[citation needed] Jones gained a place at Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar School, and by the time he left secondary education, he had all but lost his ability to speak Welsh fluently.

Jones attended Sunday School as a child and in his later life he was a member of Minny Street Congregational Chapel in Cardiff.

[1] His earliest poetry was published in 1933 in The Dublin Magazine,[2] and in 1935, on the suggestion of his friend Dylan Thomas,[citation needed] he wrote a collection of short stories, entitled The Blue Bed.

As in his earlier work, The Water Music saw his tales set in either the industrial Merthyr of his childhood, or the greener landscape of Carmarthenshire.

His first novel, The Valley, The City, The Village, a bildungsroman centred on a young artist, is full of description and character, though it was criticised by some reviewers for its lack of formal unity[1] and overly exotic language.

[citation needed] However, some critics, such as Meic Stephens, believe that Jones's use of a variety of narrative and rhetorical techniques make the work a tour-de-force.

But despite reflecting ugly-natured teachers bribing their way to headships, there is no biting satire, and the book is full of comic tones, with Jones holding up a mirror to the flaws in human traits.

[citation needed] His third novel, The Island of Apples, set in a fictionalised Merthyr, uses the myth of Ynys Afallon to explore the pain of the loss of childhood.

Although Jones himself remained silent on the issue, supporters of both men filled columns in The Times Literary Supplement, arguing over the merits of the situation.

After the visit, while the men shared a hotel room, Jones recalled the tale of Welsh eccentric Dr. William Price, who cremated his young son without official permission after the child's death.

Jones was shocked at how much his friend had changed, with his face bloated and pale, symptoms of years of heavy drinking.

They discussed what they would say in the broadcast, but a few days before Christmas, the producers received a call from Thomas' wife, saying that he was ill with "broken ribs", and the interview never took place.

He was forced to have his right arm amputated, but he continued to correspond with fellow writers, in what he saw as a vital link in the history of Welsh literature.