Mererid Hopwood

Mererid Hopwood, FLSW (born February 1964) is a Welsh poet. She became in 2001 the first woman to win the bardic chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

Teaching
Originally from Cardiff, Hopwood graduated with first-class honours in Spanish and German from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. She was a lecturer in German at the University of Wales, Swansea, and since 2001 has also been a Creative Writing tutor in the Welsh Department. She was a Spanish teacher in Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin Carmarthen until January 2010, and is currently a lecturer at the Trinity University of Carmarthen.

Hopwood was appointed in October 2020 as Professor of Welsh and Celtic Studies at Aberystwyth University.

Eisteddfodau
She became the first woman in Eisteddfod history to be awarded the chair at the National Eisteddfod in 2001 which was held in Denbigh. In 2003 she won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod in Meifod, and in 2008 the Eisteddfod's Prose Medal for her book O Ran. She is also an S4C presenter. In 2012 she was awarded the Glyndwr Award by MOMA, Machynlleth. She now lives in Carmarthen with her husband and three children, Hanna, Miriam and Llewelyn.

In August 2009, Hopwood was put forward for the position of Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod, following the death of Dic Jones. It was the first time a woman had been nominated. In November she decided to withdraw from the contest, leaving T. James Jones to fill the vacancy.

In 2023, Hopwood was elected Archdruid for the period from 2024 to 2027; she is the second woman to hold the post, after Christine James.

In June 2024 she spoke at a rally in favour of Welsh Independence in Carmarthen.

Honours
In 2018, Hopwood was elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.

Works

 * Sarah Kirsch (1997)
 * Singing in Chains: Listening to Welsh Verse (2004)
 * Seren Lowri (2005)
 * Plentyn (2005)
 * Ar Bwys (2007)
 * O Ran (2008)
 * Nes Draw (2015)
 * Cantata Memoria (libretto) to music by Karl Jenkins (2016)
 * Wythnos yng Nghymru Fydd (libretto) to the opera by Gareth Glyn (2017)