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-- THE ART SHOW --
Listen, if you fancy, on Friday night a friend of mine is having a party.
He’s just bought a flat in the Bay!
There'll be loads of boys there,
It'll be a night fit for a king, well, fit for a queen at least!
D'you wanna come?
What? A gay party?
Oh, sorry, I didn't think.
I'm sure a full-blooded male like you doesn't go for fannydodgers.
I've got nothing against fannydodgers…
if you're happy to turn the other cheek, like.
Penbleth Dynol Ryw, recently published by Dalen…
is a graphic novel which has been described…
as the most brazen book this year.
Alun Ceri Jones, who has previously translated the Asterix books into Welsh…
is the one responsible for adapting the book from the original German version.
Why has this German story captured your imagination?
I've always been interested in the genre. Graphic novels are massive on the continent…
and I'm interested in material from France specifically, and from Germany and Belgium.
I'd been thinking for about ten years… -- ALUN CERI JONES, PUBLISHER --
that I'd like to get back in to this book publishing business… -- ALUN CERI JONES, PUBLISHER --
and in looking for what kind of niche I could fill this was a natural area for me to work in.
Der bewegte Mann was published by Ralf König in 1987.
It's a satirical book telling the story of a man…
in emotional turmoil after his girlfriend leaves him.
He becomes friends with a gay man and this is where his dilemma begins.
I wanted this to be an adaptation rather than a translation…
so setting the book, which covers *** matters…
homosexuality, people's relationships…
in a city such as Cardiff is natural for a country like Wales.
Cardiff is a kind of massive cauldron which brings everybody together.
It also gave us a chance to use regional dialects…
because people in Cardiff would speak in north and south Wales dialects every day with each other.
Using that approach was fun.
In adapting the book Alun has used lots of swear words and *** terms…
with many of them appearing in print, in this book, for the very first time.
And at the back of the book there's a list of 69 of these words.
How did you go about to find this list of Welsh swear words?
Are they few and far between?
No, they're not rare at all!
Once you start looking for them and you go below the surface you'll find them very easily.
If you log onto Rhegiadur.com, for instance, you'll find a jungle of fantastic words!
I was driving home late one night and on the radio they were looking for a Welsh word for…
'***'.
Someone phoned in with this fantastic word and I've used it in the book!
The question is, do you really want to talk about orgasms? Or do you…
Oh yes, yes, I'm dying to know!
Right… What exactly don't you understand?
Well… that bit about tickling the pink pea…
There's a cold sausage and some cheese in the fridge.
Ralf König is responsible for the original words and drawings…
and has his own distinctive style when it comes to creating his characters.
How distinctive is Ralf König's style?
He's very distinctive.
His noses are distinctive. I don't know if he has a reason for big noses… -- MUMPH, CARTOONIST --
I can see him, even though I don't know him,
but you just start with a big nose like this…
and the eyes, I noticed that with the eyes…
…very often he doesn't put the black dot in the eyes…
and that gives a kind of mysterious feel to the characters – you don't get to know them immediately.
Then the mouth is important.
It's important because he tends to put this lump in the neck, and if you do it yourself…
if you pout your lips slightly…
it changes the way you feel.
And it works in the same way when you draw a cartoon illustration.
It makes these people look low key the accept everything that comes their way in life…
as they step over the obstacles on the winding path of life…
and it just makes them more credible.
Morgan Gruffydd, in a pink party!
Oh, Rhian!
I wonder what you're doing right now?
It's not a very PC book, is it? – No…
Is it important for us to have this kind of book in Welsh?
Very important!
I'm not a very PC man myself, but this book is honest, not PC…
it's honest, it's humorous, it's got credible characters…
it asks a lot of questions, and those get discussed and answered.
The book lets you decide for yourself, and it treats the reader like an adult…
and that's what life is all about, treating people as intelligent individuals…
and allowing them to make up their own minds.
I think this is the kind of book…
…that people will pick up…
and will either want to read…
or certainly not want to read it!
It's not a book for young readers…
it's certainly not a children's book,
on the back cover it says it's for mature readers,
you need to be mature…
you need a health sense of humour to appreciate the book.
I don't expect religious newspapers will review the book…
You know what? You gay boys have much more fun than us straight guys!
Why do you say that? Take your coat off.
Because you gays don't have a problem with women, do you?
Penbleth Dynol Ryw is available now. £7.99 dalenbooks.com