Absolute Optimist

An affectionate yet critical biography of Eluned Phillips, an unsung heroine of Welsh literature. A controversial figure: a passionate woman who ignited passionate responses in others. She was only the second women to have won the National Eisteddfod crown and the only woman ever to have won it twice (1967 and 1983). Phillips was unusual among Welsh writers of her generation in that she embraced a bohemian lifestyle - taking her to prewar London and Paris, where she made the acquaintance of major artists Augustus John, Dylan Thomas, Edith Piaf, Jean Cocteau, Maurice Chevalier and Pablo Picasso.