‘Margaret Clark’s poetry moves comfortably between cosy domesticity, family relationships, art, religion and occasionally politics. She finds inspiration in simple things (a walk in the park, coffee with friends, domestic chores), which reminds us to look for the poetry in the everyday. The metaphor is wielded with great aplomb (Scotland and England as a dysfunctional couple, a mountain range as a sleeping serpent) and the love and respect she has for Australia’s impressive landscape is evident in poems such as ‘October Storm’ and ‘Namatjira’s Way’. These are straightforward, straight-talking nuggets of joy and wisdom and although Clark is not afraid to tackle the bigger issues, the pages twinkle delightfully with her quirky sense of humour.’ – Alison Flett
‘Margaret Clark’s poetry is enriched by wide life experiences and keen observations. We are transported north with apt imagery of time spent living in Alice Springs, a thousand miles from tides, where the grey green casuarinas fuss and whisper in the breeze. A woman of the outback, Clark reveals the art, the beauty and the dangers of the natural world. She recalls Cyclone Tracy, leaving a city littered with tinsel and wrapping paper. She is not afraid to confront pain and hardship; she sees the irony of feral animals shot by feral man. Poems in Frayed Edges also capture scenes from her homeland in the UK and take us on literary journeys, paying tribute to writers and poets from biblical to contemporary times. Clark is a poet of wisdom and depth, making sense of science, domesticity, history and society with a refreshing sense of grace, empathy and often humour.’ – Jude Aquilina
‘Margaret Clark’s poetry – intelligent, wry observations of places and people – is candid but elegant, gritty but lush.’ Patrick Allington
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Margaret Clark spent her early childhood in England, Scotland and Ireland before emigrating to Australia at age ten. After spending nearly a decade in South Australia, she married and moved to the Northern Territory in 1970. She planned to live in the NT for three years but stayed for thirty, working as a teacher on remote Aboriginal Communities and raising two children. Margaret later retrained in the field of architectural drafting and design, working mainly with Aboriginal organisations. A move to Brisbane followed, prompting another change in direction. Margaret spent several years in part-time theological study, while still drafting, and then worked as a Parish Administrator for the Anglican Church. After almost forty years away, she and her husband, Nigel, returned to South Australia for retirement and proximity to their children and seven grandchildren. Margaret has written short stories and poetry for many years. Her childhood in the UK and her years in the Northern Territory have provided much grist for the creative mill, as have her family and faith. Her poetry has been published in several anthologies by Friendly Street Poets and The Eremos Institute. Some of her work has also been set to music and performed at the Toowoomba Christian Music Symposium and in churches in Queensland and South Australia. Margaret mentors a Creative Writing Group in Salisbury, South Australia, and has been on the working party of the Salisbury Writers’ Festival for several years. She is a member of Friendly Street Poets, a poets’ collective for the writing, reading and publishing of poetry in South Australia, and was co-editor for their 2016 Anthology Many Eyes, Many Voices.