Poetry puzzle celebrating the languages of Wales 

2022 marks the beginning of the UNESCO decade of indigenous languages; it’s also the year Ifor ap Glyn passed on the mantel of Bardd Cenedlaethol Cymru / National Poet of Wales. Trying to think how best to combine these elements together was a puzzle in itself, and then came the idea for Language Sudoku! 

One of the recurring themes of Ifor’s time in the role has been a desire to engage with other languages and cultures, within Wales and around the world. During the last six years he has collaborated creatively with poets from a variety of backgrounds, translating their work into Welsh whilst his work has been translated into their languages.  Building on these connections, Ifor ap Glyn’s final project as National Poet of Wales is Swdocw Iaith – Language Sudoku. Six Wales-based poets writing in different languages were commissioned to write poems. The project took place at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre, where the poets gathered to translate each others works, learn about their cultural context, and record short video poems. 

The fruit of the collaboration is a collection of six new video poems available in six languages – 36 new video poems in all. During the run-up to National Poetry Day, each of the poems will be released individually on the Literature Wales Twitter account with a choice of Welsh, Turkish, Urdu, German, Breton and English subtitles. 

The poets taking part in the project were: 

Aneirin Karadog – Breton 

Dani Schlick – German 

Hammad Rind – Urdu 

Shara Atashi – English 

Meltem Arikan – Turkish 

Ifor ap Glyn – Welsh 

The National Poet of Wales is an exciting and high-profile role which represents the nation – its diverse cultures and languages – and celebrates writing from Wales both at home and abroad. On Wednesday, 6 July 2022, it was announced that poet Hanan Issa is the next National Poet of Wales 2022-25, and over the summer both poets shared the role; Language Sudoku being Ifor’s final project as National Poet of Wales.