Search results for ""author kieron smith""

John Ormond was a poet and documentary filmmaker from Swansea, south Wales. His early poetry was published while he was a student in the 1940s and, upon graduation, Ormond moved to work as a journalist in London where he soon secured a job at the celebrated photojournalist magazine Picture Post. Having learned there to `think like a camera', he was employed by the BBC in Cardiff during the early days of television, and went on to become a pioneer of the documentary film form. In a uniquely dualistic creative career spanning five decades, Ormond made major contributions both to English-language poetry and documentary filmmaking. This book is the first in-depth examination of the fascinating correspondences between Ormond's twin creative channels: viewing his work against the backdrop of a changing Wales, it constitutes an important case study in the history of documentary filmmaking, in the history of British television, in inter-artistic creativity, and in the cultural history of Wales.

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Dylan Thomas's reputation precedes him. In keeping with his claim that he held `a beast, an angel, and a madman in him', interpretations of his work have ranged from solemn adoration to dubious mythologising. His many voices continue to reverberate across culture and the arts: from poetry and letters, to popular music and Hollywood film. However, this wide and sometimes controversial renown has occasionally hindered serious analysis of his writing. Counterbalancing the often-misleading popular reputation, this book showcases eight new critical perspectives on Thomas's work. It is the first to provide in one volume a critical overview of the multifaceted range of his output, from the poetry, prose and correspondence to his work for wartime propaganda filmmaking, his late play for voices Under Milk Wood, and his reputation in letters and wider society. The whole proves that Thomas was much more than his own self-characterisation as a `writer of words, and nothing else'.

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Are we a more accepting society than ever before? Is there no longer a them and us division between the disabled and everybody else? The Politics of Down Syndrome looks at how we got to where we are today, from the racist roots of its identification to the rising number of abortions today. Down syndrome is the most common syndrome in the world, shared by all classes and races, yet it's one we rarely address our feelings about, head on. This book, although direct and questioning, takes a positive view about where we go from here and the opportunity for society to fully enjoy the benefits of being inclusive.

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Neoliberalism has firmly taken hold in Wales. The 'clear red water' is darkening. The wounds of poverty, inequality, and disengagement, far from being healed, have worsened. Child poverty has reached epidemic levels: the worst in the UK. Educational attainment remains stubbornly low, particularly in deprived communities. Prison population rates are among the highest in Europe. Unemployment remains stubbornly high. House prices are rising, with the private rented sector lining the pockets of an ever-increasing number of private landlords. Minority groups are consistently marginalised. All this is not to mention the devastatingly disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on working class communities. The Welsh Way interrogates neoliberalism's grasp on Welsh life. It challenges the lazy claims about the 'successes' of devolution, fabricated by Welsh politicians and regurgitated within a tepid, attenuated public sphere. These wide-ranging essays examine the manifold ways in which neoliberalism now permeates all areas of Welsh culture, politics and society. They also look to a wider world, to the global trends and tendencies that have given shape to Welsh life today. Together, they encourage us to imagine, and demand, another Welsh future.

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