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Thu, 2012-02-02 01:06 | 
Susie Wild
The second session of the Cardiff Literary Salon will run in association with Parthian Books and features good literary conversation and readings from acclaimed short story writer Nigel Jarrett and hostess Susie Wild.
New for 2012, is Eleanor Brooks' Miss-Interpreations of an Art Teacher. Miss presents a unique exhibition which brings together just over one hundred and fifty drawings created by her students at a secondary school in London, with reinterpretations by textile artist Sheelagh Stephens. Here, for the first time, the students' portraits of their teacher -- endearing, intriguing and frequently remarkable -- are given at last the opportunity to flourish and reveal 'their innocent truth'.
The drawings that make up the exhibition were created by girls, aged eleven to sixteen, between the years of 1979 and 1987, as the 'objective study' component of their end of year art test. Eleanor first hit on the idea of sitting for them during the test as a way of resisting their pleas for help, and describes how 'many of the children may never have drawn from a live human being before, never mind someone who was usually in a position of authority over them and was now sitting still for them to scrutinise'. The exercise produced some extraordinary results and Eleanor went on to repeat it.
In schools every year, thousands of children's dingy sugar-paper drawings are thrown away. Eleanor found herself unable to, and the drawings were collected into a cupboard, where they remained for twenty years. Eleanor says 'when eventually I started to show them to other people and I saw the effect that they had, I was encouraged to embark on the project of making an exhibition of them'.
Fri, 2012-01-27 00:40 | Susie Wild
Five new pieces of theatre make up Converging Paths. Taken together they form an adaptation of The Ground Remembers, Matthew David Scott's dark, suburban novel. A myth about love, jealousy, shame and the things we cannot throw away.
Thu, 2012-01-26 20:20 | Susie Wild
Hay International Fellow Jon Gower has set himself a New Year challenge to read all of the titles currently published by the Library of Wales. With a total of 33 books, from the best-selling novels such as Raymond Williams' Border Country to newly-discovered literary gems such as Margiad Evans' Turf or Stone, this series has something for everyone. Gower will begin his challenge, symbolically, on 1st of March 2012 - both World Book Day and St David's Day.
Fala’ Surion, the Welsh-language adaption of Rachel Trezise's award-winning short story collection Fresh Apples, tours from the end of February through March 2012. The book has been adapted for the stage by Catrin Dafydd and Manon Eames.
Fresh Apples was Rachel Trezise's first short fiction collection. Winner of the inaugral Dylan Thomas Prize in 2006, the collection contains wry and defiant statements on the power and the beautiful transience of youth.
'The confidence, coolness and maturity of tone in Fresh Apples is exceptional.' Andrew Davies
Visit the Fala' Surion official website
Read the Art Council of Wales interview with Rachel Trezise
The tour dates are as follows:
Limited edition packs including the full 33 titles of the Library of Wales Series are now available in the Parthian online bookshop.
The Library of Wales is a landmark series of books representing the best of Welsh writing in English, bringing classics of Welsh literature to the general reader.
‘One of the best things we’ve supported as a government’ Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan.
This is the chance to buy a complete set of the Library of Wales series - a total of 33 titles, from the best-selling novels such as Raymond Williams' Border Country to newly-discovered literary gems such as Margiad Evans' Turf or Stone, this series has something for everyone. For an even luckier few, the first limited edition packs sold will include a rare hardback edition signed copy of Goodbye, Twentieth Century by Dannie Abse. Only 200 copies of this book were printed.
Mon, 2012-01-02 17:35 | Susie Wild
Parthian would like to congratulate Dannie Abse on being awarded a CBE in recognition of his outstanding services to poetry and literature in this year's New Year Honours list.
Hear Dannie speak about receiving the award on the BBC Wales website.
We recently launched the poet and playwright's superb updated autobiography Goodbye Twentieth Century as part of our Library of Wales series. Buy it from us for £9.99.
Thu, 2012-01-26 18:40 | Susie Wild
The Western Mail ran a piece on our author Bill Rees on 14 January 2012. You can read it below:
Having quit work as a reporter, Bill Rees took to the road with the enthusiasm of a Kerouac wannabe. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Book Runner is an idiosyncratic account of what turned into a life of dealing in books
The Raymond Williams Collection: A Report represents the culmination of long endeavour to bring to view unpublished manuscripts, notebooks, letters, diaries and papers that the academic writer and novelist Raymond Williams left in part discarded, often neglected.
The Collection itself is held in the Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University, and has been catalogued courtesy of funding from the Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn Trust. The papers of the renowned cultural critic and writer Raymond Williams (1921-1988) range from the creative works of his childhood through his time at Cambridge and World War Two, to his later academic life. The Collection reveals the development of this leading intellectual figure.
The work of bringing the Collection to hand has been completed by numerous people, some of whom appear in this report. The Collection is now open to view in Swansea, and accessible by means of online catalogue. Now, with these more personal materials available, it becomes possible to better understand the life and how to build on the work of Raymond Williams.
Mon, 2012-01-16 13:51 | Susie Wild
A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.
Funderland - Nigel Jarrett