Reviews
It tells us about the kindness of strangers, the bonds formed by music-making and how walking can itself be a creative act.
- Jon Gower
Part travelogue, part memoir, part musical adventure, I found a special alchemy in this book which delights in the magic spirit of Pembrokeshire, the company of friends (and strangers), the author's own late-life daring, and the joy she found playing her beloved Celtic harp in the most unlikely of settings. There's a generosity too in the way Delyth looks back at her life with gratitude and laughter, despite having experienced some difficult times. The kind of book that makes you want to open your own self up to the world and its (still) beautiful possibilities.
- Corinne Westacott
Touring with Aberjaber during the 1980s, I often travelled in the back of Delyth's car with her harp resting on my chest. Now, Delyth describes another journey in which she is travelling with the harp on her back: her telling of this musical odyssey around the coast of west Wales is a meditation and a reflection on life which is not only informative and enriching, but also deeply moving.
- Pete Stacey
Delyth Jenkins' captivating testament of a harpist's tour of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path coast beguiles the reader into an extraordinary sense of sharing her journey. Beautifully written, the narrative carries the charm and candour of spontaneous experience, engaging with the fugitive, living moment in a beloved landscape. That Would Be Telyn is a musician's miniature odyssey, full of epiphanies, gentle meetings and haunting personal reflections.
- Stevie Davies
This is a truant's travelogue, with more than a hint of vagabondage. In it the contours of the Pembrokeshire coastline meld with the contours of the heart. And both are magically transposed into a songlines map of Wales.
- M. Wynn Thomas
In the tradition of a quest, Delyth Jenkins' journey with a harp is as much one of self discovery as it is an exploration of the wild and beautiful Pembrokeshire coastal path. During her walk, with its impromptu concerts by the wayside, Delyth reflects upon the nature of her identity as a musician, mother and Welsh speaker. Her descriptions lead the reader to wish they'd been there - had chanced upon this wandering minstrel and heard her play the Telyn while the waves crashed far below and the seagulls swooped overhead.
- Jo Mazelis
