Waldo Williams (1904–1971) is considered one of the most important Welsh poets of the twentieth century. He was a folk poet who wrote about the people and way of life in west Wales, about pacifism and the brotherhood of all peoples. Those who share his deeply held principles regard him as a visionary and literary critics have found his poems some of the most rewarding and challenging of the twentieth century. There are more books about Waldo than almost any other Welsh-language poet.
This new edition of The Peacemakers comprises his original Welsh-language poems alongside parallel translations into English by esteemed poet and translator Tony Conran. It includes some of Waldo’s most important poems and was first published by Gomer Press in 1997, but has been out of print for many years. It will be of interest to anyone who seeks an entry-point to his work, as well as those interested in twentieth-century poetry in general, pacifism or Welsh identity.
Jim Perrin has said of Williams, ‘At his outstanding best, his verse has a mystical intensity and a calm beauty of vision that are powerfully sustaining and memorable’. For John Osmond, ‘Even read in translation – and Waldo has been fortunate in his translators – his poetry is of the highest quality in terms of intelligence, love, and above all a numinous awareness.'