Welcome
I am a Scottish (not British) fiction writer, poet, essayist and Zen Buddhist monk, the author of more than a dozen books, most of which have been translated into French. My novel The Book of Man (1995) was named a best book of the year by the American Library Association, and my novel The Champion's New Clothes (1991) was published in French translation in 2021, winning the Prix Marianne. In 2023, a collection of stories and poems, J'ignore comment tout cela va finir, was published in French.
I lead writing workshops in schools and prisons, and give performances in which I recite sections of my novels from memory. I also teach the practice of Kado (The Way of Poetry), with writing as a method of Zen meditation. My poetry and essays are published regularly on Buddhistdoor.
I lived in the USA for 22 years, where I witnessed two executions, at the invitation of the men who were to be killed, an experience described in my book Why I Watch People Die. I returned home to Glasgow in 2017, in response to the election of Donald Trump.
I am not on Fcbk or Twttr, or any other media run by surveillance capitalism.
Barry Graham is a pen name.
Profile at Scottish Book Trust
This site does not track you.