Tony Conran Poet/ Bardd • Translator/ Cyfieithydd
Tony (Anthony, Edward, Marcell) Conran, poet, translator, critic and teacher was one of Wales’ leading writers during a career which spanned more than 50 years. He was born in Bengal in 1931, lived in Liverpool and Colwyn Bay as a boy, and graduated in English and Philosophy at Bangor University. He worked as a clerk in Chelmsford for a short period when he became a Catholic, a socialist and began translating Welsh Bardic Poetry. During his time as a Research Fellow and Tutor in English at Bangor, he published several volumes of poetry, including the award winning volumes Formal Poems (Christopher Davies 1960), Blodeuwedd (Poetry Wales Press, 1988) and Castles (Gomer, 1993). He also completed the translations and the comprehensive introduction for The Penguin Book of Welsh Verse (later reissued and expanded as Welsh Verse, Seren Books, 1986 & 1992) and published numerous articles and essays. After he took early retirement in 1981, his creative and critical output continued and broadened to include works for the theatre, two volumes of critical writing and further volumes of poetry and translations. His final volume of unpublished poetry Three Symphonies will be published by Agenda Editions in June 2016.
Critical Writing on Tony Conran