Robert Minhinnick
Areas of focus: Co-founder, Arts, Literature, Events
Robert was born in south Wales in 1952. He is an award winning poet, novelist, essayist, short-story writer, translator, editor and the Co-founder of Sustainable Wales.
In 1994 Robert co-founded Friends of the Earth Cymru and was Information Officer and board member there until his departure in 1994.
Robert Minhinnick’s writing is often political but rarely polemical. Travel has influenced and directed his writing, especially his visits to Albania in 1989, Brazil in 1990 and Iraq in 1997.
Life closer to home is also a source of inspiration, his ‘Mouth to Mouth” prose and poetry dealing with the area of Wales between the Ogwr and Cynffig rivers, including a possible future affected by climate change.
His essays won the ‘Wales Book of the Year’ in 1993 and 2006 and he has been shortlisted for this award on two other occasions while he also had a story shortlisted for the Sunday Times Award in 2012. He feels most pleased with the short-listing of his novel, 'Sea Holly’ for the Ondaatje Prize in 2008.
His literary work has taken him to Europe, the Americas, Australia, India and China.
Robert enjoys being a father and grandfather, as well as astronomy, sport and all forms of literature.
His publications and related work include:
New Selected Poems (Carcanet) 2012;
As translator The Adulterer’s Tongue: Six Contemporary Welsh Poets (Carcanet) 2004;
The novels Sea Holly (Seren) 2008, Limestone Man (Seren) 2015;
As essayist Watching the Fire-Eater, (Seren) 1992; Badlands, (Seren) 1996; Fairground Music (Gomer) 2010; Island of Lightning, (Seren);
The short-story collection The Keys of Babylon (Seren) 2011.
Edited Green Agenda: Essays on the Environment of Wales (Seren) 1994.
Editor of the international quarterly, Poetry Wales, 1997 – 2008. Edited Poetry Wales: Forty Years (Seren) 2005.