‘Sons, Mothers and the Frozen South’ by Carys Davies: an illustrated masterclass

Grand, epic stories captured in just a few dense pages that carry her readers far away. After publishing a number of short stories in Granta, The Dublin Review and The Stinging Fly, among others, the Welsh author has released three novels in which the sometimes harsh setting is key: the wide open spaces of the American West in West; a former British hill station in southern India in The Mission House; and, most recently, the remote Shetland Islands in nineteenth-century Scotland in Clear. Each of her novels has been met with public and critical acclaim, including her latest, as Clear was awarded the Ondaatje Prize 2025. Set in 1843, the story brings together, in a kind of open-air huis clos, two sensitive men on a rugged and isolated piece of land. 

distant times and places

Born in Wales, Carys Davies lived in the United States for many years before returning to settle in Scotland. Set in distant times and places, her novels might give the impression that they are far removed from her own life, but this is far from the case. At the invitation of Passa Porta, Carys Davies will deliver a lecture entitled Sons, Mothers and the Frozen South. She will discuss how real life finds its way into fiction, the writing of her new novel (in progress), and how writing about the past and about characters buffeted by history allows us to question the present. During the lecture, illustrator Marina Philippart will create a painting for the audience to admire while they listen. The lecture will be followed by a short discussion with the author in French.

picture © alexandre weinberger