roundup
WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH.
pic: HORIA VARLAN
EVENT
STORIES
SHORTLISTED
pic: KYLE TAYLOR
?
SOUTH WALES SECRETS #43:
The River Wye
As the internationally recognised chainsaw
sculptor Adam Humphreys returns to Wales
for an exhibition, Jordan Harris finds out what
he loves about South Wales and its secrets.
“It was going to be an eagle but the piece of wood
wasn’t quite big enough so it ended up being a fat
pheasant, but then it didn’t have enough tail so it
ended up being a partridge.”
Adam Humphreys has come a long way since his
first chainsaw sculpture when he was 21, since
then he has travelled to Australia, hosted two
solo exhibitions and been selected as one of this
year’s Artisans In The Garden by the Royal Botanic
Gardens & Domain Trust. Now he is back in his
hometown of Usk and is not only planning a solo
exhibition in the picturesque castle, but will also be
doing live carving demonstrations as well.
Being back in Wales Humphreys is able to
contemplate what he likes about the place, and
what his South Wales Secret is.
“We are pretty spoilt in South Wales,” he says,
“but for me it’s the River Wye.”
The River Wye, which stretches from the Cambrian
Mountains to Chepstow, has many jewels along its
route including Tintern Abbey, literary haven HayOn-Wye and Chepstow Castle. This month will
see the first Wye Valley River Festival taking place
from Sat 3 to Sun 18 May, as it hosts a series of
stunning events talking place along the riverside.
The River Wye itself trickles through Wales
and South West England, and Humphreys’
favourite spot is a village just over the border in
Gloucestershire: “Symonds Yat is a nice escape.
There’s rock climbing, kayaking, some good pubs.
Once you’re there it’s like being back in time with
the houses. I feel quite lucky we have that.”
Adam Humphreys Solo Exhibition, Usk Castle,
Sun 4-Sat 10 May. Info: www.uskcastle.co.uk
Do you like words? If not, you
really should give them a try –
they’re a much more effective
method of communication than
grunting and throwing rocks
(at least in my experience).
Literature Wales feels the same
way, and they’re celebrating the
best of contemporary Welsh
and English-language fiction
with the annual Wales Book Of
The Year Award.
Apart from fiction, there are also
poetry and creative non-fiction
categories, with each category
winner receiving a cheque for
£2,000. The overall winner will
get an extra £6,000. Last year’s
winners were Heini Gruffud
for his WW2 novel Yr Erlid (Y
Lolfa) and Rhian Edwards for
her poetry book Clueless Dogs.
Previous victors include Patrick
McGuiness, Philip Gross and
Gareth Miles (who is also on this
year’s panel of judges).
This year’s shortlist – comprising
nine books in each language –
will be made on Fri 9 May on the
Wales Book Of The Year website,
with the final announcement
being made in Caernarfon at the
Galeri Caernarfon building on
Thurs 10 July. GG
THE e18