Rebels

RS Thomas (1913-2000) is one of Wales' most admired literary figures who published more than 20 volumes of poetry in the English language, echoing the structures and lyricism of Welsh poetry. Thomas was full of paradoxes: he learnt Welsh as an adult, but wrote in English and sent his son to an English boarding school. He was austere, solemn and often unsociable; however, as an Anglican priest he was required to console and offer sympathy to his parishioners. He controversially spoke in favour of both the IRA and of the cottage-burning campaign of Meibion Glyndŵr, yet was also a crusading pacifist and conservationist. Thomas’ career took him gradually west, until his final post at St. Hywyn's where he reputedly burnt his cassock on the beach after a lifetime of service. The Man Who Went Into the West: The Life of RS Thomas by Byron Rogers is an excellent biography of this man of contradictions. The RS Thomas & ME Eldridge Society run an annual Poetry and Art Festival in Aberdaron.