When President Jimmy Carter Came to Swansea 🇺🇸

Good morning, Swansea!

We learned of the passing of former US President Jimmy Carter this week, at the age of 100. But did you know he visited Swansea in 1995, the reason why, and how it almost didn’t happen? This week, enjoy the full story.

Catch you on Sunday!

Andrew.

When Swansea was chosen to be the Arts Council’s ‘City of Literature and Writing’ for the UK Year of Literature 1995, ambitious plans to celebrate were set into motion.

The Year would include readings, workshops, and festivals to celebrate and promote literary culture across the UK - with over 1,000 events planned.

Central to the Year would be the construction of a new £15m National Centre for Literature, designed by renowned architects Alsop & Stormer, who were known for pushing the boundaries of leading-edge architecture.

It would be a three-storey glass box sitting on angled concrete legs, built in a new public square near the Grand Theatre - described by the Independent as promising to be “one of the most adventurous and enjoyable new buildings in Britain.”

Part of a new “cultural quarter” for Swansea, it would house a bookshop, writers’ centre, a cafe and restaurant, and sculpted nooks and crannies to house temporary exhibitions.

Other design elements planned included giant fabric screens adorned with mythical Welsh beasts that would drop to keep the wind and rain at bay under a canopy outside, a steel and glass tower, and a swooping serpentine ramp.

The National Centre for Literature was due to be built in two phases, the first of which would open to launch the Year of Literature And Writing on St David’s Day, March 1st, 1995.

As we now know, of course, it was never built. Organisers couldn’t find the cash, rejected a (cheaper) reworked design, and then dropped Professor Alsop entirely.

Instead, a new focal point for the Year was to be a conversion of the Old Guildhall - what is now The Dylan Thomas Centre in SA1 - which was gifted to the council, who then chose Trafalgar House Construction to complete the job.

The new Literature Centre was to be called Tŷ Llên (‘the House of Literature’).

Curiously, The Peckham Library in London (pictured above) opened in 2000 and is said to be a rehash of the design mooted for Swansea’s National Centre for Literature - also by Alsop & Stormer. It won the Stirling Prize for Architecture that same year, the industry’s highest honour.

As the 1995 deadline approached, organisers were looking for a big name to become the Year of Literature’s honorary president. Prince Charles seemed like a good choice, having been made Freeman of Swansea in late 1994. However, he declined.

Undeterred, organisers set their sights on perhaps an even loftier target - no less than former US President, Jimmy Carter.

Carter had a keen interest in literature, and a great love of the works of Swansea-born poet and playwright, Dylan Thomas.

"For 45 years I have had an affinity for Dylan Thomas's poetry and in my opinion he is one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century,” he said at the time.

"I bought all his books and records and remember reciting his poems to my children until they memorised them."

There was just one small issue. Being a former President of the United States, he was a very busy man - constantly involved in peace talks, charity work, and other important engagements.

"We are fairly optimistic he will be able to come," said Colin Everett, operations manager for the Year. "He's always been extremely interested in visiting, but you can imagine what his diary is like."

In February 1995, negotiations with the Carter Centre in Atlanta, Georgia were still ongoing in an attempt to get the former President to Swansea. And by May of that year, they’d got their man. Carter would visit Swansea in August 1995 to officially open Tŷ Llên.

That summer, Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, arrived in Swansea for a packed day of events.

As well as officially opening Ty Llen, the former President read some of his own poems, was presented with the freedom of the city, spoke on the Logos II “bookship”, and enjoyed a classical concert and fireworks show in Singleton Park.

Carter’s brief visit to Swansea isn’t his only association with the city. In 2011, he lent his voice to the introduction of a new audio-visual tour for Dylan Thomas’ Birthplace at No 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, which you can still see if you visit today (and watch in the video above).

Carter had been supportive of Anne and Geoff Haden, who restored the Edwardian house of the famous Swansea resident. When he visited Swansea in 1995, the house wasn’t open to the public - it was occupied by students!

Ann and Geoff even visited the former President in Atlanta, Georgia to interview him about his love of Dylan Thomas (it’s where the tour introduction was filmed), and to present him with a bust of the author - a model that was planned to be used in the design of a statue to mark his centenary in 2014. Unfortunately, the statue was never built. Why not? Geoff tells me it’s a long story!

Jimmy Carter celebrated his 100th birthday in October 2024, becoming the first former president in US history to do so. He died peacefully at home on December 29th, 2024.

Do you have memories of President Jimmy Carter’s visit to Swansea? Comment below or reply to this e-mail.