Emyr Humphreys
- Prestatyn, Wales
- Sheil Land Associates Ltd
Biography
Emyr Humphreys was born in Prestatyn, Wales, in 1919 and now lives on Anglesey.
He is a writer of novels, poetry, short stories, and non-fiction, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
He studied History at the University College of Wales at Aberystwyth, registering as a conscientious objector in 1939, during the war first working on Welsh farms, then as a relief worker in the Middle East and Italy. After a period of teaching, he became a BBC Drama Producer for ten years, before moving to Bangor University as a lecturer in drama. In 1972, he became a full-time writer.
His first novel was Little Kingdom (1946), and this was followed by many others, including the Somerset Award-winning Hear and Forgive (1952) and A Toy Epic (1958), published in Welsh and English, and winner of the 1958 Hawthornden Prize. His cultural history of Wales, The Taliesin Tradition (1983), explores how literature in Wales has reshaped Welsh identity and considers the effect of a literary tradition that begins with the sixth-century poet Taliesin. He has also written and directed films for television in Welsh and English.
In 2004 Emyr Humphreys won the first Siân Phillips Award, for his contribution to radio and television in Wales. His latest collection of stories is Old People are a Problem (2003), his latest novel is The Shop (2005), and his latest collection of poetry is The Woman At the Window (2009). The late R.S. Thomas named him as 'the supreme interpreter of Welsh life'.
