Y Gair #7
The Dyddiau Du newsletter
Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus, you sleazy leeks! Another week at DDHQ. That’s it. it’s been a week. Christ, when will it stop.
It’s the 1st day of March (pinch punch first of the month haha), which means this a Bumper Special of Y Gair. Fun fact: Google says that Y Gair is Welsh for ‘The Word’ but I’ve never actually bothered to check with any of my Welsh-speaking friends, and it’s gone on so far now that I’m Too Afraid To Ask.
Anyway, here’s the Book of the Month, babies:
“This book is warm. It sees you. It invokes the feeling of sun turned faces in summer, cosy cups of tea with friends, softness, laughter. Finding community and solidarity through hard winters and coming out the other side. An account of the relentless existence of trans joy. I will pass these stories into the hands of every friend, every sibling, every parent. This book will keep people alive.” — Rey Hope
Tash started writing as a means of survival. Growing up as a closeted queer in a rural village, moving to London was a game changer. After 4 years they realised medical school wasn’t for them, they came out as non-binary and started work in the NHS improving healthcare for LGBT+ people. Their chosen family are their inspiration for everything. After a rocky start, Tash wants the world to know about the wonder of trans joy.
All the Things They Said We Couldn't Have - Stories of Trans Joy is available to buy here.
CRWTH: March Takeover
For all of March, CRWTH Magazine will be taking over our regular schedule of events!
Starting with Friday 3rd, CRWTH will be launching the 2nd issue of their magazine, as well as an exhibition of Welsh photography and art. It will be also be the wrap party of Beacon Cymru’s SUMMIT event! There will also be delicious, vegan FREE(!!) curry from Atma!!
On Monday 6th, CRWTH and TY SWN will be running our creative writing workshop — it won’t be business as usual, though, ‘cause it’ll focus on music journalism! You’ll learn about writing reviews, finding your writing style, how to interview music ppl and more! It’s going to be dead bud, honestly.
Cardiff Collage Club returns on Tuesday 14th, with a twist! Crwth and Resonant Cymru will be joining CCC in running a collage workshop on creating event posters. Its gonna be huge!
Our open mic on Wednesday 22nd will be part poetry, part folktale! We’ll hear from poets featured in CRWTH mag, and listen to folktales from the Silurian Folk Society. There are limited spaces on the open mic, so grab yours now! Folktale-inspired poems are v v welcome ;)
As usual, all our events are on Eventbrite.
Other Events
As usual, we’ll be hosting Trans Aid Cymru’s Cardiff Social in our space, the 3rd Monday of the Month, on the 20th, 1-4PM! These socials are for anyone who identifies as trans/nonbinary/intersex. Bring a Tesco Meal Deal and your Nintendo Switch and make friends with fellow beautiful queer/trans people!
We’ll also be hosting another workshop with Lucy Smith, on Saturday 25th March, 1-3pm! -
”Calling all artists who apply for funding or projects! If you could use some help and guidance, this workshop will explore key ingredients for effective proposals and give you the space to chat to other artists about any roadblocks in your way.”
How the workshop will work:
1st hour: workshop
2nd hour: drop-in session (for anyone wanting to have a short chat about their specific proposal)
As usual, all are welcome! Hot drinks and biscuits available, pay what you can – donations go towards keeping Dyddiau Du alive and kicking!
And finally, Film Club is back, lads, Sunday 26th, 3-7pm!
This will be a special evening full of film screenings on the theme of ‘political’ from local filmmakers, followed by a feature film and Q&A from the Welsh Underground Network!
Eventbrites for film club and Lucy’s workshop coming soon. Hold onto your hot pants!
Featured Poem
This week’s Featured Poem is none other than our lovely volunteer and friend, David Hanlon! (Here’s a very sweet pic of him on the mic at our Queerdos poetry event last month!)
“The phoenix as an idea is something we can all strive for. There is nothing more human than wanting to build something new out of a wreckage. There is also nothing more human than wanting to help our friends/family/lover's achieve this too. In this poem, the heartbreak when those loved ones aren't in a place to receive that help, when you realise they must find that their own way out of the ashes, that the loving light you have to share sometimes doesn't guarantee recovery. But of course, it helps.” — Rhys Shanahan.
In his debut chapbook, Spectrum of Flight, David Hanlon explores themes such as sexuality, homophobia, bullying, toxic masculinity, depression, love, resilience and, ultimately, recovery. David is a volunteer at Dyddiau Du, and is a very lovely boy. We have his book, Spectrum of Flight, in our library (as will all our Featured Poems)!
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Thank you for reading, and we hope you all gorged yourselves on Welshcakes.
Joshua, Freya and Rhys x
Dyddiau Du
Thurs-Sat 11-6pm, Sun 11-4pm
Capitol Centre, Queen Street, Cardiff, CF10 2HQ
dyddiaudu@gmail.com
Twitter & Instagram: @dyddiaudu
Buy us a Kofi, so we can afford to stay open!