Scribblers Cymraeg 2022 live events took place at Swansea University on Wednesday 9 November and at Aberystwyth University on Thursday 10 November.
These free Welsh language workshops for pupils in KS3 (Years 7, 8, 9) were brought to you as part of the Hay Festival Scribblers Tour.
Acclaimed poets and authors Anni Llŷn and Ifor ap Glyn led creative and interactive events celebrating the Welsh language; there were workshops led by Welsh language lecturers at each university and the events were hosted by poet and performer Aneirin Karadog.
Anni Llŷn is a familiar face on Welsh television as a presenter and actor. She was the Children's Bard of Wales for two years and leads creative workshops in schools across Wales.
In this session, Anni encourages pupils to ask lots of creative questions, such as, can the sun be hairy? Can you be stormy? Can your best friend be like a big, tasty sweet? What effect does the way we use description have on our writing? Is the obvious a little boring? Is there an unusual adjective you can use? Can our similes and metaphors follow a theme? These are the questions we explore in a session full of playful ideas to prove that the way we describe things can transform our work.
The poet, presenter and TV producer Ifor ap Glyn won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod twice and has been Bardd Plant Cymru (2008–9) and, more recently, National Poet of Wales (2016–22).
In this session, Ifor looks at how you can use cynghanedd to kickstart your imagination. Too often seen as dauntingly complicated, it’s just a fun way of forming patterns and playing with words. And although pupils probably won’t master the art of writing award-winning poems by the end of this session, they will learn how to use alliteration and internal rhyme to create random images.
Swansea University – Diaries From the Future
Have you ever discovered a diary – an old diary, or perhaps one belonging to your brother or sister? Did you giggle at their deepest, darkest secrets? What if...well, what if you discovered a diary from the future?
This workshop encourages you to fool all your friends and create a fake diary from the future. Professor Tudur Hallam and Dr Miriam Elin Jones present time capsules to inspire your journey into the future and teach you to imagine and envisage your own science fiction adventure.
Aberystwyth University – Cerdd-Iaith (Listening to Language)
Would you like to know how dogs talk in Welsh, English and German, or how to say that you're hungry in Spanish and Welsh? This workshop concentrates on the rhythm of words and sentences in order to introduce three or four languages to the Scribblers all at once. Led by Mererid Hopwood and Siân Lloyd-Davies, with music by Gareth Glyn, we learn new languages and also how to listen very carefully to rhythm and rhyme.
Cerdd-Iaith is a British Council Wales developed programme initially funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation's Teacher Development Fund and delivered in partnership with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Yr Athrofa – the Institute of Education UWTSD and Ein Rhanbarth ar Waith (ERW). It is now exploring new languages supported by Aberystwyth University, the Goethe Institute, Ceredigion County Council and Welsh Government.
Free digital Welsh language workshops for transition pupils in Years 6 and 7, brought to you as part of the Hay Festival Scribblers Tour, are freely available to watch again.
Join poets and authors such as Gruffudd Owen, Rufus Mufasa, Mererid Hopwood, Aneirin Karadog and Anni Llŷn for these free creative and interactive digital events celebrating the Welsh language.