Islwyn Ffowc Elis

Background

Islwyn Ffowc Elis was born on November 17, 1924, in Wrexham, Wales, United Kingdom. He was raised in a mountain valley farm in Glyn Ceiriog, near Offa's Dyke. It was a chapel-orientated community where Welsh was the first language. From an early age, he was regarded as a potential preacher-poet. He had a brother.

Education

Islwyn Ffowc Elis was educated at Llangollen County School. His parents convinced him to study for the ministry, and toward that end, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University College of North Wales (now Bangor University) in 1946. In 1949 he received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from University College Wales, Aberystwyth (now Aberystwyth University).

Career

Ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1950, Islwyn Ffowc Elis served as a pastor in Montgomeryshire and Anglesey, Wales, in the early 1950s. But his desire to write could not be extinguished, and he proved his skills by publishing a collection of essays titled Cyn oeri'r gwaed in 1952, followed by the novels Cysgocl y cryman (1953; translated as Shadow of the Sickle in 1998) and Ffenestri tua'r will (1955).

His early success led him to leave the ministry in 1956 to become a full-time author. More novels followed, including Yu oh a Lieifior (1956; translated as Return to Lleifior in 1999), and Eira Mawr (1971), as well as a science-fiction novel, Y hlaned dirion (1968), among other works. While some criticized the literary merit of his best-selling novels, their popularity remained undeniable and many were adapted to radio and television.

In his later years, Elis wrote fewer novels in favor of plays, short stories, and song lyrics. He also took up teaching, lecturing in Welsh at Trinity College from 1963 to 1968. He was a lecturer and reader at the University of Wales in Lampeter from 1975 to 1988.

Achievements

• Islwyn Ffowc Elis is best remembered as a pioneering author who introduced totally new writing genres to the Welsh reader, including science fiction. In 1999 the Arts Council of Wales chose Cysgod Y Cryman (The Shadow Of The Sickle, 1953) the first novel of Islwyn Ffowc Elis, as the Welsh-language book of the 20th century. His work has been translated into German, English, Irish, and Italian.

Works

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  • Cyn Oeri'r Gwaed 1952
  • Shadow of the Sickle 1953
  • Ffenestri Tua'r Gwyll 1955
  • Return to Lleifior 1956
  • Blas y Cynfyd 1958
  • Tabyrddau'r Babongo 1961
  • Eira Mawr 1972

Politics

Islwyn Ffowc Elis devoted a lot of time to politics and was a prominent campaigner for the Party of Wales.

Connections

Islwyn Ffowc Elis was married to Eirlys Owen. They had a daughter.

Spouse:

Eirlys Owen

References

• Contemporary Authors
  2004