Welsh parliament drops poet from opening ceremony after Gaza reference in poem
The Welsh parliament rejected a poem written by the country's national poet for its opening ceremony, which was attended by King Charles III, it has emerged.
Hanan Issa was invited to give a poetry recital at the opening in Cardiff on Thursday, but said on Wednesday that the poem, which mentioned Gaza, was rejected on the grounds that it was too political.
The Welsh-Iraqi poet did not attend the ceremony, where the Senedd, the Welsh parliament, was opened by King Charles and Queen Camilla.
The poem Issa wrote and intended to recite was entitled "To Grow" and featured a mixture of English and Welsh. It included the lines:
Caretakers watch for lurking wolves, they wait for a gate left open,
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to plant their weapons here, yn fy ngwlad. See their gazes drift
to cursed seeds scything at Gazan children. Weed them out!
Issa posted on Instagram a copy of the brief given by the Senedd, which asked for a poem celebrating elected politicians "and their achievements in being elected, while serving as a reminder of their commitment to the people of Wales".
Issa said on Instagram on Wednesday: "I was commissioned to write a piece and perform it at the opening of the Senedd tomorrow."
The national poet explained: "With so many pressing issues affecting the lives of people in Wales today, it felt like a disservice to write something about rivers or sparrows overhead… I wrote about Wales as a garden and its lawmakers the gardeners.
"The poem was rejected on the grounds that the opening of our country’s lawmaking legislature was an ‘apolitical event’."
The poem also included references to "cutting trans healthcare" and the "brambles of fascism".
Poem rewritten and rejected again
After it was rejected, Issa rewrote the poem in "more abstract language, but again this was rejected by the Senedd".
The second version of the poem replaced the reference to Gazan children with "watermelon children":
Caretakers watch for lurking wolves, they wait for a gate left open,
to plant their weapons here, yn fy ngwlad. See them spit
blackened seeds scything at watermelon children. Weed them out!
Issa then told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast on Thursday morning that "I am not welcome any more. I won't be part of the ceremony."
The poet said the brief did not suggest "they want a poem just about daffodils, and so it felt like a disservice to write something that was quite surface level".
Issa described it as "concerning" that a poem raising political issues was "not welcome" in the Senedd, given that political issues are discussed there all the time.
The Senedd Commission said: "After a development process, we concluded that the poem was not the right fit for this occasion."
Literature Wales said the role of the national poet is "to inspire reflection, conversation and positive change.
"We are disappointed that this formal celebration of Welsh democracy will not include a literary contribution but accept the Senedd Commission's decision."
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