Celebrating 50 Years of the Tir na n-Og Book Awards with CILIP Cymru Wales

Ynglŷn â'r Siaradwyr/About the Speakers

Dr Siwan Rosser

Llenyddiaeth Gymraeg i blant a phobl ifainc yw fy mhrif faes ymchwil. Dyma faes eang ac arwyddocaol na chafodd fawr o sylw yng Nghymru hyd yn ddiweddar. Ond mae fy ymchwil dros y degawd diwethaf ar destunau hanesyddol a chyfoes wedi datgelu'r berthynas gymhleth rhwng llên plant a disgyrsiau llenyddol a phedagogaidd yn ymwneud ag iaith, ethnigrwydd a rhywedd. Rwy'n ymddiddori'n bennaf yn y berthynas ddeinamig rhwng llenyddiaeth plant a'i chyd-destun diwylliannol a chymdeithasol, yn arbennig yng nghyd-destun ieithoedd lleiafrifol, a dyna ffocws fy monograff diweddaraf, Darllen y Dychymyg: Creu Ystyron Newydd i Blant a Phlentyndod yn Llenyddiaeth y 19g.

Rwyf hefyd yn cyfrannu'n helaeth at y drafodaeth gyfredol ar lyfrau Cymraeg i blant. Fe'm comisiynwyd gan Gyngor Llyfrau Cymru i lunio Arolwg o Lyfrau Plant a Phobl Ifanc, ac mae'r adroddiad a gyhoeddwyd yn 2017 bellach yn llywio eu strategaeth yn y maes. Ymhlith yr enghreifftiau o draweffaith yr adroddiad mae mentrau cydweithredol i feithrin awduron plant a darlunwyr, rhyngwladoli profiadau darllen plant a phobl ifanc a chreu platfformau print a digidol newydd i hyrwyddo ac adolygu llyfrau plant.

Yn Ddirprwy Bennaeth Ysgol y Gymraeg, rwy'n gyfrifol am faterion sy'n ymwneud ag iechyd a lles, cynaliadwyedd ac effaith werdd. Rwy'n dysgu ar raddau israddedig ac ôl-raddedig yr Ysgol, ac yn gyfarwyddwr yr MA mewn Astudiaethau Cymreig a Cheltaidd. Rwy'n arwain tîm golygyddion Llên Cymru, y prif gyfnodolyn academaidd ym maes astudiaethau ar lenyddiaeth Gymraeg a beirniadaeth lenyddol.

Welsh literature for children and young people is my main field of research. This is a broad and significant field that received little attention in Wales until recently. However, my research over the past decade on historical and contemporary texts has revealed the complex relationship between children’s literature and literary and pedagogical discourses concerning language, ethnicity and gender. My principal interest is the dynamic relationship between children’s literature and its cultural and social context, particularly in the context of minority languages, and this is the focus of my latest monograph, Reading the Imagination: Creating New Meanings for Children and Childhood in Nineteenth-Century Literature.

I also contribute extensively to the current discussion on Welsh-language books for children. I was commissioned by the Books Council of Wales to prepare a Review of Books for Children and Young People, and the report published in 2017 now informs its strategy in this area. Examples of the report’s impact include collaborative initiatives to nurture children’s authors and illustrators, internationalise the reading experiences of children and young people, and create new print and digital platforms to promote and review children’s books.

As Deputy Head of the School of Welsh, I am responsible for matters relating to health and well-being, sustainability and environmental impact. I teach on the School’s undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and am the director of the MA in Welsh and Celtic Studies. I lead the editorial team of Llên Cymru, the leading academic journal in the field of Welsh literary studies and literary criticism.

Ben James

Dechreuodd fy ngyrfa mewn llyfrgelloedd yn 2010 a deuthum yn gyflym i deimlo mai dyma oedd fy maes. Cwblheais radd Meistr mewn Astudiaethau Gwybodaeth a Llyfrgellyddiaeth yn 2019, a chefais fy mhenodi’n Llyfrgellydd Plant a Phobl Ifanc Bro Morgannwg ym mis Chwefror 2020.

Fel darllenydd brwd o blentyndod, mae mynd ar goll mewn llyfr bob amser wedi bod yn un o fy hoff ffyrdd o dreulio amser. Gall darllen er pleser fod o fudd mawr, a thrwy gydweithio’n agos ag ysgolion ar draws y Fro, rwy’n cael y cyfle i rannu fy nghariad at ddarllen gyda phlant. Mae hefyd yn llawer o hwyl!
Roeddwn wrth fy modd pan ofynnwyd i mi ymuno â phanel beirniad Gwobrau Tir na n-Og.

Ar ôl tyfu i fyny yn siarad Cymraeg a Saesneg, mae gen i ddiddordeb arbennig mewn archwilio’r agwedd hunaniaeth Gymreig ar gyflwyniadau eleni. Mae hunaniaeth ddiwylliannol yn ffenomen hynod ddiddorol sydd mor unigryw i bob un ohonom, ac yn chwarae rhan fawr yn pwy ydym ni fel pobl.

My career in libraries began in 2010 and I quickly came to feel that this was my field. I completed a Master’s degree in Information and Library Studies in 2019, and was appointed as Children and Young People’s Librarian for the Vale of Glamorgan in February 2020.

As an avid reader from childhood, getting lost in a book has always been one of my favourite ways to spend time. Reading for pleasure can have profound benefits, and by working closely with schools across the Vale, I have the oppourtunity to share my love of reading with children. It’s also a lot of fun! I was thrilled to be asked to join the adjudicating panel for the Tir na n-Og Awards.

Having grown up speaking both Welsh and English, I’m particularly interested in examining the Welsh identity aspect of this year’s submissions. Cultural identity is a fascinating phenomenon that’s so unique to each one of us, and plays a big part in who we are as people.