Graham Bound
Labours of Love with Graham Bound, Author & Potter
3rd October 2020 at 4pm UK time (GMT+1)
Watch it on YouTube: Graham's Talk
Our second speaker is author Graham Bound. Born in the Falklands, Graham was a contributor to the Times and the Daily Mail as well as a presenter and producer for BBC World Service, travelling extensively to trouble spots around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan. He joined the Ministry of Defence, and worked at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and was also responsible to the Prime Minister’s Office helping to coordinate communications around the conflict in Afghanistan. Graham took early retirement after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and now dedicates his time to writing books and perfecting his skills in a long standing passion, pottery.
Graham's latest book, At the Going Down of the Sun, is based on the last letters that soldiers fighting in Afghanistan wrote to their families before going into battle. The book launch was one of the most moving events I’ve been to, not only because of the sadness of the loss of young lives, but because of the stories of sheer heroism, sacrifice and nobility of human nature that speakers brought forward. It was truly humbling.
Graham: “I have held to the belief that my work needs to reflect me as a person - who I am at my core. I write honestly and unpretentiously. Fairness and truth is not welcomed by every audience, but I’ve learned to cling to this inner value regardless of the personal cost. My ceramics are also honest statements. They have a simplicity and, I hope, grace. I’m inspired by the words of Bernard Leach, the greatest British potter, who said, “The pot is the man: his vices and his values are therein. No disguise is possible.”
Graham’s beautiful pottery work can be seen at Penguin Pots
