Editing Welsh literature in English (section)

===Fiction===

The problems of post-industrial South Wales of the 1960s and 1970s is the subject for novelists such as [[Alun Richards]] (1929–2004) and [[Ron Berry]] (1920–97). Both use humour in their bitter description of the spiritual decay of the [[South Wales Valleys]], where the heavy industries of iron and steel and coal have disappeared, to be replaced by high-technology industrial parks. Similar themes are expressed in the novels of a younger generation, as in [[Christopher Meredith]]'s (born 1954) ''Shifts'' (1988), which deals with the closing of a steel mill, and [[Duncan Bush]]'s (born 1946) grim portrait of urban isolation ''Glass Shot'' (1991).<ref>''Pocket Guide'' p. 135.</ref> The body of Meredith's fiction, as well as his poetry, ranges much more widely, including historical fiction and bleak comedy.

Another important novelist of the post-Second-World-War era was [[Raymond Williams]] (1921–88). Born near [[Abergavenny]], Williams continued the earlier tradition of writing from a left-wing perspective on the Welsh industrial scene in his trilogy ''[[Border Country (novel)|Border Country]]'' (1960), ''[[Second Generation (Williams novel)|Second Generation]]'' (1964), and ''[[The Fight for Manod]]'' (1979). He also enjoyed a reputation as a cultural historian. He was an influential figure within the [[New Left]] and in wider circles. His writings on politics, the mass media, and literature are a significant contribution to the [[Marxist]] critique of culture and the arts. His work laid the foundations for the field of cultural studies and the cultural materialist approach.

The subject matter of the Cardiff-born [[Booker Prize]]-winner [[Bernice Rubens]] (1928–2004) is quite different.<ref>''The Elected Member'' won the prize in 1970.</ref> She was a member of Cardiff's small Jewish community; and associated themes were a central concern of much of her writing, including ''Brothers'' (1983), where parallels with her own ancestry are obvious: it follows four generations of a family which flees Russia for South Wales. As only a couple of her 25 novels have a Welsh setting she does not fit the narrower definitions of Welsh writing in English.