Tetchy was his resting disposition. Bitter and cynical when something aroused his contempt. Angry and bigoted when fully ignited. He could threaten, intimidate, and sometimes worse. At odds with the changing times, he looked much older than his 66 years. Even so, it came as a shock when on the 1st of December, 1964, heContinue reading “The last word: a curious story for December”
Author Archives: David Graham Clark
Thoughts on starting to write a second novel
My first novel was written over the course of one calendar year and serialised online in 12 parts, as I produced them. When it concluded I was struck by the enthusiasm of some readers for a sequel, or even a series, based on the same characters and places. When the book was published this summer,Continue reading “Thoughts on starting to write a second novel”
Staying in one place: an interview with the naturalist Barbara Mearns
Having first come to the Nithsdale parish of Kirkmahoe in 1997, it’s a joy to still be getting to know people around here with extraordinary interests, passions and talents. Barbara Mearns is one such person. We live just a couple of miles apart but until this year we had only met a few times, althoughContinue reading “Staying in one place: an interview with the naturalist Barbara Mearns”
Encountering ‘The Bookshop Novel’
In the summer of 2018 I bought a copy of Penelope Fitzgerald’s The Bookshop whilst on holiday in Aldborough, on the east coast of England. It was exceptional weather, with huge skies, endless shingle beaches, and great places to swim. The Bookshop, set in this very same landscape in the year 1959, was excellent holidayContinue reading “Encountering ‘The Bookshop Novel’”
New textbook on the social aspects of care at the end of life: a surprise project
In the autumn of 2022 I was a couple of years beyond the institutional world of full-time academic employment. I’d been putting my efforts into new forms of writing, such as reflective biographical pieces, garden musings, and short stories. I’d also written a play which had been well received at the Edinburgh Fringe that summerContinue reading “New textbook on the social aspects of care at the end of life: a surprise project”
Cicely and David: screenings in Belfast and Dublin during Palliative Care Week 2025
Twenty years ago, whilst working at Lancaster University I travelled regularly to Ireland. Supported by the Irish Hospice Foundation, I was a Visiting Professor at Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, charged with enabling and promoting academic and strategic development in the field of palliative care. Over a four year period I visited manyContinue reading “Cicely and David: screenings in Belfast and Dublin during Palliative Care Week 2025”
Lammas in the garden
It’s a time in the annual cycle that I have come to appreciate more and more over recent years. The beginning of August seems to bring a shift in the ‘feel’ of the summer. After the heady freshness of June and the hectic weeks of July, we somehow move into a period where the naturalContinue reading “Lammas in the garden”
Reflections following publication of my first novel
My debut novel Epiphanies and Robberies came out this summer. It tells the story of three people who find new friendships and ways of looking at things, as they simultaneously get drawn into sleuthing a series of art thefts that breaks out across their home region in south west Scotland. I have tried to writeContinue reading “Reflections following publication of my first novel”
A distracted month of June in the garden
Three things obscured serious attention to the Dumfriesshire garden this month. I was heavily involved in the logistics of ‘launching’ my first novel. We were away on a short but garden-rich holiday in the Cotswolds. At home, the weather was unpredictable, occasionally too hot, sometimes cold and breezy, and mostly very wet!
Starting a local Writers’ Group
I’d never been a member of a Writers’ Group, though some of my writing friends are long term enthusiasts. So I’m not sure why in the autumn of 2024 I had the notion to get such a group started in my home parish. Kirkmahoe is a small, rural community in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, madeContinue reading “Starting a local Writers’ Group”
Quotidian 