Dr Siôn Aled Owen
A little about me:
I was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, but my family roots on both sides are in Ynys Môn and we moved to Menai Bridge when I was eleven years old. I studied Welsh at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and after a spell working at the Dinorwic Pumped Storage Scheme and as General Secretary of the Welsh Language Society I went on to study theology at Trinity College, Bristol.
I later worked as Area Secretary for the Church Missionary Society for the dioceses of Bangor, St Asaph and Chester, lectured in theology in Sarawak and Glasgow and served as Associate Minister of Melbourne Welsh Church, Australia. On my return to Wales I became General Secretary of the Commission of the Covenanted Churches in Wales and Local Ecumenism Enabler for Cytûn and later was Development Officer for Menter Iaith Maelor (Language Initiative). I have also been a Welsh for Adults Tutor in Wales, London and Australia and have set up a translation and interpretation business.
Somehow, amongst all that (and a number of other posts that I don’t have room to list!) I managed to gain a Doctorate from the University of Birmingham for a study of communication during the Religious Revival in Wales 1904-06 and an MA in bilingualism and a Doctorate for research into school pupils’ use of Welsh from Bangor University.
I also lead worship and preach with several denominations, in Welsh and English.
From that you may gather that my main research interests are theology and language and my present post at St Padarn’s Institute brings those two streams together in a particularly exciting way. Within those broad fields, I have a particular interest in practical theology and bilingualism, and I’m very keen to explore ways of nurturing a dynamic and creative bilingualism within the Church in Wales and ecumenically.
Having wandered the world rather, by now I’m living in Wrexham. Among my interests beyond work are travelling (especially by train), place names, country walking, politics and cats – with two newly acquired kittens ensuring that there’s plenty of activity at home at the moment!
I’m also a poet, who won the National Eisteddfod Crown in my distant youth, and who has published three volumes of poetry in Welsh, Dagrau Rhew, Cortynnau and Meirioli. In recent years I’ve also been composing poetry in English and a bilingual volume, illustrated by my artist friend Iwan Bala, Rhwng Pla a Phla / Between the Plagues, has just been published.
And one other thing while I’m allowed to blow a little on my own trumpet like this, I won the Mastermind Cymru contest in 2008, so if you’re short of a member for your quiz team...
Some links which may be of interest
Doctoral Dissertation on the Welsh Revival
Doctoral Dissertation on school pupils’ use of Welsh
Poster summarising research on school pupils’ use of Welsh