Roland Mathias

A founder of "Dock Leaves" (renamed "The Anglo-Welsh Review"), Mathias combined his career as an editor with work as an educationalist, poet and critic. This book examines his life and writing career, exploring the origins and depth of his commitment to a Welsh literature in the English language.

Roland Mathias has been one of the foremost literary figures in post-war Wales, playing a crucial role in the creation of a distinctive Anglo-Welsh literary and cultural identity.
A founder of Dock Leaves (later renamed The Anglo-Welsh Review), he edited the magazine between 1961 and 1976, a task which he combined with a busy career as an educationalist and prolific writing in both creative and critical modes.
His five volumes of poetry are characterized by a meticulous craftsmanship. They also express at the most profound level his unique personal vision, imbued with a deeply-held yet questioning religious belief, a strong sense of history and place, and a progressively stronger identification with Wales.
This first book-length account of his extraordinarily busy life and writing career reveals the origins and depth of his commitment to peace, to moral principles and to a Welsh literature in the English language.