Biographical books are very interesting to read as they create a picture of the lives and experiences of various people. The National Library has a wide variety of biographical books, and the pictures in the blog show a selection of works in Welsh. The first picture is a combination of autobiographies and individual biographies.
The autobiography of the actress Sharon Morgan and the biography of the actress Siân Phillips by Hywel Gwynfryn can be seen in the photograph. The books include a biography of the poet and pacifist Waldo Williams by Alan Llwyd. 55 years will have passed since Waldo's death by May this year. The former teacher Gwilym Roberts who was very active in the field of teaching Welsh died at the end of 2025, and his autobiography can be seen in the photo.
Tudur Owen and Meinir Howells are familiar faces on S4C, and their biographical books are 'Dangos fy hun' and 'Ffermio ar y dibyn'. Tudur Owen was one of the well-known people who appeared in the first series of the television programme ‘Cyfrinachau’r Llyfrgell’ [‘Best Kept Secrets’]. ‘Cyfrinachau’r Llyfrgell’ is a series that follows famous people on a personal journey in the National Library, and the second series included a programme about Siân Phillips.
Examples of fascinating collective biographies and individual biographies for children can be seen in the second picture. '20 o bobl liwgar Cymru' by Natalie Jones, 'Cymry o fri!' by Jon Gower and 'Genod gwych a merched medrus’ by Medi Jones-Jackson are examples of books that are full of facts and have colourful pictures. 'Dewi Sant' by Lois Rock, 'Cranogwen' by Anni Llŷn [from the series 'Enwogion o Fri' / 'Welsh Wonders'] and 'Anthony Hopkins' by John Emyr [from the series 'Enwogion'] are examples of interesting biographies for children.
The third picture consists of collective biographies for adults. Ten portraits of people with a connection to Llŷn are in Harri Parri's book 'Heb eu Tebyg'. A family connection is the subject of the book about Rhys Jones and Caryl Parry Jones [from the series 'Dwy genhedlaeth']. The biographies in the book '100 o arwyr Cymru' ['100 Welsh heroes'] are the result of an opinion poll by Culturenet Cymru and 'Mwy o arwyr Cymru' is a book by J. Richard Williams for learners. 'Sgwrs Dan y Lloer', is a television series which started during Covid and 'Beti a'i Phobol' is a radio series which started in 1984. Elin Fflur is the interviewer of 'Sgwrs Dan y Lloer' and Beti George is the interviewer of 'Beti a'i Phobol', and the interviews which deal with the stories of people's lives are very interesting and varied.
Biographical information can also be found in some publications which are parts of series e.g. 'Bro a bywyd', 'Writers of Wales' and ‘Atgofion drwy ganeuon’. If you wish to search for articles of Welsh interest either in Welsh or English, you can look at the website Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig / Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The website provides free access to over 5,000 articles, and new biographies are added to the database regularly.
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