New Anthologies
18/1/2024
I've got poems included in two new anthologies that are both now available to pre-order, if you fancy buying a gift for your future self.
Masculinity: An Anthology of Modern Voices is published by Broken Sleep Books on 31st January. There are two new poems of mine in it – one about practising mindfulness while playing GTA V, and another about the AI of a workout app becoming sentient. Pre-order here: brokensleepbooks.com/product-page/masculinity-an-anthology-of-modern-voices Byways: Poems and Stories on Foot is published by Arachne Press on 20th March. It includes a new poem of mine about becoming a father and having to give up taking short cuts while walking. Pre-order here: arachnepress.com/Byways-Poems-and-Stories-on-Foot-p599356655
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Field #18
30/6/2023
Diolch to editor Samuel Reid for asking me to contribute a poem to Field’s issue on the theme of ‘Control’. Many of my poems are personal, but this one has perhaps left me feeling the most exposed as it’s the first time I’ve written something around the OCD diagnosis I received last year.
‘Here’s What Happens When You Enter a Black Hole’ is a poem about a 25-year obsession with death, looking at some of the associated anxieties/compulsions. Last year’s OCD diagnosis was a very welcome explanation, and I’ve since received CBT which has honestly been life changing. Now looking forward to seeing how the other eight writers have responded to this wide-ranging theme. You can pick up a copy of the issue on Field’s website: https://fieldzine.com Magma #85
17/4/2023
I’ve got two poems about climate change in Magma’s ‘Poems for Schools’ issue. Really love the idea behind this issue – to put contemporary poets in the hands of secondary school teachers and pupils. You can pick up a copy and read some poems here: https://magmapoetry.com/archive/magma-85
Voices / Lleisiau
28/3/2023
Delighted to be asked to contribute a poem to this stunning new charity anthology. Voices / Lleisiau is a collection of responses to contemporary Welsh artworks by seventeen Welsh writers, including Gillian Clarke, Eric Ngalle Charles and Zoë Brigley.
My poem – 'The Centre of the Earth Can Be Projected to the Closest Point on the Surface' – is about being told that my hometown was the centre of the world, and not yet finding a reason to disagree. It's written in response to Haf Weighton's artwork 'Growing on Green Lanes', and is accompanied by a Welsh translation from Manon Rhys. You can listen to me reading it here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rqEIQ6P3Qi4 Copies of Voices / Lleisiau can be ordered from Nichola Hope via her website www.nicholahope.com. All proceeds from the sale of the anthology will be donated to Velindre Cancer Centre. The Cardiff Review
22/3/2023
Diolch yn fawr to The Cardiff Review for publishing 'Lost Cat', a poem about that time my cat went missing and so I became intimately acquainted with every backstreet in Brynmill.
You can read the poem here: www.rhysowainwilliams.com/lost-cat.html New Gothic Review #4
27/1/2023
My short story 'The Chimes of Graig Trewyddfa' is published today on New Gothic Review. A ghost story set in my hometown Morriston, it's accompanied by this incredible illustration by Joseph Gough. Diolch to all at New Gothic Review for publishing it! You can read it for free at the link below:
newgothicreview.com/2023/01/25/the-chimes-of-graig-trewyddfa Tan-y-Lan Terrace is the street my Gran actually lived on, and the idea for the story came from me walking her dog late at night and hearing an unseen ice-cream van. Everything else is mostly fiction, but I can't promise you won't see a robed figure if you ever visit Graig Trewyddfa... StrAva #4
13/12/2022
My poem ‘Tetris Syndrome’ has been translated into Latvian in the latest issue of Strāva, alongside other poems from Broken Sleep Books’ ‘Hit Points’ anthology. Thanks so much to Aaron Kent and the Strāva editors for arranging this – diolch/liels paldies from Rīss Ovens Viljamss!
You can read the original poem in English in the Mario Red or Luigi Green edition of ‘Hit Points’. Both are available on the Broken Sleep website or from anywhere you buy books. www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page/hit-points-an-anthology-of-video-game-poetry How I Wrote 'Mother and Child'
11/5/2022
Absolutely delighted to have a new poem and an accompanying interview published by Poetry Wales today. 'Mother and Child' is inspired by two of Josef Herman's paintings at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea – a place my mother took me to regularly when I was growing up. Earlier this week I visited the gallery and one of the paintings mentioned in the poem – 'Miners' (1951) – is actually on temporary display at the moment as part of Glynn Viv's 'Art and Industry: Stories from Wales' exhibition. As I say in the poem, it still steals a breath. 'Miners' (1951) by Josef Herman, on display at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea Diolch yn fawr to Zoë Brigley and Poetry Wales for publishing the poem and asking me a few questions about my writing process for their #HowIWriteAPoem series. You can read the poem and the interview on their website:
poetrywales.co.uk/rhys-owain-williams-how-i-wrote-mother-and-child The A470 is a 186-mile road that stretches across Wales from shore to shore, and I’ve got a poem in this new bilingual anthology celebrating it from Arachne Press. Diolch to editors Ness Owen and Siân Northey for choosing it, and also to Siân for translating it into Welsh!
The poem, ‘A Mountain We Climb’, is inspired by the regular journeys my mother and I made to visit my auntie in Llandudno when I was very young, often accompanied by my grandparents. You can read a little more about the inspiration behind it here: www.arachnepress.com/books/poetry/a470/melin-y-coed A470: Poems for the Road / Cerddi'r Ffordd is the Books Council of Wales ‘Book of the Month’ for February so look out for it on displays in bookshops across Wales, or alternatively order a copy directly from Arachne’s website: www.arachnepress.com/books/poetry/a470 Himnos al sol en la oscuridad
21/1/2022
¿Hablas español? I don’t unfortunately, but if you do then you can read interviews with me and other contemporary Swansea writers in this brand new book on Dylan Thomas by Juan Pablo Bertazza: Himnos al sol en la oscuridad ('Hymns to the sun in the darkness’.) Diolch to Juan for inviting me to be a part of it!
Alternatively, if your Spanish is as bad as mine, the mind-blowing Google Translate app can do this for you. It’s not a perfect translation but honestly…we are living in the future. |
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