Kathryn Marie Edwards

In the final year of my undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature at Bangor University I was introduced to the field of Welsh writing in English. I had not realised before how expansive and developed the field was, and I decided I wished to explore it further at MA level. With the financial assistance of the James Pantyfedwen Foundation, for which I am deeply grateful, I was able to study a postgraduate degree in English Literature at Swansea University.

My focus throughout my studies was on the field of Welsh writing in English, interrogating how the concept of identity is formed within this field, discovering overlooked and underrepresented women writers in an already overlooked and underrepresented field, and ultimately completing a dissertation on the topic of community and belonging in 20^th century Welsh writing in English. I was not limited, however, and was able to additionally explore the subject of English Literature on a wider scale, studying the works of Angela Carter as well as highlighting the depiction of the environment in 19^th century literature.

This course allowed me to focus on the field which interested me most without being too narrow, granting me everything I could have wanted and needed from it. I am now in a good position to move towards my future, in which I hope to enter into a career in the literary field. The support of the James Pantyfedwen Foundation has been invaluable in reaching this point and I will always be grateful.