John Ellis Williams
John Ellis Williams,, novelist and writer from Caernarfonshire, wrote in Welsh and in English.
Life
Williams was born in Llanddeiniolen on 20 August 1924 into a farming family.In World War II Williams served with the Royal Air Force. After the war, his interest in the Existentialist movement led him to correspond with Simone de Beauvoir and visit her in Paris.
Williams also wrote fiction and non-fiction for various journals. His autobiography, Clouds of Times and other stories, appeared in 1989. He acted as lead consultant for a film about his uncle, Ellis Williams, broadcast on S4C in 2006. Williams was elected an Ovate of the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Cardiff on 8 August 2008 for his contribution to the field of literature in Wales.
Selected publications
Novels
- Bryndu Mawr
- Hadau Gwyllt
- Modd i Fyw
- Yr Ynys Wydr
- Gwynt i Oen
- Paul Jones a'r Tywysog
- Wrth Ddychwel
- ''Nes Adref''
Other fictional/semi-fictional works
- Straeon Cyfar Main dramatised on BBC Radio Cymru
- Dychweliad y Deryn Mawr
- ''Rare Welsh Bits''
Children's stories
Biography/Autobiography
- Clouds of Time and Other Stories. "Clouds of Time" itself, first published in Welsh as "Cymylau Amser", is the life story of Williams's mother, Jane Rowland Jones, and how both she and her future husband sheltered a deserter from the trenches in World War I.