Dannie Abse

Welsh Retrospective Dannie Abse

Although he left his native Cardiff in 1943 to study medicine in London (and has been there ever since), Dannie Abse's Welsh background has been essential to his writing. In Welsh Retrospective Abse addresses his relationship with his homeland through poems both old and new, from classics like "Return to Cardiff" and "In the Theatre" to newly penned "In the National Museum" and "Welsh Valleys Cinema, 1930s".

The resulting collection is a thoroughly enjoyable poetic celebration of Abse's relationship with Wales, in particular the Cardiff of his youth. Characters such as Cousin Sidney and Aunt Alice are mixed with boyhood memories and leavened with external influences: ancient Welsh myths and legends, literary forebears, industrial heritage, and Abse's beloved Bluebirds, the Cardiff City football team.