Culture
Welsh Writers To Offer Lectures, Workshops
< < Back toThe Gallia County Convention and Visitors Bureau, in conjunction with the Madog Center for Welsh Studies, is pleased to announce the arrival of Suzanne Iuppa and Phil Cope of Wales this fall.
Both will be arriving on Sept. 1, and visiting Rio Grande the entire week while offering creative writing workshops, lectures and presentations.
Suzanne is a poet, community worker and film-maker based in North Wales. Her book, On Track: Poems from Welsh Pilgrimage, was the subject of a North American reading tour in 2013.
The poems were inspired by her journey in 2012 for the Welsh Cultural Olympiad, which saw her walk 200 miles across the landscape of South and West Wales, following ancient pilgrim routes, into historic and sacred St. David’s.
Suzanne was born in Tennessee but raised her family in the beautiful Clywdian Mountains near Mold, in North Wales.
Phil is a Welsh photographer, writer, teacher and exhibition and book designer. In October, 2008, the National Library of Wales purchased Phil’s collection of holy well photographs for the nation.
Permanent exhibition of his work can be seen at the Horniman Museum London; the William Wilberforce Museum Hull; Rhondda Heritage Park; the World Museum and the International Slavery Museum, both in Liverpool; and the Cardiff Bus and Train Station.
Phil was born in the Splott area of Cardiff and now lives in a small South Wales ex-mining valley.
Phil and Suzanne’s inspiring presentations will be delivered through a wide range of myths, poems and high-definition projected images on the subject of the Sacred Springs and Holy Wells of Wales.
The talks should be relevant to anyone interested in Welsh mythology, folk tales and history, as well as ecology, poetry, photography and the development of faiths and spirituality.
Suzanne and Phil will give a presentation of the Sacred Springs, Holy Wells and Spas of Wales at 10am on Wednesday, Sept. 3 in the Davis Library on the campus of the University of Rio Grande. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and is open to the public.
On Friday, Sept. 5 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., a public reception will be held at Evans Wealth Management (300 Second Avenue), for Suzanne and Phil. That evening, many of their prints will be on display and will also be available to purchase during a silent auction.
For more information, contact the Madog Center for Welsh Studies at (740) 245-7186 or the Gallia County Convention and Visitors Bureau at (740) 446-6882.