Writing is in my blood but it has taken much of my working
life to move from being someone who writes as part of
his profession to being a professional writer. It is
a matter of quiet satisfaction to have been accepted
as such by both the Scottish Arts Club and the United
Arts Club in Dublin.
However, I prefer the term wordsmith – I employ
words as a drystane dyker uses selected stones, placing
them precisely to serve a purpose elegantly, ingenuity
subsuming creativity rather than vice versa. In that
sense, I think I am a craftsman rather than an artist.
In order to pursue my belief in the continued power
of well-honed words, despite the depredations –
and challenges – of texting (how easily English
lets us create new words), I established QuiteWrite
as the banner under which I could create prose and verse
that would arrest, amuse, tease and please rather than
simply ‘describe’ or, better still ‘explain.’
Whether or not I always get it quite write is for others
to say.
Many of my personal interests, including those in language
and place-names, are embodied in my work but I travel
overseas as much as I can, and have a particular affection
for Berlin, San Francisco and Carcassonne. I enjoy my grandchildren,
lively company and good food, and working with all my colleagues
in Interpret Europe, which I chair.
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