At the Source

Overview

Fusing poetry, memoir, and nature writing, this evocative prose collection conducts a literary exploration of place and language. Reflecting upon the geography, history, and mythology of Wales, the verse delves into the sources of both Welsh and English dialects while incorporating essays and journal extracts, creating a seasonal portrait of the beloved Welsh landscape. From descriptions of lambing and hay making to ruminations on agriculture and ecological destruction, this is an enthralling depiction of the world as seen from the captivating countryside.

Reviews

"Gillian Clarke's poems ring with lucidity and power . . . her work is personal and archetypal, built out of language as concrete as it is musical." —Times Literary Supplement

"There is no gaudiness in her poetry; instead, the reader is aware of a generosity of spirit which allows the poems' subjects their own unbullied reality." —The Listener

Author Biography

Gillian Clarke is a poet, a playwright, and a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Glamorgan. She is the former editor of the Anglo-Welsh Review and the cofounder and former president of Ty Newydd, a writers' center in North Wales. She is the author of Five Fields, The King of Britain's Daughter, Letting in the Rumour, and Making the Beds for the Dead.