Smith, E: Masculinity in Welsh Writing in English

Following on from the feminist challenging of the canon of Welsh writing in English, this book explores masculinity in the work of several authors, adopting the now widely accepted view that men construct their masculinities within particular social and historical contexts. It considers such textual constructions in the work of several writers, giving particular attention to their specifically Welsh social and historical contexts. In chapter one, Lewis Jones s fiction is assessed in the light of issues of gender and sexuality. The working class experience of masculinity is shown to have been constructed by an emphasis on physical strength. Chapter two examines Glyn Jones s The Blue Bed, suggesting that the tensions apparent in both the writer s life and his work highlight a concern with the multiplication of masculine identities. The third chapter is concerned with both the fictional and autobiographical work of Gwyn Thomas, and suggests that issues of gender and sexuality are central to his writings. Chapter four concentrates on Ron Berry s first five novels to consider the dissatisfaction felt by men in Berry s fiction.