One’s Autobiography, Their Native Place’s Biography

Abstract

A good biography is both an encounter with oneself, which can involve the need to confront potent elements from one’s past, and an encounter with one’s native place, whose history has shaped one’s life. Its value is directly proportional to the wholeheartedness with which its author attempts to answer the questions, ‘Who am I?’, and ‘How did I become what I am?’. Its writing is as much for the author’s own enlightenment as for the reader’s instruction. Some of the best Welsh autobiographers are a case in point, their experiences of Wales – social, cultural, linguistic or historical –
impinging significantly on the sense of self each has developed.