The contribution made by Meic Stephens, who passed away yesterday at the age of 79, to Welsh literature is priceless. Through his tireless work as an author, poet, director of the arts council, founder of magazines and university tutor he enhanced our appreciation and understanding of the range of our nation’s literature in both languages.

Born in Treforest, he was self-taught, spending periods in Aberystwyth, Bangor and Rennes in Brittany before learning different crafts, as a French teacher in Ebbw Vale and then as a journalist at the Western Mail. Although brought up in a non-Welsh-speaking home, he decided to embrace his Welsh heritage with conviction. He was a nationalist to the core. Indeed, he was responsible for writing the unforgettable slogan, ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’, on that rock near Llanrhystud. This was an important revolutionary act by an affable and thoughtful man. Wales’s debt to Meic Stephens is enormous, and he will forever be remembered as a national literary hero.