If you’re at Aberacon this weekend, check out my poem ‘Y Ffwrnais,’ which can be found in the conbook.

‘Y Ffwrnais’ (The Furnace) centres around the closure of the steelworks in Port Talbot in 2024, linking it to Welsh heritage and the history of the area. I thought comparing this with the con theme of Welsh Mythology was something to explore, not least because Aberacon also takes place in Port Talbot.

This is the third iteration of Aberacon, which is unique in that it’s a bilingual English/Welsh con. It usually occurs on the August Bank Holiday weekend, drawing upwards of 200 furries to the south Wales coast.

While I am not Welsh myself, I am from a former steel-making town. The steelworks on Teesside closed in 2015, and I know what can happen to a working-class community when its primary industry shuts down. This doesn’t just affect employment, but an area’s whole identity. As myths and legends often form part of our national story, I thought exploring this contrast would be interesting.

This is the first poem I have ever had published (as an adult, I once had a poem about the seasons published in a children’s anthology when I was nine) and was very much a labour of love. Even though it’s only 16 lines, writing it was far harder than my usual prose, so I hope you enjoy.

I’d like to thank the Aberacon staff for including the poem in the conbook and I hope the convention is going well. I will get there one year, it looks like a fantastic weekend.