably his 1937 collection, "The Blue Bed," which reflects his experiences in Cardiff's slums. He expanded into novels in the 1940s, with works like "The Valley, The City, The Village" and "The Learning Lark," which explore themes of art, education, and personal struggle. He also addressed the challenges of being a Welsh writer in English in his essay collection "The Dragon Has Two Tongues." Throughout his career, Jones was a significant figure in Anglo-Welsh literature, advocating for the recognition of Welsh writing in English and supporting emerging Welsh writers. His influence and contributions to literature were recognized with various honors, including a doctorate in literature from the University of Wales.
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Glyn Jones
- Born: February 28, 1905
- Birthplace: Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
- Died: April 10, 1995
- Place of death: Cardiff, Wales
Biography
Glyn Jones was born in 1905 in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, into a Welsh-speaking family, although he received an English education. After attending St. Paul’s College in Cheltenham, he began teaching in the slums in Cardiff, Wales, where the blighted living conditions of his students had a powerful effect upon him. He lost his teaching position when he registered as a conscientious objector in World War II, but he resumed his career in 1952 and taught at Glantaf County School in Cardiff until his retirement.
Greatly influenced by writers D. H. Lawrence and Gerard Manley Hopkins, Jones began his literary career by publishing poems in The Dublin Magazine in 1933 and publishing a well-reviewed collection of short stories, The Blue Bed (1937), which drew from his experiences in the Cardiff slums. In the 1940’s, Jones began writing novels. The Valley, The City, The Village, a novel published in 1956, is about a young artist and employs a variety of narrative and rhetorical techniques. In The Learning Lark (1960), he again drew upon his teaching experience to write about corruption in the teaching profession, and The Island of Apples (1965), set in a fictionalized version of his childhood home of Merthyr, deals with adolescent anguish and the pain of loss.
InThe Dragon Has Two Tongues: Essays on Anglo-Welsh Writers and Writing (1968), Jones discusses the problems inherent in growing up Welsh and writing in English, an issue he grappled with his entire career. Although he became fluent in Welsh, he never felt able to write creatively in the language. His book is the first serious study of Welsh writing in English, and discussed such writers as Dylan Thomas, Jack Jones, and Gwyn Thomas. He also coauthored, with John Rowlands, Profiles (1980), a series of essays on important Welsh writers.
Jones was the first chairman and later president of the English language section of the Welsh Academy and was awarded a doctorate in literature by the University of Wales in 1974. He was one of the major figures in Anglo-Welsh literature for sixty years and a powerful proponent of the importance of Welsh writing in English. A friend of Dylan Thomas, he was also a source of inspiration for young Welsh writers.