Gerhard Kress takes photographs, plays music on various instruments including the drainpipe. He writes, mostly, but not exclusively, words. He has supplied the folk and early music world with frame drums, renaissance, shaman and communal giant drums. Mabon Arts have published ‘Inanimate People’. A collection of photographs shown at Pontypridd Museum, the Pop Factory and is going to be exhibited at the Welsh Assembly in 2017.
Rhian Elizabeth was born in 1988 in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales, and now lives in Cardiff. Her novel, Six Pounds Eight Ounces (Seren, 2014), was shortlisted for The International Rubery Book Award. She has previously been a winner of The Terry Hetherington Young Writers Award and her poetry was shortlisted for The Bangor Poetry Prize (Northern Ireland). Her debut poetry collection will be published by Parthian in Spring 2018. She is a Hay Festival Writer at Work
Cara Gwen is a bilingual writer and musician from South Wales and recently completed a bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Oxford. Cara was brought up within a family of artists and environmental activists and this has been a strong influence on her writing.
Rob Cullen studied at Bristol and Cardiff art colleges and lived in New York and Brighton. Rob was an expert to the criminal and family courts. He retired in 2012. His short story The Choice was published in an anthology A Fall into Grace in 2015. Rob has written short stories published in Ystrad Stories related to the paintings of Ernie Zobole. His poems have been published in the online magazines I AM NOT A SILENT POET, The Learned Pig, The Bezine. A collection of poetry “Uncertain Times” was published in 2016. He is currently being mentored by a publisher on a novel “Imaginary Beaches”. Rob has also recently collaborated with the photographer Jon Pountney on a film “Beachcombing” providing words and voice over. www.celfypridd.wordpress.com
Des Mannay is the winner of the ‘rethinkyourmind’ poetry competition (2015). Placed 2nd and highly commended in the Disability Arts Cymru poetry Competition (2015). ‘Gold Award’ winner in the Creative Futures Literary Awards (2015), shortlisted for the erbacce-prize for poetry (2015, and 2016), Welsh Poetry Competition (2015), The John Tripp and Idris Davies poetry competition; part of Rhymney Valley Literature and Arts Festival 2016, and the Disability Arts Cymru poetry Competition (2016) Des has performed at numerous venues, including the ‘Unity’ Festival, ‘Maindee’ Festival, ‘Hub’ Festival, ‘Stoke Newington Literature Festival’, KAYA Festival of World Music & Arts, and Walls:Muriau – Welsh mental health arts festival. He helped organize a refugee solidarity fundraiser – performing alongside ‘Attila the Stockbroker’ as part of the ‘Arguments Yard’ tour. He is also instrumental in setting up ‘Poets On The Picket Line – South Wales Chapter’; delivering solidarity stanzas to people on strike. He has poems published in ‘I Am Not A Silent Poet’ online journal, ‘The Angry Manifesto’, ‘Proletarian Poetry’, ‘Yellow Chair Review’, ‘Indiana Voice Journal’, ‘Stand Up And Spit’, ‘Red Poets’ and work in a number of poetry anthologies. Des is on facebook as “The stuff wot I wrote’ Des Mannay – hooligan Poet” https://www.facebook.com/The-stuff-wot-I-wrote-Des-Mannay…/… and Twitter as @hooliganpoet
Mike Church is a radio talk show host, and singer/songwriter. In 2006 Church was named to Askmen.com‘s list of the “Top Ten Shock Jocks in America. He has been called “The Most Radical Man on the Radio”, and has been called the “The King Dude” by listeners since 2001.The Mike Church Show was the first-ever produced talk show on Sirius Satellite Radio . Prior to its cancellation in October, 2015, Church’s show was the longest-running program on satellite radio. His final live show on Sirius XM aired on the morning of Tuesday, October 27, 2015.Church is also credited with creating a library of original conservative-themed parody songs, which include “Manuel Went Down To Georgia,” “There’s Democrats Somewhere” and “Obama,” a take on the Toto classic, “Rosanna.” Most recently, Church’s “Mr. Jefferson,” became a hit song and video. A rendition of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, “Mrs. Robinson,” Church’s “Mr. Jefferson” racked up nearly 200,000 views on YouTube.com – in the first week of release alone. The song was also tapped as the theme song for hundreds of “Tax Day Tea Party” rallies across the country. These can be found online.His show was aired on SIRIUS XM Patriot, SIRIUS and XM channel 125 Monday through Friday from 6:00 am – 9:00 am Eastern time. Shows were generally aired live, with an occasional rebroadcast of a previous show. The show was also later rebroadcast on SIRIUS XM Patriot Plus, SIRIUS 816 and XM 138 from 12 midnight to 3 am Eastern time. His show was broadcast live from self-supported studios in Mandeville, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans.
Rufus Mufusa is a literary activist and lyrical genre hopper has travelled and toured profusely but always returns to Pontypridd, which she has made her home. Rufus’ work explores a cocktail of disciplines, the avant-garde “ness” of multilingualism, the threading of ancestry, filled with hope and heart. New school call her rapper, old school call her chanter, but she adores her newest title, mother, and is drunk on the lessons it brings, and how it has made her an even stronger dutiful daughter to our planet.
Eric Ngalle Charles was born in Buea, Cameroon on the 29th November 1979. It has a taking me over sixteen years to be able to write about the various incidents that took place back home in my small village of Wovilla, in Buea, Cameroon. Eric became a victim of human trafficking and ended up with a one way student visa to Russia instead of Belgium. He is a poet, dramatist and novelists based in Cardiff/Wales. He runs Black Entertainment Wales, an Arts organisation that provides a platform for artists in the BMEs communities to showcase their work. Since his arrival in Wales, he edited and published Between a Mountain and a Sea, Soft Touch, Nobody’s Perfect, and Festival of the Wolves – poetry anthologies by refugees, other migrants and indigenous artists in collaboration with Hafan books and Dr Tom Chessman. Eric’s first play, My Mouth Brought Me Here, was showcased at Encampment in London Southbank on the 4th of August 2016 and was again performed at the Hay Festival on the 30th of May 2017. Eric’s plays are based around his poetry and proverbs from cultures that exist on the periphery.
Celfypridd 