Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1911-1980 / (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.601 cubic metres (21 boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Aneirin Talfan Davies, OBE, MA (1909-80), was a writer and broadcaster. He was born in 1909 in Felindre, Henllan, Carmarthenshire, the son of the Rev. William Talfan Davies (1873-1938); his younger brother was Alun Talfan Davies, QC (1913-2000). He attended Gowerton Grammar School, but left aged 14 to become a pharmacist's apprentice. While working in London he became interested in literature and theology. He ran a pharmacy in Swansea from 1938 until 1941, when it was destroyed during an air raid. He began a new career with the BBC, reading and editing the Welsh-language news on radio. After the War he joined BBC Wales in Cardiff, becoming Head of Programmes,1966-1970, until his retirement. He was active in the Church in Wales as a writer and lay preacher and was involved with a number of cultural and literary bodies within Wales. His literary output included radio scripts, free metre poetry, literary criticism, mainly on English literature and theology, and lyrics and libretti with Arwel Hughes (1909-1988). He edited the magazines Heddiw and Barn, and contributed columns to Barn and the Western Mail. With his brother Alun, he co-founded Llyfrau'r Dryw, Llandybie (now Christopher Davies (Publishers) Ltd.). He wrote and edited many books including Eliot, Pwshcin, Poe (Llandybie, 1942), Yr Alltud (London, 1944), Gwyr Llên (London, 1948), Munudau Gyda'r Beirdd (Llandybie, 1954), Crwydro Sir Gâr (Llandybie, 1955), Dylan: Druid of a Broken Body (Denbigh, 1964), Gyda Gwawr a Bore (Llandybie, 1970) and two anthologies of his poetry, Y Ddau Lais (London, 1937) and Diannerch Erchwyn (Swansea: C. Davies, 1975). He married in 1936 and had two sons, Owen and Geraint. He died in 1980.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by his son Mr Geraint Talfan Davies, Cardiff, 1981.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers of Aneirin Talfan Davies, 1911-1980, consisting of diaries, 1956-1980; papers relating to his work with the BBC, including letters and scripts, [1940s]-[1970]; correspondence, drafts and notes reflecting his literary activities, including his lectures, books, articles, libretti and his editorial duties on Barn (there is comparatively little of his poetry present), 1941-[1979]; material such as letters, radio scripts and articles relating to literary figures such as Dylan Thomas, David Jones and T. Rowland Hughes, 1937-1973; correspondence and minutes of meetings, in connection with Llyfrau'r Dryw / Christopher Davies (Publishers) Ltd., Yr Academi Gymreig, The Guild for the Promotion of Welsh Music, the Welsh Arts Council, and a number of bodies within the Anglican Church in Wales, 1971-1977; letters from various prominent Welsh literary figures and successive Archbishops of Wales, 1972-1980; several volumes of press cuttings, 1911-1977; and personal papers, 1963-1974.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Action: All records deposited at the National Library of Wales have been retained..
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Original box order has been retained.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
- Welsh
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Welsh, English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the catalogue, in Welsh, is available at the National Library of Wales.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title supplied from content of fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Project identifier
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Llyfrau'r Dryw (Firm) (Subject)
- BBC Wales (Subject)
- Academi Gymreig (Subject)
- BBC Wales (Subject)
- Llyfrau'r Dryw (Firm) (Subject)
- Church in Wales. (Subject)
- Davies, Alun Talfan, 1913-2000. (Subject)
- Davies, Aneirin Talfan -- Archives. (Subject)
- Davies, Aneirin Talfan -- Diaries (Subject)
- Davies, Aneirin Talfan -- Correspondence (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.;AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
September 2003.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Compiled by Rhys Jones for the ANW project. The following sources were used to compile this description: NLW, Rhestr o Bapurau Aneirin Talfan Davies (Schedule of Aneirin Talfan Davies Papers); Davies, Aneirin Talfan, Yr Etifeddiaeth Dda (Llandybie, 1967); Stephens, Meic, Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales (Oxford, 1986);