Culture VULTURE.

Byline: MARK BRITTAIN

RT unites North and South Wales! says the Wales Millennium Centre press release, complete with exclamation mark, but it's not so surprising really, despite the yawning gulf occasionally apparent from either side.

From nearby Plynlimon the rivers Severn and Wye pursue their respective meanderings north, south and ever east, but, apart from being born on opposite sides of a ridge, share the same mother. So to speak. Musing on the poetry inherent in the land, I am indebted to the WMC for helpfully including some lines by the late great RS Thomas on exactly that - Welsh Landscape: To live in Wales is to be conscious/ At dusk of the spilled blood/ That went into the making of the wild sky,/ Dyeing the immaculate rivers/ In all their courses.

He said. So, where's all this leading? A special educational project is enabling children from South Wales to learn about the North Wales landscape through art, and we don't have to be possessive here. The exhibition, which shows work 'responding to the landscape of North Wales between 1979 and 2004", was actually curated at Oriel Mostyn last year as part of the gallery's 25th Anniversary Celebrations. Still, if you missed it and are in Cardiff or intend to visit the WMC soon, now's your chance. It's free, as always (it's your centre!) and runs until the 31st of this month.

While we're on the subject of poetry, 26 writers, some unpublished, have just been awarded pounds 103,000 in writing bursaries by Academi, the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency, and I'm delighted to note that amongst the recipients are Jason Walford Davies of Bangor, who took the crown at last year's National Eisteddfod. He will be working, I'm told, on his first collection which takes inspiration from ancient monuments; and Lloyd Jones of Llanfairfechan, author of last year's rave-reviewed Mr Vogel, is being helped to work on his next novel. Good