Flash Fiction Workshop with Manon Steffan Ros

10 women came to Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre on 8 May 2016 to participate in a flash fiction workshop led by Manon Steffan Ros, as part of the Gwanwyn Festival.. Some were nervous and others confident, but all were eager to learn more about creative writing. It was a beautiful day, with sunshine pouring in through the windows and the smell of coffee enough to awaken the muse in any aspiring writer. No day at Tŷ Newydd would be complete without a home-cooked meal from Tony, the chef, and a brief reading of everyone’s work before they departed.

A unique opportunity to offer a different workshop for older women, to enable them to write in a safe and relaxed environment for free: that’s what Gwanwyn is all about, a festival to nourish creativity in people over 50.

Thank you to all who took part, to Manon for her wise words of encouragement and to Gwanwyn for making it possible. Here’s an example of Welsh-language flash fiction from one of the course participants, Siân Eleri Roberts from Trefor.

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Atynfa Tŷ Newydd

Gwynder gwâr yn denu.

Ond mae ’na weoedd i’w hymlid, teulu i’w tendio, gardd i’w harddu, Kilimanjaro i’w smwddio, gŵr i’w fwydo, cypyrddau bwyd i’w llenwi, cypyrddau dillad i’w gwagio, plant i gadw nabod â nhw, perthnasau pell i golli pen rheswm gyda nhw, taclau i’w tacluso, bore coffi i’w borthi, llwch i’w sugno, bathrwms i’w sgleinio, sanau strae i’w corlannu. A beth bynnag, fedra i ddim sgwennu.

Ond y gwynder gwâr enillodd.

Siân Eleri Roberts

A book launch of a different kind at Tŷ Newydd

Back in February 2016 we had a different group of writers here at Tŷ Newydd as part of the Gwanwyn Festival. This was a project between Tŷ Newydd, Gwynedd Council and Disability Arts Cymru, funded by Gwanwyn, an annual event by Age Cymru with the support of Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Government. The aim was to enable older people to find their creative side and gain the skills and confidence needed to be able to project their creativity into their work.

Two groups were created to write stories and poems with the help and guidance of two tutors. The Welsh-language group were inspired by Sian Northey, an author, scriptwriter and literary critic. It wasn’t just Sian’s group who were finding their muse that day. Another group, writing in English, were tutored by Fiona Owen, a poet and musician from Anglesey.

The result of both workshops was a masterpiece of poems and stories alike, and what better way to celebrate their work than to launch a booklet of their creative works. The booklet will be launched at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre in Llanystumdwy on Saturday 11 June 2016.