Welsh Voices
FREE VIRTUAL SEMINARS ON ZOOM
Presented by experts on Welsh and Welsh North American culture and history.
NEW DATE: Sunday, February 22, 2026, 1 PM CT/2 PM ET
The Cambrian Guards in the American Civil War
Presented by Dr. Jerry Hunter, Bangor University
Dr. Jerry Hunter has extensively researched the men who served in the Cambrian Guards, a division of the 22nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment comprised mainly of Welsh Americans from Racine. Motivated by patriotism and opposition to slavery, the Cambrian Guards enthusiastically answered the call to arms before marching south through Kentucky and Tennessee and taking part in the siege of Atlanta. Their experiences brought them face to face with the harrowing realities of slavery, war and imprisonment, which they documented in letters and diaries written in Welsh.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Jerry Hunter is an acclaimed scholar of Welsh literature, eisteddfod winner and novelist in the Welsh language. He teaches at Bangor University, and collaborates with Dr. Richard Wyn Jones on the award-winning literary podcast, Yr Hen Iaith.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/92174716924?pwd=lbfvImsGyHMama4XlnJXunxvEM5mJI.1
The Cambrian Guards in the American Civil War
Presented by Dr. Jerry Hunter, Bangor University
Dr. Jerry Hunter has extensively researched the men who served in the Cambrian Guards, a division of the 22nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment comprised mainly of Welsh Americans from Racine. Motivated by patriotism and opposition to slavery, the Cambrian Guards enthusiastically answered the call to arms before marching south through Kentucky and Tennessee and taking part in the siege of Atlanta. Their experiences brought them face to face with the harrowing realities of slavery, war and imprisonment, which they documented in letters and diaries written in Welsh.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Jerry Hunter is an acclaimed scholar of Welsh literature, eisteddfod winner and novelist in the Welsh language. He teaches at Bangor University, and collaborates with Dr. Richard Wyn Jones on the award-winning literary podcast, Yr Hen Iaith.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/92174716924?pwd=lbfvImsGyHMama4XlnJXunxvEM5mJI.1
PLEASE NOTE: The presentation originally scheduled for March 15 — Madame Hannah Hughes-Thomas and Her Royal Welsh Ladies' Choir, presented by Dr. Bill Jones — has been postponed until a later date.
Sunday, March 15, 2026, 1 PM CT/2 PM ET
Afonydd: Poems for Welsh Rivers/Cerddi Afonydd Cymru
Sponsored and hosted by the Welsh Society of Western New England
Afonydd is an anthology of poems about Wales' rivers. Several poets whose work is included will join us, including Mair Ifans, clare e potter, Catrin Mari, Adele Evershed and Meg Elis, plus Ness Owen and Sian Northey, editors. It is published by independent London-based publisher Arachne Press.
Inspired by the success of the best-selling A470: Poems for the Road /Cerddi'r Ffordd, this new anthology is a collection of original poems by Welsh poets, all written in response to Wales' rivers. These are not generic river poems, but specific poems about particular rivers, from the unnamed to the magnificent and the infamous – washing up against the rural, the urban, the industrial and the unspoiled.
The fully bilingual anthology includes 50 poem, edited and translated by Ness Owen and Sian Northey. Owen and Northey were also the editors behind A470: Poems for the Road /Cerddi'r Ffordd, which was published in 2022 to widespread acclaim and was featured in a previous WSWNE Zoom presentation.
Please visit https://www.welshwne.org/events/afonydd-2026
to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.
Afonydd: Poems for Welsh Rivers/Cerddi Afonydd Cymru
Sponsored and hosted by the Welsh Society of Western New England
Afonydd is an anthology of poems about Wales' rivers. Several poets whose work is included will join us, including Mair Ifans, clare e potter, Catrin Mari, Adele Evershed and Meg Elis, plus Ness Owen and Sian Northey, editors. It is published by independent London-based publisher Arachne Press.
Inspired by the success of the best-selling A470: Poems for the Road /Cerddi'r Ffordd, this new anthology is a collection of original poems by Welsh poets, all written in response to Wales' rivers. These are not generic river poems, but specific poems about particular rivers, from the unnamed to the magnificent and the infamous – washing up against the rural, the urban, the industrial and the unspoiled.
The fully bilingual anthology includes 50 poem, edited and translated by Ness Owen and Sian Northey. Owen and Northey were also the editors behind A470: Poems for the Road /Cerddi'r Ffordd, which was published in 2022 to widespread acclaim and was featured in a previous WSWNE Zoom presentation.
Please visit https://www.welshwne.org/events/afonydd-2026
to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.
Sunday, April 26, 2026, 1 PM CT/2 PM ET
None Could Go Against the King of England: Crouchback and the History of Medieval Wales
Presented by author Sarah Woodbury
Sponsored and hosted by the Welsh Society of Western New England
After the assassination of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1282, King Edward I of England set about eliminating the Welsh language, culture, and history to the best of his ability, even to the point of expunging any mention of the Welsh royal court from public documents and placing himself in the lineage of the great Welsh hero, Arthur. He took the crown, the piece of the true cross, and even the title, Prince of Wales, which from then on would be bestowed on the eldest son of the King of England.This talk by Sarah Woodbury—author of more than 50 novels all set in medieval Wales—places the ambush and murder of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd within the context of Welsh history, traces its origins and consequences, and then asks, “How do those who survive the end of their world keep on living?”
Please visit https://www.welshwne.org/events/2026/none-crouchback
to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.
None Could Go Against the King of England: Crouchback and the History of Medieval Wales
Presented by author Sarah Woodbury
Sponsored and hosted by the Welsh Society of Western New England
After the assassination of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1282, King Edward I of England set about eliminating the Welsh language, culture, and history to the best of his ability, even to the point of expunging any mention of the Welsh royal court from public documents and placing himself in the lineage of the great Welsh hero, Arthur. He took the crown, the piece of the true cross, and even the title, Prince of Wales, which from then on would be bestowed on the eldest son of the King of England.This talk by Sarah Woodbury—author of more than 50 novels all set in medieval Wales—places the ambush and murder of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd within the context of Welsh history, traces its origins and consequences, and then asks, “How do those who survive the end of their world keep on living?”
Please visit https://www.welshwne.org/events/2026/none-crouchback
to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.
