My father passed away in July of this year. It was a strange experience to have someone tell me this over the phone from thousands of miles away. After I hung up I sat quietly for a while before writing “All that’s left of him is stories now” in the last page of my notebook….
Category: Wales
Moving Stories: Made in Roath Bookmobile
When I was young I learned the hard way that I am not the most handy person. Growing up on a farm this shortcoming grew tiresome – building fences, stacking hay bales, and carrying water buckets often left me bruised, itchy, and damp. In spite of this though, I still decided to build a bookmobile…
On the Drover’s Road
Autumn came to Cardiff this week with brisk winds and beautiful colors. The season is changing: scarves are coming out, kettles are boiling longer and more often. It is time to say goodbye to summer. I know I speak for Emma when I say that our summer was quite a meaningful one. We ran our…
Relaxation and Reflection
Over the past few months I have been thinking a lot about what it means to relax. I have a demanding full-time job, run countless freelance projects, and juggle personal responsibilities both in Wales and abroad. Although I love my life, there are always times when things begin to unravel and when this happens, I…
MARGIN
If you’re like most people, you have probably never thought much about the word ‘margin’. It hardly comes up in everyday conversation and dictionaries simply define it as ‘the edge of a page’ or, more broadly, ‘the edge of something’. Over the past six months I have considered this word often and in ways I…
View from the Hill
Summer does not tread lightly in Wales. It swoops in unexpectedly and disappears without a trace. Given the limited time we have with this season, Emma and I were delighted to host our third Landscape Writing workshop under the bright and cleansing sun. There is nothing quite like heat in the Welsh hills. Like all…
Past and Present
May is a complicated month – not quite winter, not quite summer, but oh so full of memories. It reminds me of the days when my grandmother still baked birthday cakes in the shape of butterflies, horses, and dinosaurs. It reminds me of the blueberry bush in my back yard and the deep, woodpile splinters…
Dipping into Poetry
I cannot think of a better way to spend a day than by reading poetry, stoking fires, watching rivers, and writing in the company of kind, interesting, and like-minded people. Last Saturday, I got to do just this as Emma Metcalfe and I co-led our Dipping into Poetry workshop. This session is part of a…
Made in Spring
It is no secret that I love Cardiff. I moved here from America over three years ago and I feel lucky everyday to call this place my home. This feeling not only comes from the city itself but from the people I have met here and the communities which I have found myself a part…
Writing Landscapes
Ever since meeting Emma Beynon — workshop leader, organic farmer, general adventurer — I knew I wanted to know her better. In fact, I knew I wanted to work with her. Collaborating affords you one of those rare opportunities to look inside a person, learn their passions, admire their strengths, and understand their weaknesses. To…
Christina Thatcher 