Eigra Lewis Roberts (born 7 August 1939) is a Welsh-language author of about 30 plays, short stories, children's books and novels.[1] She has won several awards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.[2]

Eigra Lewis Roberts
Born (1939-08-07) 7 August 1939 (age 84)
Blaenau Ffestiniog, Merionethshire, Wales
LanguageWelsh
Alma materUniversity College of North Wales
SubjectPost-War women in Wales
Notable awardsMultiple awards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales
SpouseLlew
Children3

Personal life edit

Born in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Roberts attended Ffestiniog County School, along with her fellow author John Rowlands and the poet Gwyn Thomas.[2][3] Having graduated from University College of North Wales in Bangor,[2] she taught in Holyhead and Llanrwst and now lives in Dolwyddelan.[1][4] Roberts has an honorary MA from the University of Wales.[4][5]

Career edit

Aged 20, Roberts won the open novel prize at the 1959 Caernarfon National Eisteddfod of Wales.[1][2] In the 1960s and 1970s she was known for writing about the lives and dissatisfaction of Welsh women in Post-war Britain, a topic little covered Welsh authors at the time.[6][7][8] In the 1980s, she was the screenwriter adapting her novel Mis o Fehefin for the Welsh television programme Minafon.[2][4]

In 2006, Roberts wrote her first novel in English, the semi-autobiographical Return Ticket.[5] That year she won the Crown in the Swansea National Eisteddfod for a collection of poems about Sylvia Plath.[1][2][4] In 2013, her work Parlwr Bach was shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year award.[9]

Selected works edit

  • Brynhyfryd, 1959
  • Mis o Fehefin, 1980[10]
  • Return Ticket, 2006 (Gomer Press)
  • Parlwr Bach, 2013

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Bissett, Daniel (18 June 2016). "Waunfawr farm sparks childhood memories for author in 3 Lle". North Wales Daily Post. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f 3 Lle: Eigra Lewis Roberts [3 Places: Eigra Lewis Roberts] (in Welsh). S4C. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  3. ^ Stephens, Meic (17 May 2015). "John Rowlands: Author who eschewed popular taste in order to explore the human mind and his own inner life". The Independent. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "Eigra Lewis Roberts". BBC Cymru (in Welsh). Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Return ticket, by Eigra Lewis Roberts". Wales Online. 25 March 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  6. ^ Sturrock, John (1997). The Oxford Guide to Contemporary World Literature. Oxford University Press. p. 434. ISBN 9780192833181. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  7. ^ Jones, John Graham (2014). The History of Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 9781783161706. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  8. ^ The Celts: History, Life, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. 2012. p. 796. ISBN 9781598849646. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  9. ^ "2013 Wales Book of the Year Award Shortlist". Literary Festivals. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  10. ^ British National Bibliography. Retrieved 5 June 2020.