The Old Farmhouse [antikvár]

Translator's Note I have found great pleasure, and some difficulty too, in translating Hen Dy Ffarm into English, and I hope I have not altogether lost the charm of the original. I have often felt the force of Robert Frost's definition of poetry—"What is lost in translation"—and when an author identifies himself so completely with his theme, as D. J. WilHams does in Hen Dy Ffarm, and when the language is itself such an inherent part of the theme, the same hazard attends translation. The fireside story-teller entertaining his neighbours, not without a sincere consciousness of his art, has long been an important contributor to Welsh culture. Dr Williams, who is a leading short-story writer, dedicated one of his collections to some of the best story-tellers in the locality of his old home, and before he ventured into print to any great extent he was known to a wide circle of friends as one of this entertaining tribe. But his innate power of observation, you felt in listening to him, became interpretation and vision through being suffused with his love of his old neighbourhood and of Wales, and his loyalty to them. Sir Ben Bowen Thomas, himself a noted raconteur, very fittingly, I believe, chose this book as one to be translated in connexion with the Unesco scheme to bring to the bigger nations of the world some understanding of the smaller ones, and tliis production has been facilitated by a grant from that body. I am grateful for having been chosen as translator. I have repeatedly consulted my friend the author, but I must remain responsible for any defects. I am grateful also to the publishers for their care and attention.