Acclaimed Welsh language poet honoured by Swansea University

Swansea University has awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters to the chaired bard Professor Tudur Hallam in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Welsh-language literature and culture.

The honour was presented to him at a graduation ceremony at Swansea University’s Bay Campus on Tuesday (December 9).

It follows Professor Hallam’s success at this year’s National Eisteddfod in Wrexham, where he was awarded the Chair during an emotional ceremony that culminated in a standing ovation.

Born and raised in Penybanc near Ammanford, Professor Hallam gained a first-class degree in Welsh and later completed a PhD at Aberystwyth University, before joining Swansea University’s Department of Welsh as a lecturer in 1999.

He was appointed to the Chair of Welsh in 2011, teaching and conducting research into the Welsh language and its literature.

He retired from the role in 2025 due to ill health and is now an Emeritus Professor at Swansea.

Professor Hallam’s publications cover a wide range of subjects within Welsh studies, including Canon ein Llên, Saunders y Dramodydd, Llawlyfr Meistroli’r Gymraeg, and his poetry collection Parcio.

In addition, he co-edited three volumes in the Ysgrifau Beirniadol series alongside Angharad Price.

In 2016, the poet received a Fulbright Scholarship and served as a visiting professor at the University of Houston, Texas, researching the revitalisation of minority languages and literatures by comparing Welsh in the UK with Hispanic heritage communities in the US.

Professor Hallam’s success at this year’s Eisteddfod earned him the Chair—the highest honour in Welsh literature—for the second time, having first won the distinction at the 2010 Blaenau Gwent Eisteddfod.

This places him among a select group of bards who have claimed the national Chair twice. His deeply personal and moving composition, Dinas (City), reflects on his experience of receiving a cancer diagnosis.

Professor Hallam said: “I had a very happy career at Swansea University. I had the opportunity to work with distinguished scholars in many fields, and I enjoyed sharing with my students the thrill that creativity gives me.

“It was always a privilege to teach them and to see them develop and graduate. Today, receiving this honour from the University is a great privilege for me and my family.

“I can only say thank you and wish the University well as it continues to support the Welsh language into the future.”

On behalf of the University, Professor Gwenno Ffrancon, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor Welsh Language, Heritage and Culture and Director Academi Hywel Teifi, said: “Professor Tudur Hallam’s contribution to Welsh scholarship, literature, and culture is both extensive and profound.

“He is highly deserving of an Honorary Fellowship from Swansea University in recognition of his outstanding achievements.

“He was an inspiring Professor of Welsh and a most fitting successor to some of the great figures of Swansea’s Department of Welsh — Professor Henry Lewis, Saunders Lewis, Professor T. J. Morgan, Professor Brynley F. Roberts, Professor Hywel Teifi Edwards, and Professor and Archdruid Christine James.

“Countless students have benefited not only from his exceptional teaching, but also from his genuine care, guidance, and encouragement. Swansea graduates and colleagues owe him an immense debt of gratitude.”