William Saunders (poet)

William Saunders (1806–1851) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose work won prizes at eisteddfodau in Carmarthen and elsewhere. He was a printer by trade.[1]

William Saunders
Born(1806-01-17)January 17, 1806
Gwarcwm, Llanllwni, Wales
Died(1851-06-30)June 30, 1851
Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales
EducationCarmarthen Grammar School
GenrePoetry, printing

Birth and education

William Saunders was born on 17 January 1806 at Gwarcwm, Llanllwni, Carmarthenshire, the son of a farmer, Evan Saunders. He went to school in the village of Castellhywel and then to Carmarthen Grammar School. After that he was apprenticed as a printer, and later joined Samuel Williams, a printer in Aberystwyth, Cardiganshire.[1]

Poetry and printing

While working in Aberystwyth, Saunders gained prominence for his nature poems and for metrical translations. He won eisteddfod prizes in Carmarthen and other places. His titles included "Y Gwanwyn" (Spring), "Yr Haf" (Summer), "Yr Hydref" (Autumn), "Y Gaeaf" (Winter), "Y Daran" (Clap) and "Y Môr" (The Sea).

In 1830 Saunders moved to the printing and publishing firm of William Rees (1808–1873) in the smaller market town of Llandovery, Carmarthenshire. He then remained working there until his death on 30 June 1851.[1]

Namesake

Another, presumably unrelated, poet and author named William Saunders wrote in English in the mid-20th century.[2][3]

References
  1. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  2. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  3. Mothering Sunday. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.