Sunday, November 15, 2026
1 PM Central Time/7 PM GMT

Englyn Bedd/Welsh Grave Poetry

Presented by Dr. Guto Rhys. 

Dr. Guto Rhys discusses the englyn, a traditional Welsh short-form poem that relies on strict syllable counting, precise end-rhymes, and cynghanedd—a complex internal harmony of consonant alliteration and accent. It is one of the oldest attested stanzaic metrics in Welsh literature. Englyn Bedd refers specifically to the form as used on many headstones, found both in Wales, in the United States and in Welsh cemeteries around the world. Click the link below to join on Zoom.

https://zoom.us/j/98359854297?pwd=a1MVbHscp8laeyr9hekfEM02Y8mi6M.1

Guto Rhys is originally from Anglesey in north Wales and has spent periods living in Madrid, Rennes, western Brittany and Glasgow. He currently resides in Belgium, teaching languages (mainly Breton and Welsh) and writing. He speaks Breton, French and Spanish and has abilities in Cornish, Scottish Gaelic, Catalan, Italian and Dutch. He holds a degree in Welsh philology, an MPhil in Medieval Scottish Studies and a PhD on the Pictish language (Glasgow). He has published a series of books (Amrywiaith) on the richness of Welsh dialects and modern inventiveness. With Alan Llwyd he will soon be publishing an anthology of strict-metre grave elegies – a veritable and erudite Welsh tradition. The first volume, 1656-1918 contains over a thousand examples collated from graves not only from Wales but from Liverpool, Irleand, London, Belgium, Germany, Spain, India, Thailand, Patagonia, Palestine and of course the United States. The second volume, 1918-2025, with 1267 poems will be published soon afterwards.