Writer, Filmmaker, Mother, Grandmother
It's my birthday today, and consequently it's a good time to talk about beginnings. My actual beginning to be precise... I shall explain. Last year, Professor Willie Maley, founder of Glasgow University's Creative Writing Masters along with Philip Hobsbawm, asked me to contribute to The Lions of Lisbon, A Play Of Two Halves, being published by Luath Press… Continue reading Birthday beginnings, ‘The Lions of Lisbon’
I've been working on the pre-production of my new film project for a while now but yesterday I finally began shooting Tannadice 87. That's a great place to be! The film is an aspirational tale, rooted in popular culture, showcasing a snapshot of one of the most dynamic periods in the city of Dundee's sporting… Continue reading The making of Tannadice 87
A mostly storm-bound week spent working, writing and sea-watching at my home on Rathlin Island concluded yesterday, and with it came tears as I packed up my computer and made for the city. Standing on the pier, my heart wonderfully weighted with contentment, I prepared to mourn the emptiness I would soon feel as its goodness thinned. Like… Continue reading An #Irish act of union – a #Rathlin island welcome.
When I think back, there was an actual lightening bolt moment when I realised that I was just a 'woman'. A mere girl. I am talking about my awakening, my realisation that gender was important, the moment I understood that in being a woman I was somehow compromised by vent of my very existence. I grew up in… Continue reading #MerylStreep’s strength is power to us all.
At the turn of a new year, it is widely regarded as traditional to make resolutions. This longstanding custom, according to wikipedia..., has evidence of existence many thousands of years ago. On the first day of a new year a person resolves to change, alter or adapt their lifestyle in response to a facet of their behaviour that is… Continue reading Let’s resolve to hope for one another in 2017…
I had the pleasure of reading my short story Ellen's 25th anniversary at the Bold Types Showcase at the Glasgow Women's Library last week. The theme for all entries was '25th anniversary', in line with the Women's Library's momentous year, and submissions were invited in poetry or short story form. Four poems and four stories were shortlisted from the… Continue reading Being a Bold Type for #BookWeekScot
I was at an event in Scottish Parliament last night. It was the Association for Scottish Literary Studies' annual international lecture and Professor Marie-Odile Pittin-Hedon of Aix-Marseille University was demonstrating how contemporary women writers are shaping our concepts of Scottish identity for the twenty-first century. She argues that Scotland is in the midst of political,… Continue reading Contemporary women writers are shaping our concepts of Scottish identity for the twenty-first century.
There was an event at the Mitchell Library on Saturday to celebrate 70 years of James Kelman. Organised by Drouth Magazine, in partnership with Scott Hames of the University of Stirling, this was a day-long soiree with song, music, film, performance and an appearance by the man himself. I couldn't make it along to the whole event… Continue reading Remembering Glasgow’s radical past & meeting James Kelman.
It's time to post my 'trick or treat' angst again... It's Halloween, or All Hallow's Eve. The 31st of October is the night before All Saints' Day (All Hallows) in the Christian calendar, or the traditional Celtic festival of Sumhuinn, which marks the end of summer and the harvest, and the onset of a bleak and unsheltered… Continue reading We go guising in Scotland, there’s none of this trick or treat nonsense at Halloween.
I wrote this piece about my writing for the Britfic site. You can read it on the site here and in the copy below. Does it strike any chords with you? The bulk of my creative time recently has been taken up writing factual material for documentary film. In that mode, whilst structuring and de-structuring sensitive and… Continue reading Do we exploit emotions in writing fiction?1
Margot McCuaig 