Other Venues
Tuesday, 24 July
We will be spending the Tuesday evening at Swansea's Dylan Thomas Centre. Here, delegates will have a chance to enjoy the permanent exhibition of memorabilia relating to Swansea's most famous literary alumnus, and a touring exhibition of photographs by American photographer Evelyn Bernstein, as well as browse in the Bookshop or take a walk along the nearby Marina. After dinner we will have a special programme of readings by the following writers:
- Matthew Francis has published two collections of poetry with Faber and Faber, Blizzard (1996) and Dragons (2001), and a novel with Bloomsbury, WHOM (1989). He lives in Cardiff and is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Glamorgan.
- Ziba Karbasi and Stephen Watts: Ziba Karbasi was born in Tabriz in northwestern Iran in 1973 and has lived in London since 1989. She has published three books of poetry in Persian with a fourth due later in 2001, and gives readings of her work throughout Europe. Stephen Watts has published a collection of poems, The Lava's Curl (Grimaldi, 1990), and co-edited several other collections, including Voices of Conscience: Poetry from Oppression (Iron Press, 1995), César Vallejo: Translations, Transformations, Tributes (Southfields/Au Quai, 1998), and most recently Mother Tongues: Non English-Language Poetry in England (Modern Poetry in Translation 17, Spring 2001). Stephen Watts and Ziba Karbasi are working on a bilingual selection of both their poetries for publication.
Wednesday, 25 July
On the Wednesday afternoon, delegates have a choice of excursions. Coaches will be leaving after lunch from the main university campus to go to:
- Laugharne, the coastal town which Dylan and Caitlin Thomas made their home (just over an hour's drive from Swansea). Delegates will have the opportunity to visit the Dylan Thomas Boathouse and Laugharne Castle, as well as a number of pleasant pubs and second-hand bookshops.
and
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The Gower Peninsula, designated Britain's first "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" (on Swansea's doorstep!).
If you are intending to spend time either side of the conference exploring Wales, then the Wales Tourist Board has many details on further attractions in the local area and beyond.
