A very well-received evening was had on Wednesday, 18 May, at Ultracomida, Aberystwyth, organised by Literature Across Frontiers and Wales Literature Exchange and supported by Arts Council of Wales. Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, director of the Mercator Institute, welcomed everyone warmly with a lively and humorous introduction before the evening commenced.

Plenty of Spanish food was enjoyed and shared in the restaurant’s sociable atmosphere, and both wine and conversation were flowing. Following quite a few courses, the room-full of attendees were presented with a discussion on two culture magazines: The Caravan, a leading Indian journal for politics and culture, and O’r Pedwar Gwynt, a new Welsh venture with the first magazine being published in time for the National Eisteddfod in August. The evening was chaired by Arwel Rocet Jones of the Welsh Books Council as he asked both Anjum Hasan, the books editor for The Caravan, and Owen Martell, co-editor of O’r Pedwar Gwynt, about their roles and about the magazines.

It was interesting to hear that a print run of 40,000 copies of The Caravan are published each month by Delhi Press. Anjum Hasan emphasised the importance of a relation between literature and politics, and noted that the essays she welcomes in her corner of the magazine are mainly discussions on Indian literature. It seems the magazine is catering for a growing educated audience who are interested in an American form of journalism, and who are eager to see that form applied to discussions on Indian politics and culture. Anjum Hasan also mentioned that the articles commissioned for the magazine are not news pieces discussing current affairs and news topics, instead they require thorough research and therefore are of wider interest.

Owen Martell spoke about the aims of O’r Pedwar Gwynt, and of the material that will be appearing online. The magazine will take on a newspaper style and form, and will be an accessible magazine aimed towards a wide audience by ‘seeing the world through books’. Owen Martell will be co-editor of the magazine alongside Sioned Puw Rowlands, former director of Wales Literature Exchange. Whilst commenting on the online content, Owen Martell mentioned that articles would appear in full rather than there being taster snippets available. It will be possible to subscribe to the magazine mid-June, and content will be appearing on the website at the beginning of July.