New collection reimagines Wales’ greatest medieval poet for modern readers

A new book by an Aberystwyth academic is reintroducing one of Wales’ most celebrated literary figures to a new generation of readers.

The Green Month, a collection of short English-language poems by Professor Matthew Francis, offers a contemporary reimagining of the work of Dafydd ap Gwilym — the 14th-century Ceredigion-born bard widely regarded as Wales’s greatest poet.

Dafydd ap Gwilym is often credited with transforming Welsh poetry, particularly through his mastery of the cywydd, a complex and musical form of verse unique to the Welsh language.

His works, marked by wit, sensuality, and a deep appreciation for the natural world, remain among the cornerstones of European medieval literature.

Intensity

Professor Francis’s new collection draws inspiration from Dafydd’s themes of love, nature, and human folly, presenting them through a modern lens while retaining the lyrical intensity that has made the medieval poet’s work endure for more than 600 years.

Speaking about the collection, Professor Francis said: “I hope that The Green Month can bring the work of Dafydd ap Gwilym to the attention of a new audience.

“It is difficult to argue that he is not the best poet from Wales who ever lived. These delightful poems have stood the test of time — intimate, urgent, and timeless. Nature is a recurring theme in his work, with plants, birds, and other animals fondly invoked. The weather and the elements — wind, waves, fog and ice — all play their part too. Passionate in his treatment of love and desire, Dafydd was equally ready to make fun of his own susceptibility.”

Inspiration

Francis, Emeritus Professor in the Department of English and Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University, has lived in Wales for 25 years and has long drawn inspiration from Welsh myth and poetry. His previous work includes a widely acclaimed modern retelling of The Mabinogi, Wales’s national epic.

He has also published six poetry collections with Faber & Faber, edited W.S. Graham’s New Collected Poems, and written three novels and a collection of short stories.