Charlotte Williams, Eric Ngalle Charles and Gabriel Gbadamosi discuss empathy and the new-cross cultural voices in Wales

‘Empathy’  is a term often used in Wales as a way to handle both nationalism and multiculturalism. An increased ability to empathise is part of Literature Wales’ strategy for social action and global responsibility, and is perfectly expressed in the famous contemporary DEC Appeal poem by Welsh national poet, Ifor ap Glyn. 

What is empathy? What makes it resonate more in Wales than elsewhere? How are cross-cultural voices integrated within Wales’ literary and cultural landscape? And how is Wales integrated in a global conversation?

Through their work and personal histories, poet, playwright, novelist and WritersMosaic founding editor, Gabriel Gbadamosi will explore the meanings of empathy with Charlotte Williams OBE, an academic and writer of Welsh and Guyanese heritage, and with Eric Ngalle Charles, a Cameroon-born writer, poet and playwright based in Wales. Charlotte Williams is known for her ground-breaking text, A Tolerant Nation? which explores ethnic diversity in Wales, as well as for her award-winning memoir of growing up mixed race in Wales, Sugar and Slate which won the 2003 Wales Book of the Year.  Since 2020, she has been leading educational work on the teaching of Wales’ ‘rich history built on difference and diversity’. Eric Ngalle Charles’ journey as a refugee took him from Cameroon to Russia, and finally to Wales where he now lives and works. He currently sits on the Management Board of Literature Wales and is contributing editor of the Wales Cameroon anthology, Hiraeth-Erzolirzoli. His plays have been performed at London’s Southbank Centre, the Hay Festival, Llandeilo Festival and elsewhere.

This unique event is brought to you by WritersMosaic an online platform funded by The Royal Literary Fund for new writing from a mosaic of literary voices and cultures across the UK. It is run in partnership with Chapter and Literature Wales. 

Discover more here.