John Rowlands (1938-2015) was Professor of Welsh at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. A widely published novelist and literary critic, he was general editor of the series Y Meddwl a’r Dychymyg Cymreig for the University of Wales Press, and earlier edited Llais Llyfrau and Taliesin. He co-edited The Bloodaxe Book of Modern Welsh Poetry: 20th century Welsh-language poetry in translation (2003) with Menna Elfyn. He was one of the most prolific judges in the Eisteddfod literary competitions and was probably the foremost critic in Welsh on Welsh.
