‘Abandon All Hope’: A Personal Journey Through the History of Welsh Literature

‘I awoke from a deep sleep I had taken under the shade of a tree in a field at the outskirts of a dark wood, without remembering how I had gotten there, or, indeed, where it was exactly, I had gotten.’

So begins a most unusual odyssey, in which a writer – who bears a striking similarity to our author, Gary Raymond – allows himself to be led through the many-layered realms of Welsh literature, not by Virgil but by the late author and critic, Professor Raymond Williams.

Taking in the history of Welsh writing from the legacy of the bardic tradition to contemporary experimental works, ‘Abandon All Hope’ introduces Welsh literature in a way it has never been presented before – as cutting edge, experimental, vibrant, exciting, intimate, and with a multitude of voices.

This voyage into a uniquely Welsh Inferno offers a revolutionary new way to examine and explain literary history, in a wide-ranging and, above all, highly entertaining manifesto for a new perception of Welsh literature both inside and outside of Wales. Abandon All Hope is the book that will put Welsh literature on the map and bring a rich history back to life.

About the author…
Gary Raymond is a novelist, playwright, critic, editor, and broadcaster. He is presenter of the Radio Wales Arts Show for BBC Radio Wales, was a co-founder of Wales Arts Review and its editor for ten years. He is the author of six books. His latest is ‘Abandon All Hope: A Personal Journey Through the History of Welsh Literature’ (Calon Books, 2024). His novels include For ‘Those Who Come After’ (Parthian, 2015), ‘The Golden Orphans’ (Parthian, 2018), and Angels of Cairo (Parthian, 2021). He is also writer of three BBC radio documentaries, and one play about the life of writer Dorothy Edwards.