Gruffudd wins Eisteddfod Chair

A student from 逗逼直播 is to be congratulated on winning the Chair at this year鈥檚 Urdd Eisteddfod in Meirionnydd.

Gruffudd Antur comes from Llanuwchllyn, near Bala, where the Eisteddfod was held. He is 22 year old student at the University鈥檚 School of Welsh, where he has just compeled an MA in Welsh language & Literature and is to begin a Doctorate course in September.

Gruffudd won the Chair competing under the pseudonym 鈥楪wenno鈥�. He entered a poem on the subject 鈥楶elydrau鈥� (Rays).

Gruffudd told the BBC that winning the Chair so near to his home was an honour and a half.

It鈥檚 not an honour that Gruffudd is unfamiliar with; he also won the Urdd Eisteddfod Chair in 2012.

Mari George and Eurig Salisbury were this year鈥檚 judges. In their adjudication, they said: 鈥淭here were 14 candidates this year, and all the contestants showed promise. We both enjoyed reading all the poems, and it was great to see that all of these young people enjoy playing with words.鈥�

鈥淔rom the first reading, we were thrilled with Gwenno鈥檚 work. It is a love song and unlike every other competitor, the standard of Gwenno鈥檚 ode was consistently high from start to finish. The mature charm of the cynghanedd ensures some of these lyrical lines will remain in our minds:

Yr hen ddyheu yn troi鈥檔 ddall

yn dawel; minnau鈥檔 deall

fod heulwen loywa鈥檙 ennyd

yn gorfod darfod o hyd,

a rhaid i鈥檙 ha鈥� ei droi鈥檌 hun

o hyd yn hydref wedyn.鈥�

鈥淔ull credit goes to Gwenno and we are honoured to chair this deserving bard,鈥� they said.

Gruffudd has been competing and involved with the Urdd all his life. He says that he is indebted and grateful to his family, friends, teachers, lecturers and everyone he knows for nurturing his interests in poetry and the 鈥榩ethe鈥� and for making it all great fun along the way - "they know who they all, I hope!鈥� said Gruffudd.

Professor Peredur Lynch, Head of the, at 逗逼直播:

鈥楪ruffudd Antur is one of Wales鈥� most promising young poets, and his success at the Urdd Eisteddfod is further proof of his talents as a poet. It will be an honour to have him as a PhD student at Bangor for the next three years.鈥�

Publication date: 3 June 2014