Balliol Honorary Fellow and former National Poet of Wales Gwyneth Lewis has returned to Balliol to be Artist in Residence for Hilary Term 2023.
Dr Gwyneth Lewis MBE served as the first National Poet of Wales, and her words are on the front of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff in six-foot-high stained-glass windows. She writes poetry in both Welsh and English, as well as non-fiction (including Sunbathing in the Rain: A Cheerful Book on Depression). She did her doctorate at Balliol in 1985 and was elected an Honorary Fellow of the College in 2019. She teaches at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English in Vermont.
‘I’m delighted to have the chance to spend time at Balliol again and with writing at the centre of it,’ says Gwyneth. ‘I’ll be holding office hours two or three times a week for anyone interested in creative writing or having trouble with academic prose (see below), so do come along for a chat. I’ll also be taking part in some readings and groups from time to time (we’ll announce those individually). Don’t be shy – I’d love to talk writing with you!’
Office Hours with Gwyneth Lewis
Do you want to be a writer? Or are you stuck on a piece of creative or academic writing and could you use some help? Come and talk writing with Artist in Residence Gwyneth Lewis.
You don’t even have to be a good writer:
if you enjoy writing and are interested,
just come along for a chat.
‘I did my DPhil at Balliol at the same time as I was starting out as a poet, lacking in confidence but desperate to get writing. A confidential chat with a writer at Balliol would have made the world of difference to me then,’ says Gwyneth. ‘You don’t even have to be a good writer: if you enjoy writing and are interested, at whatever level, just come along for a chat — I’d love to meet you. Talking about writing is my second favourite thing, after writing itself. All this would be, of course, in confidence.’
- Current students, staff and Fellows, from Balliol or the wider University, are all welcome
- 11.00am‑1.00pm, Tuesdays, some Thursdays, and Saturdays, 1st week to 8th week
- Staircase 21, Room 8, Balliol College, Broad Street
- Book an appointment with Gwyneth
Other events
The Acting Chaplain will be hosting Close Reading Lunches with Gwyneth on 27 January, 10 February, 24 February and 10 March. Details of these and other events with Gwyneth will be announced in due course: see the events page.
Don’t be shy — I’d love to talk writing with you!
Gwyneth Lewis, artist in Residence at Balliol