Statement in support of the Open Letter to the Welsh Government, Creative Wales and the Books Council of Wales to save Welsh magazines and websites:
My experience of writing and publishing in Wales is much the same as those noted in the Open Letter, and which writers throughout Wales have attested to. The challenges of providing quality local journalism are well documented, and attempts to circumvent this by growing a web-based ecosystem have severe limitations.
So the value of Wales’ magazine culture – in Gwent as elsewhere – is twofold. it provides a platform for local writers to share stories unique to themselves and their surroundings, while also entering them into a wider Welsh literary world, making essential contributions to the richness of our national culture. Catrin Ashton’s vital and evocative documentation in Planet of ‘Y Wenhwyseg’, the dialect of the Welsh language distinct to Gwent and south-east Wales, is just one example among many that has always stood out to me.
It’s precisely the form of the print magazine that is valuable here. Only this format offers the time to examine a topic away from the instant gratification that click-driven web content demands, along with the space to produce longform analysis with a depth unrivalled in Welsh discourse. It also gives the contributors themselves a writerly community in which to hone their craft and have their talent nurtured by peers and generous mentors.
But maintaining a culture that refuses to simply bow to economic demands inevitably faces financial hardships, which are only becoming more acute. If our government claims to value arts and culture, it should be essential that they put further measures in place to ensure that such institutions can survive and flourish on their own terms. Otherwise, we limit ourselves to a country whose cultural production is tied solely to its ability to turn a profit – so much of what we truly value would be lost in such a scenario.
Disposable Everything 