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Last Thoughts on Planet

John Barnie

I first came across Planet in the early 1970s while browsing in the Arts Council bookshop in Charles Street, Cardiff. I was working in Denmark at the time and stocked up on Welsh books whenever we returned to my hometown, Abergavenny. Planet in its first appearance was cheaply produced, in line with its small grant, but what mattered was the contents, the commitment to an idea of Wales which was both national and international in outlook, and an equally strong commitment to Welsh-language culture. Living my life partly through the medium of Danish led me to think about the ways in which language forms, and informs, one’s consciousness, which resulted in my trying to learn Welsh. Planet was just the magazine for me, so I was dismayed when Ned Thomas decided to bring it to an end after the failed referendum of 1979 – I had lost my most important contact with Welsh cultural life.

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