Damian Barr
@damianbarr.bsky.social
Writer & broadcaster.
🏴 🌈 🖊️📚 🎭 📺 📻 🪴 🐔 🥃
He/Him
📕 The Two Roberts is my new novel. I’ve also curated an exhibition about them for Charleston in Lewes.
📕 Maggie & Me.
📕 You Will Be Safe Here.
📺 Big Scottish Book Club on BBC iPlayer.
PhD, FRSL, FRSE.
🏴 🌈 🖊️📚 🎭 📺 📻 🪴 🐔 🥃
He/Him
📕 The Two Roberts is my new novel. I’ve also curated an exhibition about them for Charleston in Lewes.
📕 Maggie & Me.
📕 You Will Be Safe Here.
📺 Big Scottish Book Club on BBC iPlayer.
PhD, FRSL, FRSE.
Should you need a big gay love story for Valentine’s Day :)
February 14, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Should you need a big gay love story for Valentine’s Day :)
Found some happy fat hens sunbathing in a walled garden today. Took them half a shortbread love-heart. Was perfect. Happy Valentine’s Day.
February 14, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Found some happy fat hens sunbathing in a walled garden today. Took them half a shortbread love-heart. Was perfect. Happy Valentine’s Day.
‘Trans children need to be supported & respected in order to be safe at school, in order to access their right to education,in order to enjoy their childhood. Instead, we're seeing a complete ban on access to appropriate toilets, PE, accommodation on school trips, a complete erosion of their rights’
February 13, 2026 at 1:28 PM
‘Trans children need to be supported & respected in order to be safe at school, in order to access their right to education,in order to enjoy their childhood. Instead, we're seeing a complete ban on access to appropriate toilets, PE, accommodation on school trips, a complete erosion of their rights’
How many not-apologies can powerful men issue in one week?
February 12, 2026 at 2:19 PM
How many not-apologies can powerful men issue in one week?
Applauding this and looking at every other government in the world. 👀
February 12, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Applauding this and looking at every other government in the world. 👀
Writers beware!
The book club scam has taken an exciting new leap forward. I got one today from a "curated literary platform and newsletter" that, unusually, offered a link to its website. I'm in edits, so obviously I took the opportunity to procrastinate. /1
February 11, 2026 at 1:29 PM
Writers beware!
This Valentine's Day come and meet the Two Roberts at Charleston in Lewes. Celebrate love against all the odds, forays into throupledom and rivalry (sometimes heated). PS I'm doing an event there Fri night :)
Here's more on the show:
observer.co.uk/culture/art/...
Here's more on the show:
observer.co.uk/culture/art/...
The dark, wayward works of the Two Roberts | The Observer
The inseparable Scottish artists and lovers are celebrated in a landmark English show at Charleston
observer.co.uk
February 11, 2026 at 12:41 PM
This Valentine's Day come and meet the Two Roberts at Charleston in Lewes. Celebrate love against all the odds, forays into throupledom and rivalry (sometimes heated). PS I'm doing an event there Fri night :)
Here's more on the show:
observer.co.uk/culture/art/...
Here's more on the show:
observer.co.uk/culture/art/...
Fascism cannot produce art that lives because living art relies on unqualified engagement with an other, a challenge to the self. Fascism can only ever conjure an ever more atrociously gilded mirror reflecting back faces that refuse even the realities of time.
From Melania to Kid Rock’s halftime show: why is Maga art so dreadful?
From Melania to Kid Rock’s halftime show: why is Maga art so dreadful?
As the right stokes culture wars, their alternatives to ‘woke’ Hollywood prove to be shoddily made and uninspired
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Fascism cannot produce art that lives because living art relies on unqualified engagement with an other, a challenge to the self. Fascism can only ever conjure an ever more atrociously gilded mirror reflecting back faces that refuse even the realities of time.
This writing is heartbreakingly beautiful: unflinching but so considered and kind. ‘Perhaps a person’s life force is like a campfire, and we keep it burning by telling our stories around it. There is one story we never tell any more.’ 🥇 @stephenkelman.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
‘There is one story we never tell’: will old family photos bring joy to my ailing mother – or remind us of dark secrets?
As Alzheimer’s tightens its grip, we have started making our way through the hundreds of albums in my childhood home. But some are too painful to revisit
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:50 AM
This writing is heartbreakingly beautiful: unflinching but so considered and kind. ‘Perhaps a person’s life force is like a campfire, and we keep it burning by telling our stories around it. There is one story we never tell any more.’ 🥇 @stephenkelman.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Well, this broke me today
You might forget the exact sound of her voice
or how her face looked when sleeping.
You might forget the sound of her quiet weeping
curled into the shape of a half moon…
—Jackie Kay, “Darling”
published in DARLING, @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social 2007
#poem #poetry
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/...
or how her face looked when sleeping.
You might forget the sound of her quiet weeping
curled into the shape of a half moon…
—Jackie Kay, “Darling”
published in DARLING, @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social 2007
#poem #poetry
www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/...
February 7, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Well, this broke me today
Reposted by Damian Barr
Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
February 7, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Reposted by Damian Barr
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
February 6, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
A week today! I'm doing a Victoria Wood style 'Evening With Damian Barr...' event at Charleston. Hosted by Maggie & Me Director Suba Das, it will feature an audience studded with stars from times gone by, all in huge shoulder-pads. PS it's really the Two Roberts www.charleston.org.uk/event/an-eve...
Charleston — An Evening with Damian Barr: The Two Roberts
Join us at Charleston for an unforgettable evening with acclaimed author, Damian Barr, in conversation about his novel 'The Two Roberts' and curation of 'Robert MacBryde & Robert Colquhoun: Artists, L...
www.charleston.org.uk
February 6, 2026 at 11:01 AM
A week today! I'm doing a Victoria Wood style 'Evening With Damian Barr...' event at Charleston. Hosted by Maggie & Me Director Suba Das, it will feature an audience studded with stars from times gone by, all in huge shoulder-pads. PS it's really the Two Roberts www.charleston.org.uk/event/an-eve...
Gave a wee interview to Attitude: 'In some ways, this is quite an old-fashioned love story that we, as a community, deserve. I didn’t want to over-emphasise the tragedy - it's there, not only because of their flaws but because of the homophobia of the time.'
www.attitude.co.uk/culture/dami...
www.attitude.co.uk/culture/dami...
Damian Barr on his novel The Two Roberts: 'Gay, Scottish, working class, it’s a full house – I’m in' (EXCLUSIVE)
Barr returns with a fictional retelling of the lives of The Two Roberts – two gay artists turned celebrities that time forgot.
www.attitude.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 10:22 AM
Gave a wee interview to Attitude: 'In some ways, this is quite an old-fashioned love story that we, as a community, deserve. I didn’t want to over-emphasise the tragedy - it's there, not only because of their flaws but because of the homophobia of the time.'
www.attitude.co.uk/culture/dami...
www.attitude.co.uk/culture/dami...
OR build a bold new campus for democracy outside London. Hold a competition to celebrate architects and craftspeople. Re-energise our traditions. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Restoring Palace of Westminster could cost £40bn and take 61 years
Home of UK parliament spends £1.5m a week on repairs but critics say restoration proposals lack accountability
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 10:24 PM
OR build a bold new campus for democracy outside London. Hold a competition to celebrate architects and craftspeople. Re-energise our traditions. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Reposted by Damian Barr
In Barry Blitt’s latest Kvetchbook, renaming the Kennedy Center was just the start for President Trump.
February 5, 2026 at 8:00 PM
In Barry Blitt’s latest Kvetchbook, renaming the Kennedy Center was just the start for President Trump.
Can’t wait for mine to arrive
I wrote a pamphlet called Hope Must Be Held In A Clenched Fist. It’s limited to 1000 copies. It’s about hope and fear, the emboldening of the far right and the need for direct action. Buy it here www.nikesh-shukla.com/store
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Can’t wait for mine to arrive
Reposted by Damian Barr
Tell me again how nobody cares about theatre, how the arts are elitist, how Shakespeare belongs in the past…
This is superb. Ian McKellen delivers a blistering pro-immigration monologue written by Shakespeare, that makes you want to punch the air with exhilaration. Wow, wow, wow.
An absolute must-watch. (Starts at 20:10 but the entire interview is a joy.) youtu.be/2l2RqzVG4ag
An absolute must-watch. (Starts at 20:10 but the entire interview is a joy.) youtu.be/2l2RqzVG4ag
"There's Nothing I Enjoy More Than Acting In The Theater" - Ian McKellen EXTENDED INTERVIEW
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 9:27 AM
Tell me again how nobody cares about theatre, how the arts are elitist, how Shakespeare belongs in the past…
@sianysianysiany.bsky.social BRILLIANT YOU! i just opened your newsletter and it me EMOSH! thank you for all you do for writers (and, by extension, readers). HAPPY HAVING A BABY JOY!
February 5, 2026 at 12:54 PM
@sianysianysiany.bsky.social BRILLIANT YOU! i just opened your newsletter and it me EMOSH! thank you for all you do for writers (and, by extension, readers). HAPPY HAVING A BABY JOY!
Not sure what Walter Scott would make of Bobby and Robert or indeed me, but I’m thrilled the Two Roberts has been longlisted for his namesake prize. It’s a great list and past winners are among my saints, Hilary Mantel ❤️ Congrats all and thank you judges and readers.
We are delighted to announce the longlist for the seventeenth #WalterScottPrize for #HistoricalFiction, run by The Abbotsford Trust.
Congratulations to all of the longlisted authors!
#longlist #booksky #histfic #sirwalterscott #booksky
www.walterscottprize.co.uk/announcing-t...
Congratulations to all of the longlisted authors!
#longlist #booksky #histfic #sirwalterscott #booksky
www.walterscottprize.co.uk/announcing-t...
Announcing the 2026 Longlist -
The Abbotsford Trust has announced the Longlist for the seventeenth Prize. The twelve books on the Longlist for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize are: VENETIAN VESPERS John Banville (Faber & Faber) THE TWO...
www.walterscottprize.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Not sure what Walter Scott would make of Bobby and Robert or indeed me, but I’m thrilled the Two Roberts has been longlisted for his namesake prize. It’s a great list and past winners are among my saints, Hilary Mantel ❤️ Congrats all and thank you judges and readers.
Tell me again how nobody cares about theatre, how the arts are elitist, how Shakespeare belongs in the past…
This is superb. Ian McKellen delivers a blistering pro-immigration monologue written by Shakespeare, that makes you want to punch the air with exhilaration. Wow, wow, wow.
An absolute must-watch. (Starts at 20:10 but the entire interview is a joy.) youtu.be/2l2RqzVG4ag
An absolute must-watch. (Starts at 20:10 but the entire interview is a joy.) youtu.be/2l2RqzVG4ag
"There's Nothing I Enjoy More Than Acting In The Theater" - Ian McKellen EXTENDED INTERVIEW
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 9:27 AM
Tell me again how nobody cares about theatre, how the arts are elitist, how Shakespeare belongs in the past…
Pals, I've just put out my latest small-batched home-brewed organic human-authored newsletter. It's got a nice old interview with Maggie O'Farrell, her first-ever about Hamnet. It's got news of events and other good things. Sign up for the next one here: www.damianbarr.com/subscribe
Subscribe — Damian Barr
www.damianbarr.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Pals, I've just put out my latest small-batched home-brewed organic human-authored newsletter. It's got a nice old interview with Maggie O'Farrell, her first-ever about Hamnet. It's got news of events and other good things. Sign up for the next one here: www.damianbarr.com/subscribe
Reposted by Damian Barr
A great read on gay porn soundtracks, the work of the amazing Dark Entries label on resurfacing this important part of queer history, and a creative world destroyed by AIDS: “We lost so many friends, and it did something to us."
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...
‘One moment it was a little blip. The next, our friends are dying’: the gay porn soundtrack composers lost to the Aids crisis
Gay porn in the 80s was home to beautifully moody synth music that is only now getting rediscovered – tragically too late for many of its creators
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:51 PM
A great read on gay porn soundtracks, the work of the amazing Dark Entries label on resurfacing this important part of queer history, and a creative world destroyed by AIDS: “We lost so many friends, and it did something to us."
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...
www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...
This is why I love Bluesky.
in 1844 the Wenham Lake Ice Company opened a shop on the Strand, London. they displayed in the window a new block of ice each day (so large it astonished people). the ice was so clear, you could read a newspaper through it and one was often propped up behind the block
February 3, 2026 at 11:37 PM
This is why I love Bluesky.