Glyn Pursglove

Glyn was born in 1947, in a South Yorkshire mining village. His early experience of music came mainly through the brass band in which a number of relatives played. Moving into Sheffield, he attended grammar school – where he got far less out of music lessons than he should have done. He then read English at Oxford, where he ran the University Modern Jazz Society and attended concerts, organ recitals etc. by the hundred, listening voraciously to all the music he could, both live and on LP. Though he can hardly remember doing so, he must have done some academic work, since he was accepted for postgraduate study in Oxford and taught there for a while - all of which gave him plenty of opportunities to enjoy the rich musical life of the place. He later moved to the University of Wales at Swansea, where he is at present Reader in English. For those inclined to know something of his academic life – heaven knows why – details can be found at http://www.swan.ac.uk/english/staff/Glyn. Outside his academic life he is reviews editor of the literary magazine Acumen, which gives him the chance to keep up to date with contemporary poetry. His interests include travel and the haunting of art galleries. As far as music is concerned he is chairman of Crwth (http://crwth.org.uk/index.htm), an organisation which sponsors chamber music and other events in and around Swansea. He has eclectic musical tastes, while generally being more interested in instrumental and chamber music than in orchestral music. He is particularly fascinated by the Italian and Polish musical traditions – but is generally ready to give an attentive listen (hopefully without too many prejudices) to most kinds of ‘classical’ music or jazz. Married, with two daughters, he recently became a doting grandfather.