Art: Freedom as Duty

We are delighted to publish this recording of an extraordinary lecture by Raymond Williams. The lecture was organised by the Extra-Mural Department at UCW Aberystwyth in collaboration with the Welsh Arts Council, and was held in 1978 at Gregynog Hall. Williams re-delivered this lecture by memory (without notes) at home, which is what is recorded here. Image: Williams at Saffron Walden.

Welsh Keywords

Since 2010, almost every issue of Planet has featured an article in our Welsh Keywords series. This series is directly inspired by Williams’ seminal Keywords, and offers radical, creative perspectives on words in Welsh, and the values and ‘structures of feeling’ they produce today, by authors including Menna Elfyn, Mererid Hopwood, Tony Bianchi, Ned Thomas, Jane Aaron, Manon Steffan Ros, Daniel G. Williams, Simon Brooks, Sara Huws and Grug Muse.

Planet issue 244

Maria Elisa Cevasco gives an insight into the resonance of Raymond Williams’ work for her students in Bolsonaro’s Brazil, and why his notions of the ‘long revolution’ are so relevant today. She introduces the work of Brazilian scholar Antonio Candido, and argues why we should consider his work in parallel with Williams’.

Planet issue 244

Euros Lewis shows us three little-known historical sites of cultural resistance across Wales. What can these stories from chapels, collieries and natural amphitheatres tell us about flows of wealth and exploitation today? Can we find ways to overcome them collaboratively, and is protest really futile?

Planet issue 244

Planet issue 243

Raymond Williams scholar Shintaro Kono on why the work of Williams has particular resonance in Japan, drawing on his experience as a rural ‘scholarship boy’ at the University of Tokyo. He traces the contrasts and similarities between Japan and Wales in terms of class, nationhood and neoliberalisation...

Planet issue 243

Clare Davies details the resonance of Williams’ life and work in pandemic-era Wales. She highlights Williams’ exploration of how everyday personal tragedy can transform into a revitalised sense of humanity and drive for social change; and how Welsh intellectuals can commit to this struggle.

Planet issue 241

Planet issue 241

Planet issue 238

Kieron Smith examines the often-subtle neoliberal agenda behind much Welsh Government culture policy, scrutinising the Arts Council of Wales and the newly created Creative Wales. How can the state enable culture to flourish freely and fully in a Covid-19 era?

Planet issue 237

Steven Lovatt draws on Raymond Williams to describe England’s material, spiritual and ecological malaise, and how he and his Hungarian partner felt compelled to cross the border. Why does the Welsh independence movement feel more inclusive than the nationalism of his home country and Hungary?

Planet issue 231

Frances Williams evokes contrasting atmospheres in two Bangor cafés across the road from each other, and how this kindles ideas about Welshness, womanhood, culture and resistance, drawing on Raymond Williams, Pierre Bourdieu and memories of her grandmother’s mischievousness.

Planet issue 190

In 2009 we published an in-depth email exchange on the contemporary resonance of Raymond Williams between three Welsh intellectuals from a variety of political backgrounds and generations, who have all been profoundly influenced by Williams’ work: Dai Smith, Ned Thomas and Daniel G. Williams.

Planet issue 195

In 2008 we published a review article by Ned Thomas on Dai Smith’s biographical study Raymond Williams: a Warrior’s Tale.

Planet issue 168

Raymond Williams daughter Merryn Williams gives an in-depth tribute to her father.

Planet issue 68

This lecture by Raymond Williams was organised by the Extra-Mural Department at UCW Aberystwyth in collaboration with the Welsh Arts Council, and was held in 1978 at Gregynog Hall. It features an introduction by Ned Thomas.

Planet issue 65

This in-depth interview between Abergavenny poet (and former Planet editor) John Barnie and Raymond Williams took place shortly before Williams passed away. This issue is no longer in stock, but can be read in many public and university libraries across Wales.

If you like what you read here, you can buy back issues of the magazine through our shop. Not all back issues are available for sale, but all would be accessible through many libraries. https://www.planetmagazine.org.uk/shop

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“In a time of Brexit, when Wales’ political future is uncertain, Planet: The Welsh Internationalist could not be more needed. Placing Wales – its thinkers, artists, and social reformers – on a world stage, Planet makes connections between Wales and other countries, seeking to inspire, enrich, and develop projects at home … A record of Welsh life, and advocate for the Welsh environment and communities, Planet also speaks to Cymraeg, for example in its illuminating keywords series, which explores the provenance and significance of specific Welsh words. Ultimately, it is a vehicle for the legacy of Wales’ greatest thinkers and reformers from Raymond Williams to Aneurin Bevan.” - Zoë Brigley