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♥Llyfr y Mis i Blant: Hydref 2020♥
♥Children's Book of the Month: October 2020♥
Casgliad gwerthfawr ac unigryw o englynion i blant gan wahanol feirdd - gyda nodiadau defnyddiol i gyd-fynd.
A treasure-trove of unique 'Englynion' for children by different poets - with explanatory notes.
Addas i oed: 7-11
Suitable for ages 7-11
Hyd yn oed fel oedolyn, mae englynion yn fy nychryn. Dwi ’rioed wedi teimlo’n ddigon ‘clyfar’ neu ‘llenyddol’ i allu mwynhau englyn. Bron y buaswn yn dweud mod i’n teimlo nad oedd gen i ‘hawl’ i wneud. Maen debyg fod na sawl un wedi teimlo’r un fath â mi – fod englynion ar gyfer pobl ‘glyfar’ a’r rheiny sy’n dda yn y Gymraeg yn unig. Gobeithio, y bydd y llyfr yma’n llwyddo i’ch darbwyllo fel arall...
Mae englynion i bawb.
Wedi i mi ddarllen Fy Llyfr Englynion ddwywaith o glawr i glawr, rwy’n falch iawn o allu dweud nad ydw i’n ofni’r englyn bellach, ac o’i ddarllen fy mod i wedi cael syniad llawer gwell o un o drysorau Cymru. Dydw i ddim yn hollol siŵr eto os fydda i’n gallu ’sgwennu fy englyn fy hun, ond dwi’n mynd i drio herio fy hun i wneud erbyn diwedd y flwyddyn!
Mae’r llyfr yn llai nac oeddwn i wedi ei ddychmygu, ond, wedi meddwl, dyma faint perffaith ar gyfer ei ffitio mewn poced neu fag – ni ddylai’r llyfr yma fod yn casglu llwch ar silff, ond yn cael ei ddefnyddio a’i fwynhau gan y genhedlaeth nesaf o feirdd. Bach ydi englyn hefyd wrth gwrs, ac ni ddylid barnu ar sail maint yn unig. Mae cymaint o gyfoeth mewn englyn, sy’n golygu bod llond trol yn perthyn i’r gyfrol hon. O ran y llyfr ei hun, clawr caled sydd iddo ac mae ’na lyfrnod rhuban del ar gyfer cadw’r dudalen – touch bach neis.
Dwi’n reit embarrassed i ddweud nad oeddwn i’n llawn ddeall beth oedd englyn cyn heddiw. Dwi wedi clywed amdanyn nhw, do, ond doeddwn i ’rioed wedi mynd ‘o dan y bonet’ fel petai er mwyn gweld yr injan! Diddorol iawn oedd dysgu am y rheolau sy’n gwneud englynion mor swynol ac unigryw. Am syniad gwych oedd creu cyfrol liwgar, sy’n cyflwyno plant ifanc i ran bwysig iawn o’n diwylliant a’n traddodiad ni yng Nghymru. Mae’n drysorfa o englynion hyfryd, rhai yn hen ffefrynnau gan feirdd megis Dic Jones a Thomas Richards, ac eraill yn fwy cyfoes gan feirdd megis Karen Owen a Tudur Dylan Jones. Mae’r llyfr hefyd yn dipyn o ‘how to guide’ ar yr un pryd. Dyma yw cryfder y llyfr – yn hytrach na chyflwyno’r englynion yn unig, fe â’r llyfr gam ymhellach a chynnig esboniad o’r geiriau anghyfarwydd gyda nodiadau manwl sy’n egluro ystyr y penillion. Dwi’n hoff iawn o’r ffaith fod y llyfr yn esbonio ac yn gwneud hynny heb fod yn patronising.
Mae’r golygydd, Mererid Hopwood, wedi sôn sawl gwaith am bwysigrwydd y cof, a dwi’n mawr obeithio y bydd plant yn rhoi cynnig ar geisio cofio rhai o’u hoff englynion, am mai pethau i’w hadrodd ar lafar a’u trosglwyddo o genhedlaeth i genhedlaeth ydi englynion.
Pŵer englyn yw cymryd peth, teimlad neu ddigwyddiad go gyffredin ac amlygu’r hyn sy’n hynod amdano – tynnu ein sylw at fawredd a hud yr hyn yr ydym ni’n ei gymryd yn ganiataol neu’n eu diystyrru. Dyma deitlau rhai o englynion y gyfrol: ‘Afal’, ‘Y Gwely’, ‘Cwestiwn’ ac ‘Y Pry Cop’. Mae’r rhain i gyd yn bethau sy’n rhan o’n bywydau beunyddiol, ond mae’r englynion hyn yn edrych arnynt o bersbectif gwahanol, gan wneud inni eu gweld mewn golau newydd.
Nid yr englynion yw unig elfennau hyfryd y gyfrol hon ychwaith. Ceir llun lliwgar gan Alice Samuel i gyd-fynd â phob englyn, sydd wir yn eu cyfoethogi ac yn ychwanegu at greu naws a theimlad yr englynion. Trowch at ‘Y Gorwel’ gan Dewi Emrys neu ‘Nyth’ gan Roger Jones, i enwi dim ond rhai o fy hoff gyfuniadau o lên a llun.
Llongyfarchiadau i’r wasg newydd, Beirdd Bach, ar eu cyhoeddiad cyntaf. O ystyried safon y gyfrol gyntaf, rwy’n rhagweld dyfodol llewyrchus i’r fenter ac rwy’n edrych ymlaen yn eiddgar at y cyhoeddiad nesaf.
Mwy o wybodaeth am y wasg newydd yma:
Even as an adult, ‘englynion’ scare me. I've never felt 'clever' or 'literary' enough to be able to enjoy them. I'd almost go as far as saying I never felt like I had a right to. Many of your everyday average Welsh speakers probably feel the same– that poetry is for 'clever' people and the Welsh literati. I hope this book will succeed in persuading you otherwise...
After I read Fy Llyfr Englynion twice from cover to cover, I’m pleased to be able to say that I am no longer afraid of ‘englynion’, and that having done so, I now have a much better idea about one of Wales's best kept secrets. I'm not quite sure yet if I’ll be able to write my own but I'm going to challenge myself to do so by the end of the year!
The book is smaller than I had imagined, but, having thought about it, this is the perfect size for a pocket or a bag – this book shouldn’t be collecting dust on a shelf, but be used and enjoyed by the next generation of poets. An englyn itself is small and short, and should not be judged on its size alone. The sounds of the words flow like music and this volume if full of treasures. In terms of the book itself, it has a hard cover and you also get a ribbon bookmark– a nice little touch.
I'm quite embarrassed to say that I didn't fully understand what an ‘englyn’ was before today. I've heard of them, yes, but never really ‘looked under the bonnet’ about how they are put together. It was very interesting to learn about the rules that make such unique bits of poetry, where every word counts. They are almost like a Welsh version o the Haiku, but I get the feeling I'm oversimplifying here! What a great idea it was to create a colourful volume, which introduces young children to a very important part of our culture and traditions in Wales and ensures it's survival. It’s a treasure trove of lovely short poems, some old favourites by poets such as Dic Jones and Thomas Richards, and other, more contemporary ones by poets such as Karen Owen and Tudur Dylan Jones. The book also works as a bit of a 'how-to guide’ at the same time. This is one of the book’s strengths– rather than just presenting the englynion as they are, the book goes a step further and offers explanations for the unfamiliar words with detailed notes explaining the meaning of the poem. I love the fact that the book takes the time to explain and does so without being patronising.
The editor, Mererid Hopwood, has mentioned several times the importance of memory, and I very much hope that children will try to commit some of their favourite englynion to memory because they are things that can, and should be passed from generation to generation by the power of the spoken word.
The power of an englyn is that it takes a real thing, feeling or event and highlights the remarkable little details – it draws our attention to things we might take for granted. Many of the poems are about things in our everyday lives, but the englyn looks at them from a different perspective, making us see them in a new light.
The englynion themselves are complemented by Alice Samuel’s colourful and delicate illustrations. The pictures really add to their beauty. ‘Y Gorwel’ by Dewi Emrys and ‘Nyth’ by Roger Jones are some of our favourites.
Congratulations to Beirdd Bach, a new children’s publishing division of Barddas, on their first publication. Given the standard of their first book, I anticipate a prosperous future for them and I look forward to the next publication.
Right, now I'm off to try and write my own englyn... I'll let you know how I get on!
Englyn (pronounced [ˈɛŋ. lɪn]; plural englynion) is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form.
Gwyliwch y lansiad! Watch the Book Launch!
Ymunwch â Mererid Hopwodd a'r beirdd bach, Liwsi Glwys a Sisial Karadog ar Ddiwrnod Cenedlaethol Barddoniaeth ar gyfer lansiad rhithol 'Fy Llyfr Englynion'.
[click on link not picture]
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