"THE IRIE BARDS"

Yasus Afari's successful performances in North Wales and his experiences in Jamaica of staging the annual “Poetry in Motion Show, now coming into its 14th successful year, and the Jamaican Poetry Festival, gave us a platform on which to create and to deliver a multimedia poetic exploration of Welsh / Jamaican cultural and poetry links. In Wales we had conducted a number of preliminary events, for example, the performance at Blue Skies in Bangor in October 2014, featuring Rhys Trimble and Yasus Afari was well attended and so we were confident that we would attract a good audience for the project’s pilot presentation.

The show was called “Beiredd Irie Bards” and was staged as part of a wider “Irie Pesda Festival” which was organised by the North Wales Jamaica Society and Nueadd Ogwen in Bethesda. The Festival was created to include this event, as part of the North Wales Black History Month programme. This idea was ground-breaking and innovative, directing our research and pre-production along a path towards a very high-standard ideologically ambitious production involving the National Poet of Wales, Ifor ap Glyn.  We were able to achieve a degree of understanding that previously did not exist, explaining some of the links between Wales and Jamaica and their historic antecedents. We achieved a high standard using a bilingual approach, based on Yasus Afari’s concept of “edutainment”, that is by developing understanding while providing an entertaining show.

The show was widely promoted with leaflet distribution and social media being used extensively and information was available bilingually to summarise the research findings.

The date of the show co-incided with the 50th Anniversary of the disaster at Aberfan, a village in the Welsh mining valleys, when a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip killed 116 children who had just started their day in school and 28 adults. Ifor ap Glyn suggested that he read a piece he had written followed by a moments silence.

In their presentations, using examples of their own and others poetry, the poets showed how poetry in both countries has had an essential role in shaping and validating the languages of Cymru and Jamaica, and in developing the languages of counties oppressed and dominated by English, the language of the power.

THE IRIE BARDS      Friday 21st October at Neuadd Ogwen, Bethesda

6.30pm            Doors open - bar open and snacks available with music and sales table

‪7.00pm            Slide show of Jamaica, with Jamaican music in hall

‪7.30pm‪            Liz Millman, from Learning Links International, welcomes the audience
                       and quickly sets the scene re research and the tangible link of  
                       Eisteddfod, and the focus of the research into poetry links in the nation
                       languages of Cymraig and Jamaican.

7.35pm            Marian Gwyn, welcomes the audience in Cymraig and sets the scene re
                       research and the tangible link of Eisteddfod, and the focus of the
                       research into poetry links in the nation languages of Cymraig and
                       Jamaican.

7.40pm            Liz and Marian invite Ifor ap Glyn to recognise the anniversary of
                       Aberfan with his poem XXXXXX and a moments silence after

‪7.45pm‪            Liz and Marian introduce the first half of evening

Ifor ap Glyn and Karen Owen present a brief history of Welsh poetry and possible links / similarities between Poetry Cymraig and poetry in Jamaica

8.15pm            Yasus Afari introduces Davidm a student from Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen, to perform a special poem written in memory of the Aberfan disaster

Bilingual presentation of Yasus Afari's poem, The Earth is Our Friend, with Rhys Trimble

8.30pm            Yasus Afari and Natalie Fagan Brown respond with a brief overview of the history of African and Jamaican poetry with its African roots, and possible links / similarities between Poetry Cymraig and poetry in Jamaica

9.00pm            Break with bar open, and Jamaican and Welsh snacks

9.15pm            Liz and Marian introduce a showcase of Poetry Cymraig and Jamaican poetry with Karen Owen, Rhys Trimble - medieval praise poetry with a stick, and modern poetry and Welsh National Poet, Ifor ap Glyn.

Yasus Afari to wrap event up with and without tracks

‪Finally             All poets welcomed onto stage to wrap up event and credit with thanks all those involved.

Afterwards      Opportunities to mingle, talk and sign books and sell CDs