On Being a Writer in Wales: Matthew Yeomans

Matthew Yeomans

In the autumn of 1984, I left Wales to go to university in Manchester.

It would be more than 20 years before I returned here to live once again – my travels taking me to New York City where I settled for many years and shaped a career as a journalist and an author.

Growing up in Cardiff I had always considered myself Welsh but it wasn’t until I moved away that my sense of identity grew – honed, sharpened even, by the casual patronising views of Wales that were commonplace in 1980s England and later by the wholesale ignorance of our nation’s existence by many in the US.

The longer I lived away from Wales the stronger my sense of belonging became. I delved into the history of Welsh immigrants in Pennsylvania and Ohio and travelled through South America to Patagonia to visit Welsh communities there.

Hiraeth

When I finally returned to live in Wales, there was clearly an element of hiraeth in my decision to come home.

It didn’t take long though for me to realise that my sense of longing wasn’t the same thing as belonging. Like so many expatriates, it soon became clear that I didn’t really belong anywhere anymore.

People here in Wales considered me very American and some, in the words of Griff Rhys Jones, made it clear that I was “insufficiently Welsh”.

I was in cultural limbo back in Wales and that bothered me at first having so closely identified with my homeland when I lived 2,000 miles away.

The reality, though, is that I’ll always be an outsider no matter wherever I live.

Nowadays, I consider that to be a strength not a weakness – especially when it comes to writing about Wales as I do in my most recent books, Return to My Trees and the newly published Seascape: Notes from a changing coastline.

Both books involve long walks of exploration through and around Wales while also conducting comprehensive research about our landscape, history, culture, folklore, politics and language.

In writing these books I’ve come to realise just how little I knew or understood about Welsh identity before I began looking into the woodlands and coastline of Wales.

Perhaps, if I didn’t feel such an outsider, I might not have dug so deep or read so widely.

Instead, acutely aware of the gaps in my knowledge and lacking the certainty in my sense of place, I pushed myself to learn as much as possible about topics that I might previously have thought I knew enough about.

The Four branches of the Mabinogi, the etymology of Welsh place names, the roots of the Welsh independence movement, the influence of the Celtic Saints – these are just a few of the topics that I approached as if I was learning about Wales for the very first time.

It was the same approach that I once applied as a reporter and travel writer when in the United States, Africa or South America – determined not to get any facts wrong or misinterpret historical influences and arguments.

Perspective

Having spent so many years away from Wales also gave me a wider perspective on local goings on. Both Return to My Trees and Seascape are books about the natural world though, it should be said, there are much more accomplished nature writers than me.

I’m most interested in how we as humanity can learn from and embrace the natural world – reshaping our systems for the better in the process.

Having been an environmental and sustainability writer for most of my career, I’ve seen how different nations and cultures have put nature at the heart of their societies – whether it be Costa Rica’s emphasis on pura vida (the pure life) or the Māori spiritual commitment to protecting Papatūānuku, mother earth.

Walking through the woodlands and coastline of Wales made me realise how we, Welsh society, should be embracing and respecting our natural world – not just for ecological preservation but also as a means of creating economic prosperity.

The more I immersed myself in the potential for a National Forest for Wales, and tapping into the power of sea, the more I came to believe that the most sustainable future for everyone in Wales lies in putting nature at the heart of our national identity.

It’s a personal perspective that has been shaped through the decades by my love of Wales and also my experiences far away from here.

As I continue my journey as a writer here in Wales, focusing both on its rich history and exciting future, I hope my outsider status can continue to give me clarity to write in ways that are interesting to people in Wales and anyone interested in our country.

Even if, I will never truly belong.

Matthew Yeomans’ Seascape is published by Calon and is available from all good bookshops.