I felt very lucky to recently have an opportunity to be interviewed for a program on BBC Radio 4. It was a program created by writer Mab Jones, who had an idea inspired by a series of postcards she collected featuring women in traditional Welsh dress. She started to wonder about what the women would say if they were given a voice.
On the program, she interviews a number of experts including poets like Mererid Hopwood and Rufus Musfasa. The poems are really moving.
My part of the program includes me being interviewed about stereotypes of Welsh women, based on some writing I did around work by the eminent historian of women’s history, Deidre Beddoe. We talk about different stereotypes, and about an age-old attitude to Welsh women that is less than positive. I read a poem about the closeness to farm life in Wales, awareness of life cycles, seasons, and nature.
I really enjoyed talking to Mab, though I have to admit that it was very strange to think of the program being beamed out to millions of listeners as it felt like a very intimate conversation when it was being recorded. I really admire Mab for putting the program together, and I hope that it will mean that people are more aware of the stereotypes that Welsh women have to deal with in the UK.
You can still hear the program on BBC’s Listen Again feature.
Zoë Brigley 