Tony Snell (poet)

This article is about the scholar. For the basketball player, see Tony Snell (basketball).

Tony Snell (scholar) is a Cornish waterman, teacher, linguist, singer, and poet. Born in 1938, Snell spent many years teaching at St. Edward's School in Oxford. He became a member of Gorseth Kernow in 1954 under the Bardic name of Gwas Kevardhu (December's Man'). During the 1970s, he led the innovative folk group Tremenysy (Travellers).

Snell's poetical work is heavily influenced by the early poetry of Wales and Brittany, and it was he who adapted the Welsh traethodl to Cornish. Another important influence is music, since a great deal of his work is song. He has won Gorseth Kernow competitions, and along with Richard Gendall is regarded as one of the major poets writing in the Cornish language during the past century.

References

• Gorseth Byrth Kernow: Bards of the Gorsedd of Cornwall 1928-1967, Penzance, 1967.
• Tony Snell, Pan dheuth an Glaw / When the Rain Came: Selected poems 1980 - 2005 in Cornish with translations, Kesva an Taves Kernewek / Cornish Language Board, Gwinear, 2007
• An Lef, Redruth, 1956
• An Lef Kernewek, Redruth, 1983