Waldo Williams


Waldo Goronwy Williams was one of the leading Welsh-language poets of the 20th century. He was also a notable Christian pacifist, anti-war campaigner, and Welsh nationalist. He is often referred to by his first name only.

Life

Waldo Goronwy Williams was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, the third child of John Edwal Williams, headmaster of Prendergast primary school in Haverfordwest, and his wife Angharad Williams. His father spoke both Welsh and English, but his mother only spoke English, as did Waldo himself in his early years.
In 1911 Waldo's father was appointed head of the primary school at Mynachlog-ddu, Pembrokeshire. There Waldo learnt to speak Welsh. In 1915 his father moved again, to be head of Brynconin School, the primary school at Llandissilio, Pembrokeshire. Waldo was raised as a Baptist and baptised as a member of Blaenconin Baptist Chapel in 1921 at the age of 16.
After attending the grammar school at Narberth, Pembrokeshire, Williams studied at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he graduated in English in 1926. He then trained as a teacher and worked in various schools in Pembrokeshire and the rest of Wales and England, including Kimbolton School, Huntingdonshire. He also taught night classes for the Department of Extra-Mural Studies at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Williams was a friend and supporter of Willie Jenkins, one of the pioneers of the Independent Labour Party and the Labour Party in Pembrokeshire. Jenkins was a pacifist, who had been imprisoned as a conscientious objector in the First World War. He stood as Labour candidate for Pembrokeshire in four elections between 1922 and 1935. Williams's famous poem "Cofio" was written in 1931 during a visit to Willie Jenkins's farm at Hoplas, Rhoscrowther, near Pembroke.
Williams married Linda Llewellyn in 1941. Her death in 1943 caused him anguish and distress. He never remarried. Later he would describe his two-year marriage as "fy mlynyddoedd mawr" – "my great years".
A pacifist, he was a conscientious objector in the Second World War, which led to his dismissal from a headmastership. During the Korean War he refused to pay his income tax on pacifist grounds as a protest against the war and forced military conscription – a protest he continued until compulsory military service ended in 1963 and all the conscripted had been released. His goods were sequestrated by bailiffs and he was twice imprisoned in the early 1960s for refusing to pay his income tax.
Meanwhile in the 1950s he joined the Quakers at Milford Haven.
Williams's volume of poetry Dail Pren was published in 1956 by Gwasg Gomer. It has been described as the most outstanding work of Welsh language poetry published since 1945.
By the 1950s, partly influenced by his friend D. J. Williams, he had become a supporter of Plaid Cymru and stood for it as a parliamentary candidate in the Pembrokeshire constituency at the 1959 General Election, winning 4.32 per cent of the votes.
In the late 1960s, Williams taught Welsh to children of 10–11 at the Holy Name Catholic School, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. He is said to have been a mesmerising teacher, passionate and enthusiastic, who used wooden silhouettes of farm animals with their names painted in Welsh on one side.

Death and legacy

Williams died in 1971 at St Thomas's Hospital, Haverfordwest, and was buried at Blaenconin Chapel burial ground in Llandissilio. There is a memorial at Rhos-fach, near to his childhood home in Mynachlog-ddu.
In 2019, Waldo Williams Primary School in Haverfordwest was named in his honour.

Poetry

Waldo Williams's poetry shows many influences, ranging from William Wordsworth and Walt Whitman to Welsh hymns and the strict alliterative metres of traditional Welsh poetry, known as cynghanedd.
Waldo Williams belonged, first of all, to the Welsh tradition of the bardd gwlad or folk poets who served a locality by celebrating its life and people in verse. But he was also inspired by a mystic revelation he had experienced in his youth about the unity of humankind. This was realised in the cooperative, harmonious living he witnessed in the farming communities in the Preseli Hills and reflected in feelings of belonging, knowing and desiring that people live together in peace – constant themes in his poetry. This moment of revelation inspired some of his greatest poetry, including "Mewn dau gae", perhaps his greatest of all. Other well-known poems of his include "Cofio", "Y tangnefeddwyr", "Preseli", and "Pa beth yw dyn?".

Important events in life

A significant collection of Williams's poetry has been translated into English by Tony Conran. Work of his has also been translated by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams and by.

English-language sources