Wales


<p>If ever there were a day made for literary romantics, this is it. <a href="https://www.literaturewales.org/our-projects/archive/international-dylan-thomas-day/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">International Dylan Thomas Day</a> (or Dylan Day, if you&#8217;re in the know) returns every <strong>14 May</strong>, celebrating the life, language and enduring brilliance of Dylan Thomas — Wales&#8217; most beloved poet and patron saint of lyrical chaos, late-night storytelling and beautifully tangled emotion.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/Dylan-Thomas.png" alt="Dylan Thomas" class="wp-image-7012" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/Dylan-Thomas.png 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/Dylan-Thomas-300x200.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/Dylan-Thomas-1024x683.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/05/Dylan-Thomas-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Marking the anniversary of the first ever stage reading of <em>Under Milk Wood</em> at New York’s 92Y Poetry Center in 1953, the day now inspires everything from readings and walking tours to festivals, film screenings and creative workshops across the globe. And honestly? Any excuse to revisit <em>Do not go gentle into that good night</em>, <em>Fern Hill</em>, or the deliciously dreamy world of <em>Under Milk Wood</em> &#8211; currently <a href="https://www.theatrclwyd.com/event/under-milk-wood" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">touring</a> in a new stage production directed by Kate Wasserberg &#8211; is good enough for us. </p>



<p>To celebrate Dylan Day, we&#8217;re raising a metaphorical glass and rounding up our Muddy-approved pick of our favourite Welsh novels, poetry collections and short stories to lose yourself in.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/2.jpg" alt="Dylan Thomas books" class="wp-image-8443" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/2.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/2-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-collected-poems-of-dylan-thomas-the-centenary-edition-by-dylan-thomas-and-john-goodby"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Collected-Poems-Dylan-Thomas-Centenary/dp/0297865692" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas: The Centenary Edition</a> by Dylan Thomas and John Goodby</h2>



<p>Released to mark the 100th anniversary of Dylan Thomas&#8217; birth, this beautifully curated collection is a reminder that nobody did lyrical longing, boozy brilliance and gorgeously dramatic wordplay quite like the Welsh bard himself.&nbsp;Edited and annotated by leading Dylan Thomas scholar John Goodby, it combines newly uncovered material with fresh insights into the poet’s extraordinary legacy — essentially the literary equivalent of getting backstage access to one of Wales’ greatest minds. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-history-of-wales-in-twelve-poems-by-m-wynn-thomas"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Wales-Twelve-Poems/dp/1786837668" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The History of Wales in Twelve Poems</a> by M. Wynn Thomas</h2>



<p>Poetry isn’t just part of Welsh culture — it practically runs through the nation’s veins.&nbsp;This beautifully illustrated collection traces Wales&#8217; history, landscapes and ever-evolving identity through twelve striking poems, spanning early Welsh verse, modern English-language writing and bilingual works that prove the country’s literary scene is anything but stuck in the past. Thoughtful, atmospheric and the sort of book you’ll want to leave artfully strewn across your coffee table, it’s a lovely reminder that Wales has been producing world-class wordsmiths for centuries. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lady-guest-s-mabinogion-with-essays-on-medieval-welsh-myths-and-arthurian-legends-by-david-rhys-phillips"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lady-Guests-Mabinogion-Medieval-Arthurian/dp/1528773403" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lady Guest’s Mabinogion: with Essays on Medieval Welsh Myths and Arthurian Legends</a> by David Rhys Phillips</h2>



<p>If you grew up in Wales, chances are <em>The Mabinogion</em> was somewhere in the background of your childhood &#8211; mentioned at the dinner table, studied at school or quietly lurking on a grandparent’s bookshelf beside the good china. A cornerstone of Welsh mythology and one of the oldest collections of prose stories in Britain, it’s packed with magic, mayhem, shape-shifting, heroic quests and enough drama to rival modern prestige TV. This gorgeous new edition breathes fresh life into Lady Charlotte Guest’s 1877 translation for a modern audience, bringing fresh energy to the celebrated Four Branches of the Mabinogi, early Arthurian legends, and the rich folklore woven through these medieval tales. Complete with six insightful essays exploring the stories’ origins and enduring influence, it’s the kind of book that makes you want to disappear with a blanket for several uninterrupted hours.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-welsh-folk-tales-of-coast-and-sea-by-peter-stevenson"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Welsh-Folk-Tales-Coast-Sea/dp/1803996625" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Welsh Folk Tales of Coast and Sea</a> by Peter Stevenson</h2>



<p>Part myth, part memory and entirely transportive,&nbsp;Peter Stevenson’s coastal tale drifts along the Welsh shoreline like sea mist on a rainy morning. Following the travels of Mesolithic marsh girl Môrwen along the Welsh Coast Path, the book unearths the strange, salty folklore woven into the nations cliffs, coves and tidal corners –&nbsp;including bwbach, drunken mermaids, swan girls and salmon children lurking beneath the waves.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drift-by-caryl-lewis"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drift-Caryl-Lewis/dp/0857527878" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Drift</a> by Caryl Lewis</h2>



<p>Winner of Wales Book of the Year in 2022, <em>Drift</em>&nbsp;is the kind of haunting, atmospheric novel that completely sweeps you away. Moving between a storm-battered Welsh cover and war-torn Syria, the story follows the quietly mysterious Nefyn and Hamza, a Syrian mapmaker stranded far from home on a nearby military base. When a violent storm throws their worlds together, an unexpected connection begins to emerge — tender, fragile and utterly absorbing. Beautifully written and quietly devastating, it’s a love story about displacement, belonging and finding light in the most unlikely places.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tu-ol-i-r-awyr-by-nbsp-megan-angharad-hunter"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tu-Awyr-Megan-Angharad-Hunter/dp/1784619299" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tu ôl i&#8217;r Awyr</a> by&nbsp;Megan Angharad Hunter</h2>



<p>Available in both English and Welsh, <em>Tu ôl i&#8217;r Awyr</em> is one of those rare coming-of-age novels that manages to be laugh-out-loud funny and quietly heartbreaking at the exact same time.&nbsp;It follows teenagers Deian and Anest through the chaos, confusion and emotional whiplash of growing up, the story captures the intensity of young friendship with real tenderness and razor-sharp wit. Warm, raw and deeply affecting, it’s an astonishingly assured debut that lingers long after the final page.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-afonydd-poems-for-welsh-rivers-by-sian-northey-and-ness-owen"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Afonydd-Poems-Welsh-Rivers-Cerddi/dp/1913665976" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Afonydd: Poems for Welsh Rivers</a> by Sian Northey and Ness Owen</h2>



<p>Inspired by the success of the bilingual anthology <em><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/A470-Poems-Road-Cerddir-Ffordd/dp/1913665550" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A470 Poems for the Road</a></em>, this beautifully curated collection swaps motorways for waterways, diving into the rivers that shape Wales’ landscapes, history and collective memory. Drawing from more than 600 rivers across the country, the anthology gathers 50 poems from voices across the Welsh poetry scene, presented in both Welsh and English alongside their translations. From peaceful estuaries and winding source waters to polluted culverts, flood aftermaths and childhood summers spent splashing about in rivers that definitely looked cleaner at the time, the collection flows between nostalgia, nature and modern environmental realities with real grace. Thoughtful, lyrical and deeply rooted in place, it’s the kind of book that makes you want to immediately romanticise your next countryside walk.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-time-for-another">TIME FOR ANOTHER?</h2>



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Gotta Have It: Welsh poetry, novels and short stories

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