Elena Puw Morgan

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Elena Puw Morgan
Born
Elena Puw Davies

1900
Corwen
Died1973
Corwen
NationalityWelsh
Known forwinning Literary Medal at Cardiff National Eisteddfod, 1938

Elena Puw Morgan (1900–1973, née Davies) was a Welsh writer. She became the first woman to win the Literary Medal at the National Eisteddfod, with the novel Y Graith (The Scar) in 1938. In addition to novels for an adult audience, Morgan published Welsh-language children's books.

Early life[edit]

Elena Puw Davies was born in 1900, the daughter of Lewis Davies and Kate Davies. Her father was a minister at the town's Independent chapel. She lived her life in Corwen in Wales.[1]

Career[edit]

Morgan won the Literary Medal at the National Eisteddfod in Cardiff in 1938, for her short novel Y Graith,[2] as the first woman to be given this honour.[3] Y Graith's heroine struggles with cruelty and poverty at the start of the 20th century.[4] Another novel by Morgan, Y Wisg Sidan (The Silk Gown), was voted Best Welsh Book of 1939 by readers of the Western Mail.[5]

Morgan produced some children's books in Welsh in the 1930s,[6] including Angel y Llongau Hedd (1931) and Tan y Castell (1939). She also wrote stories for the magazine Cymru'r Plant.[1][7]

Two of Morgan's novels, Y Wisg Sidan and Y Graith, were adapted for television. Y Graith was updated by her daughter Catrin Puw Davies and republished in 2000.[4] Another novel, Nansi Lovell: Hunangofiant Hen Sipsi, about a Welsh Romani girl, was republished by Honno Press in 2018.[8]

Personal life and legacy[edit]

Elena Puw Davies married a tailor and poet, John Morgan of Llangadfan, in 1931.[1] The Morgans were friends with John Cowper Powys in Corwen.[9]

Elena Puw Morgan died in 1973. Her granddaughters are Prof. Angharad Puw Davies and Prof. Mererid Puw Davies.[10][11] She was featured in a display at the Corwen Museum in 2020.[12] Morgan's letters are in various collections at the National Library of Wales.[13][14][15]

Selected bibliography[edit]

  • Angel y Llongau Hedd (1931)
  • Nansi Lovell: Hunangofiant Hen Sipsi (1934)[16]
  • Y Graith (1938)[4]
  • Y Wisg Sidan (1939)
  • Tan y Castell (1939)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Novelist EP Morgan's family shop, Corwen". History Points. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  2. ^ Edwards, Hywel Teifi (20 July 2016). The Eisteddfod. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-1-78316-914-6.
  3. ^ Stephens, Meic (1998). Cydymaith i lenyddiaeth Cymru/The New Companion to the Literature of Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 841. ISBN 978-0-7083-1383-1.
  4. ^ a b c Morgan, Elena Puw (1999). Y graith (in Welsh). Gwasg Gomer. ISBN 978-1-85902-745-5.
  5. ^ "Best Welsh Books of 1939". The Observer. 10 March 1940. p. 7. Retrieved 23 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Koch, John T. (8 August 2012). The Celts: History, Life, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. pp. 793, 796. ISBN 978-1-59884-964-6.
  7. ^ Gymreig, Academi (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 570. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
  8. ^ Morgan, Elena Puw (2018). Nansi Lovell: Hunangofiant Hen Sipsi. Dinas Powys. ISBN 978-1-909983-92-2. OCLC 1048621684.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Powys, John Cowper (1974). John Cowper Powys-letters, 1937–54. University of Wales Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7083-0551-5.
  10. ^ "Elena Puw Morgan – a writer ahead of her time | Elena Puw Morgan – awdures leol o flaen ei hoes". Events, Swansea University. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  11. ^ "The June Gruffydd Memorial Lecture: 'The Novelist Elena Puw Morgan - Rethinking Modernism'". Wales Week London. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  12. ^ Watkins, Lindsay (8 February 2020). "Corwen Museum Open Weekend Saturday 29th February and Sunday 1st March". Amgueddfa Corwen Museum. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  13. ^ File 1169-75 – Elena Puw Morgan, Annedd Wen, Corwen; Evan Roberts Papers, National Library of Wales.
  14. ^ File: A/2548, Elena Puw Morgan; E. Morgan Humphreys Papers, National Library of Wales.
  15. ^ File A/3195 – Letter from Elena Puw Morgan, Annedd Wen, Corwen, Mer., re Trefin and Mrs Fraser's illnesses; Maxwell Fraser Papers, National Library of Wales.
  16. ^ Morgan, Elena Puw (1934). Nansi Lovell: hunangofiant hen sipsi (in Welsh). Gwasg Aberystwyth.
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