In this episode I discuss the connection between ecstatic worship practices in twelfth-century Wales and those of twentieth-century Wales. I show how Pentecostal worship in the early twentieth century brought Welsh worshippers closer to their own ancestral language and its rich literary history. Later in the video, I link Welsh and Lebanese Pentecostal worship practices and discuss how speaking and singing in tongues has helped Pat Davis—a Lebanese-American man in Mississippi—connect with the Arabic language that his forebears spoke.

My previous episode about awen can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF3wznqmTac

In this episode I offer a new way of interpreting the fascinating and mysterious bread imagery in folktales about marriages between Welsh faery women and mortal men.

A number of people in nineteenth-century Wales claimed faery ancestry. Specifically, they said a woman of the tylwyth teg (the "beautiful family," or Welsh faeries) had married a mortal Welshman, and that they were her descendants. In this episode I point up some parallels between these nineteenth-century oral histories and much earlier Welsh stories about the origins of the British people.

In this episode my poetry students at SMU invite you into the experience of 2024's total eclipse in Dallas, Texas, which occurred last month. The students talk about what it was like to see the eclipse, and then they read poems they wrote only fifteen minutes after totality.

In this episode I respond to questions from viewers, discussing (1) the faery blood running in Welsh veins, (2) the magical pigs in The Four Branches of the Mabinogi and the connection between dreams and myths, and (3), just for fun, the upcoming Mike Tyson / Jake Paul fight and how it relates to Beowulf, Toby Keith, and the Spoon River Anthology.

I also tell the story of my days as a member of a blues band in the Arkansas Delta. Here's the essay I wrote about blues singer J. R. Hamilton, who was our band leader:

https://southwestreview.com/magazine/autumn-winter-2017/j-r-s-jook-and-the-authenticity-mirage/?src=longreads

In this episode I discuss the meaning of the magical force of awen in Welsh culture and interpret a few stories about the tylwyth teg (the Welsh faeries).

In this episode I talk with renowned British historian Ronald Hutton about May Eve and May Day. Ronald offers tips as to how we might celebrate this wondrous holiday and weave it into our lives.

In this episode I tell about my recent experience celebrating a West Wales holiday called Hen Galan ("the Old New Year"). The centerpiece of the episode is my conversation with a young man named Carwyn, for whom Hen Galan and the historic pub where it is celebrated are of deep emotional and cultural importance. Bessie Davies, the woman and pub owner who did so much to keep Hen Galen alive, had passed away only a month before I arrived. The nighttime festivities still took place at her pub, but this was the first time in over seventy years that Hen Galan had been celebrated without Bessie. This meant that a certain sadness was mixed into the joy of the night, all of which I discuss with Carwyn in this episode. If you'd like to see the visuals, check out the YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRZBFd9oWGc