Island Voices’ collection of Welsh recordings continues to grow as the Extensions “ripple effect” keeps on spreading out.
We already had Welsh versions as integral parts of the Audrey West and Martin MacIntyre packages – for obvious reasons! – with Ifor ap Glyn providing the voiceover on both occasions. We’re delighted to announce that Ifor has now gone on to provide us with the same service for both Christie Williamson and Donald S Murray as well.
These additions will bump the total number of films in our Other Tongues Welsh Selection up to five – with more to come!
Select any video clip in this landscape format, or use the phone-friendly portrait layout.
Shetlander Christie Williamson is the focus of this third “poets in exile” collection in our experimental extension of the Island Voices “capture and curation” model into new contexts and languages. This follows on from Jamaican in Wales with Audrey West, and Gaelic in Shetland with Donald S Murray, all supported by CIALL.
As the documentary reveals, while Christie has been a resident of Glasgow for over twenty years, he has also travelled extensively to present his poems around the world, while keeping a firm grip on his Shetland roots from which he derives so much inspiration. The documentary also presents snatches from his poetry and a conversation with Chris Stout. Lengthier examples are presented in additional video clips.
In the first poetry clip, Christie recites a selection of his Shetlandic poems from his collection “Oo an Feddirs”. In the second clip he reads from “Doors tae Naewye”. The third clip features contributions to the collections “Break in Case of Silence”, and “What Winter Wants”.
The examples of unscripted speech are from a conversation in which Christie talks to fellow Shetlander Chris Stout, who is also now a Glasgow resident.
In Part 1 the topics covered include Shetland schooldays and hostel living, ferry journeys to the mainland in student days, and what living in Glasgow is like for Shetlanders.
In Part 2, they talk about what it’s like to go home to Shetland for visits, and how mobile phones, particularly in the wake of Covid, have enabled Shetlanders to keep in closer contact.
All films in the collection (including additional versions of the documentary in Gaelic and English*) can be accessed through the above poster in either landscape or phone-friendly portrait layout.
*September 2025 update
Since original publication four new versions of the documentary have been added to the collection in Welsh, Jamaican, Catalan, and Portuguese with accompanying transcripts and background information.
