Charlie, Author at Charlie Gracie

Workshop: Our Inner Emotions & The Written Word

Posted on December 9, 20171 Comment

Would you like to take part in an emotionally and creatively energising workshop in beautiful surroundings? I’m delighted to be working with holistic therapist Teresa Johnston to offer this opportunity.

We are excited to offer a day retreat focused on the many benefits of mindfulness in relation to inspiration and creativity. The cost is Â£55.00 and includes a morning walking meditation, then creative writing, followed by lunch (with vegetarian and gluten-free options). In the afternoon, we will introduce further writing techniques complimented with seated meditation.

The workshop takes place on Saturday 24th March 2018 in rural Stirlingshire.

Teresa, originally from Seattle, teaches mindfulness meditation at Sunrise Holistic, her healing practice in Falkirk.

Based on the beautiful West Moss-side Farm by Thornhill, youâ€™ll be surrounded by gorgeous scenery and enjoy the comfort of like-minded people to fuel your both your writing and meditating practices. West Moss-side is run by organic farmer and basket maker Kate Sankey. Kate’s place is a hub for all sorts of natural creativity, based on the edge of Flanders Moss in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

Space is limited to 15 participants and booking is essential. To reserve your place, call Teresa on 07841408120 or email SunriseHolistic@Gmail.com

We are looking forward to sharing a wonderfully creative and peaceful day.

Get Write In! competition winners announced

Posted on August 22, 2017Leave a comment

I was really honoured to be one of the judges for the first Get Write In! competition for children with care experience.

The judging panel was chaired by Raymond Soltysek. Our Makar, Jackie Kay, also a judge, presented the prizes and gave a humorous, warm and encouraging speech in praise of the winners.The winners were presented with their prizes by Jackie and Mark McDonald, Scotlandâ€™s Minister for Childcare and Early Years, at a special event at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh. The fantastic prizes included a trip to the Harry Potter Experience in London with overnight stay and travel, a storytelling and creative writing workshop, and tickets for Scottish Book Trust Authors Live events.

The junior winner was Joseph Ness for his entry â€˜Dumbâ€™, and winner in the senior category was William Cathie with â€˜New Lifeâ€™. All the young writers submitted moving work, some of which was funny and much of which reflected their lives in care: strong and articulate young people.

Get Write In! was supported by The Scottish Book Trust, Who Cares? Scotland, the University of Strathclyde, and the world famous Edinburgh International Book Festival. The other judges were Fiona Buggy fromÂ Who Cares? Scotland, Niall Walker from The Scottish Book Trust and Dr. Graham Connolly from CELCIS.

Participants from throughout Scotland were encouraged to submit a 500 word creative story in either English or Scots, capturing the theme of â€˜Random Momentsâ€™ about an unexpected surprise, a moment that was a turning point, or a fork in the road, which could be transformed into an inspiring story. CELCIS (read their piece on the competition here) led the development of the competition and, as usual, were able to bring lots of energy from writers and people who support looked after children.

Check out my blog on the CELCIS website written on the day of the ceremony.

Launch after launch after launch…

Posted on August 10, 2017Leave a comment

A book launch is a great night out for any writer and I’ve been at a few recently. Two of my writers’ group, Gail Honeyman, Kev Scott, and former member Maggie Ritchie had their events at Waterstone’s in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street. Brilliant nights they were too.

Last night, it was Stirling Central Library for the launchÂ Moira McPartln’s Wants Of The Silent, second in her Sun Song trilogy. It was a magic night, with lovely readings, a big crowd and… cake!

Tonight I’m back to Waterstone’s for the launch of Bernard MacLaverty’s latest.

It’s inspiring to go to these events, to meet fellow writers and to tune into the various and wonderful creative voices.

Hope there’s cake tonight!

Get Write In: a brilliant new writing competition for children with care experience

Posted on March 30, 2017Leave a comment

Jackie Kay, Scotland’s Makar, will lead the judging panel for Get Write In, a new and excitingÂ writing competitionÂ for all school-aged children in Scotland who are looked after or have experienced care.

CELCIS (the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland)Â has teamed up with The Scottish Book Trust, Who Cares? Scotland, the School of Education at the University of Strathclyde, and the world famous Edinburgh International Book Festival to run this distinct and exciting competition.

I’m delighted to be part of the judging panel with other excellent writers and people committed to making the lives of young people as good as they can be.

If you are a young person, or want to pass the details onto a young person you know, then just go to the CELCIS Get Write In page. Good luck!

Pefkin’s new album Murmurations includes Charlie Gracie poem

Posted on March 30, 2017Leave a comment

Murmurations is Pefkin’s new vinyl album on theÂ Belgian-based Morc Records. Excellent, stuff, with long, ranging pieces that take you one minute to dreaming, the next to intensity. Pefkin is Gayle Brogan’s solo musical persona.

Among the pieces on the albumÂ is Jackdaws, based on a poem of mine. Gayle picked up on it when she played one of theÂ HillGigs house concerts in Thornhill in 2016 as part of the brilliant duo Electroscope (with John Cavanagh). I was at the recent concert in Glasgow’s Glad Cafe to hear the last gig on Pefkin’s tourÂ withÂ Bell Lungs and ChrisÂ Cundy.

As well as Murmurations, Gayle has many CD’s that can be found on Pefkin’s Bandcamp site. You should also check out Morc Records for more of Gayle and other amazing electronic and experimental musicians.

Here’s whatÂ WIM fromÂ MorC Records say about Pefkin.

“Gayle Brogan has been a key figure in the experimental music scene since the mid nineties. She first gained recognition as one half of the remarkable duo Electroscope, mixing psychedelic pop, lofi, drones and folk. And as the woman behind Boa Melody Bar, she became a well known distributor of underground music as well, and so got exposed to more great music than most of us will ever be.

When Electroscope went on hiatus in 2000, Gayle picked up the name Pefkin, and continued on the same path, though the music shifted a bit more towards freeform folk and longer dronepieces. This resulted in a string of well-received releases on prestigious labels like Pseudoarcana, Foxglove, Ruralfaune, and in 2014 in a first LP on morc (now sold out).

â€‹The past couple of years, Electroscope has become more active again as well, exploring new sounds, and as one half of the duo Barretâ€™s Dottled Beauty, in which she performs alongside Kitchen Cynicsâ€™s Alan Davidson, all while keeping her work as Pefkin top level.”

New Charlie Gracie poem in Scotia Extremis Week 54

Posted on February 18, 2017Leave a comment

Scotia ExtremisÂ has been an excellent project run by Brian Johnstone and Andy Jackson. I’m delighted that my poem Ye dancing?Â features this week. The theme: Francie & Josie and The Proclaimers. What divergence, but also such resonance with both pairs laid deep in Scottish hearts.

The Proclaimers poem is Men,Â a belter of a piece by Theresa MuÃ±oz.

Why not sign up to Scotia Extremis and get the chance to read poetry from all over Scotland, illustrating the depth and breadth of our country and our poets?

Scotia Extremis with a big nod to Scottish singers Emeli SandÃ© and Susan Boyle

Posted on December 12, 2016Leave a comment

Yet again Scotia Extremis hits the mark with workÂ by Scottish poets about Scottish singers.

Susan Magdalene is an aching poem by Valerie Thornton about Susan BoyleÂ and wider issues of bullying. Real tenderness with a big bloody dash of anger:Â I wish that I could sing /Â like you, into the heart /Â of every wounded child.

Similarly, Janet Paisley delves beautifully into the essence of Emeli SandÃ© in Voice:Â There are rhythms in rain, of storms, /Â grace in green notes, a flowering.Â

Both these poems continue theÂ journey of Scotia Extremis across the great divides of Scotland. They moveÂ towards a deeper understanding of all of us with our differences and our intricacies. Excellent stuff. More to come.

Jackdaws shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Competition 2016

Posted on November 10, 2016Leave a comment

I didn’t win, but my wee poem Jackdaws wasÂ shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Competition 2016.

I am also pleased to say that Gayle Brogan, as Pefkin, will use the poem as the basis for a piece on her new album, due out in 2017. Check Pefkin out for really beautiful music, such as in the 2015 album Liminal Rites.

Good poems take on a life of their own. Jackdaws is part of a broader, developing piece of work called Tales From The Dartry Mountains. In this I am exploring the people, culture, politics and geography of the area in the west of Ireland that my mother came from.

The Bridport Poetry Competition was won by Edinburgh-based poet Mark Pajak with Spitting Distance, described by the judge, Patience Agbabi, as having an ‘understated authority of voice’. Well done!

To Live With What You Are – Charlie Gracie’s debut novel

Posted on November 8, 20162 Comments

To Live With What You Are will become theÂ first Charlie Gracie novel to be published, following up on my poetry collection Good Morning. The publisher is Northumberland based Postbox Press, run by Sheila Wakefield, an imprint of Red Squirrel Press.

Sheila is renowned as a publisher of poetry and has a growing list of fiction.Â To Live With What You Are will be the first novel by a Scottish author from Postbox. I had the pleasure of going down to Newcastle last week for the launch of Postbox’s latest publication, Ren and the Bluehands by the wonderful Ellen Phethean.

Two sections of the novel appeared (a long time ago now) as short stories in consecutiveÂ editions of the annual New Writing Scotland anthology from Glasgow University’s Association of Scottish Literary Studies.

Publication will be in 2018. It seems like a long way away from here, but there is a good deal of work to be done, as well as other Postbox Press books in line. I’ll keep you up to date with progress.

Review of Good Morning by Des Dillon

Posted on October 16, 2016Leave a comment

I was very pleased to have Good Morning reviewed by one of Scotland’s best writers, Des Dillon.

Charlie Gracieâ€™s collection Good Morning is saturated with poems about landscape. Mostly wet rainy, moss-laden Scottish landscapes and so evocative are they that they reminded me of Graham Swiftâ€™s Waterland which is set in the Fens. But these poems do for Scottish wetlands what Waterland did for the Fens. I doubt Good Morning will make the money that novel did but it conjures up the smell, feel and chill of the landscape just as well. There are other poems not set in landscape but even those donâ€™t escape Gracieâ€™s obsession with water, squelch and rain and so the reader leaves the collection with the sensation of having been on a deeply melancholy but somehow redemptive journey.

If you haven’t read Des’s work, I’d recommend you do.